Hi Folks, i got a hermann's in mid-late october and was just wondering what temp ranges are ideal for the tortoise table.

He is only small, smaller than the size of my palm (so i think he is about a year old can someone confirm this?), i got him the guy at Tortoises from Denton Aquatics after several telephone conversations etc. Since he seems to be selling them with vivs which is not what he recommemded to me at the time and he sold it with good advice as a uk captive bread. He is not in hibernation as i was not comfortable to hibinate him so soon after getting him, but will definately be doing so next winter.

He loves the plants that grew from the seeds that i got from shelled warriors, and has no problems munching them with lime stone flower and neutrabol.

At the moment it is about 28 in the hot end and room temp in the cool end.

With being back at home at the moment and really feeling the heat with my mum in control of the central heating made me wonder what temp is ideal for the tortoise.

So could you please let me know what temps would be ideal so i can adjust his habitat accordingly.

All the best and happy christmas / new year
Mike

a hot spot of 30-32c for basking..i tend to let my cool end temps get right down, as it provides a nice thermal gradiant so that the tortoises can choose the best temps for them.

At night my heating kicks on normally (when they're not in hibernation) If it gets to 10c, tho some people allow there temps to go lower. This is for my own peace of mind so i know they don't start to cool off prematurely

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I have my basking area set at 35c, my general household airflow tends to keep this temp a little lower, (kids in and out, windows open and shut!)
Its not often a shop will tell you, ideally, you dont need a viv, as they normally try to make even more profit by selling you one. So congrats to Denton on that score.
Age wise sounds about right, but, it depends how big your palms are!

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How do you set a thermostat up on the lamp to control the temp?

Here are some photos of him, most are from when i first got him and the lamp used for heat has change to one that spreads the light over the enclosure more now:












Comedy one:

Cheers for the advice so far, for scale that is an average sized dandiline flower head.

Looks like a great setup., He deffo looks under 1yr old.
If you use a dimmer stat try make sure the probe is at the hottest point on the ground. If the heat is spread accross the table, obviously make sure he has a nice cool spot, possibly turn his flower pot around a bit to keep it a little darker (out of light/heat) should he wanna little privacy! lol

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dont use a stat with the light. Vary the height of the light to get the correct temperture. It will change slightly but thats ok.

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Well i've always used a dimmer, do you think i should stop? Would free up another stat!

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I wouldn't force you to do anything. I'm just saying I find it best to not use a stat but to adjust its height to create a basking spot.

I don't know if others will agree with me. But we'll see.

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I would try and make sure the light was facing downwards instead of spreading across the table so that a more effective temperture gradient can be created. The amount of food daily should be enough to just about cover the shell in a leafy jacket. you are aiming for a 3-4g increase in weight per month so if your going over that then cut down the food and if you are going over 3-4g then lower it. You'll soon know how much is enough.

and one last thing...is that just soil or is it mixed with play sand?

V.Nice set-up

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