Help my Herrman!

[cREEpa]

Hi, myself & girlfriend recently bought a Herman's from a reputable pet supplier, with documents & supplied in a vivarium with the heatlamp just 3" from the substrate. 'Sol' is not eating or drinking but just hiding under the substrate, hardly moving all day. What should we change?! He has been like this for about 5 days. sad.gif

[Helen M]

3 inches sounds way too close to the substrate. What wattage is the bulb? You need to get a digital thermometer so you can monitor the temperature of the basking spot and the cooler end of the viv. If the temperatures are too high your tortoise won't want to do much at all other than sleep.

Although he is still settling into his new home a tortoise would still explore his new home to a certain extent which is worrying if he isn't doing anything.

Hopefully you'll be able to take some pictures of the tortoises setup and we'll be able to help you out with that. I would advise you bathe your tortoise a couple of times a day in the meantime to keep him nicely hydrated.

Helen xx

[cREEpa]

its a 60w bulb, 3 " some areas 5" others. will upload pics asap. thanks

[herriotfan]

You need to use a tortoise table not a vivarium. While you are trying to get one turn the viv over so the glass doors become the roof and take out the glass.
Mix up some topsoil and sand 50/50 mix and put in the bottom to about 5-6" deep. Get a UVB light and fix it to the viv on the side and get a basking bulb, which you can use in a clip-on holder. Put the basking light up one end of the viv and get a thermostat to check temps. It should be around 30 degrees c in the basking end and about 20 degrees in the cool end. Adust the position of the basking lamp to get temps correct.
You could add some edible plants, stones, slates, hides etc to his home. Have a look at the photos of enclosures for lots of ideas.
Take Sol out each day and bath him in a luke warm bath. This helps him to go to the loo and aids hydration. Feed him a selection of weeds, which you can find in the weed section on here, off a slate to help keep his beak trim.
Take a look at as many caresheets as you can find on the internet for general advice.
I would just say the word 'reputable' could be applied as bad reputation if this supplier told you this is the way to care for a tortoise!!!
Hope this helps but do come back and ask more questions if you need to.....poor little Sol needs to get sorted, bless him.

[sheryl bond]

Hi, i am also new to this and was also sold a vivarium from a reptile shop and then to find out it is the worse thing to keep a tortoise in.I have removed the top and he seems more alert. Hope yours is ok.

[Bindi]

Can you tell us what lighting you're using please?

What are the temperatures in the cool end, and directly under his basking lamp?

What substrate are you using

Are you bathing Sol


Sorry for all the questions but it helps build up an idea of what could be wrong

Of course, it could be nothing, he could just be settling in

[yuna1971]

Also what is his age....(in addition to Bindi's questions)

[yuna1971]

Firstly,...agree with the others. Vivs not good - get him into a tortoise table, thats the first thing. Having said that, a viv might be acceptable for a baby hatchling. My preference is a table, the air flow is better and your tort I think will be happier.
Second thing - a 60w bulb is just not gonna be hot enough and that distance from his shell isnt that good.
What Herriotfan said is what many have done who have been lumbered with vivs when they bought their tort - turn it over and take out the glass so it becomes an open top. This then becomes a tortoise table.
For lighting you have 2 different choices. You can either go for a strip UVB light which runs accross the horizontal bit of your table - there are various sizes, 24inch, 36inch and 48inch. These require starters to work. The starter type you need depends on the size of the strip.
In addition to the strip, you will need I think a 100w basking bulb. This can be a normal spot bulb from B&Q or Homebase. Fix this onto a CERAMIC holder that will take the wattage of the bulb. Not the bog standard house light fittings. It needs to be able to hold the wattage or the holder will melt with the heat - posing a potential fire hazard.
The next option is to go for what is called a combined heat and UV bulb.
These provide heat and UV - all in one bulb. These will need to affixed to a ceramic holder, and you will need a lamp stand. You will also need a shade or dome, these normally come with the holder. These bulbs MUST hang vertically downwards and never at an angle. These come in different wattages - 120w, or 160w and higher.
You will probably find that 120w/125w is appropriate for you.

If you PM me I can help you with this further, in terms of where to buy and the sort of things you will need.
The substrate as Herriotfan says can be either a mixture of sterilised topsoil (usual bags that you can get from B&Q, Homebase) and playsand or just plain sterilised topsoil.
Some people find that sand irritates their torts eyes and so therefore just go for topsoil. Others find it is fine and works well.

I am happy to try and guide you further if you wish to PM me. xxx