Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We got our little 4 week hermann's tortoise yesterday. He was very active and so cute! Around 7 pm he dug down for the night. In the morning he seemed very sleepy and didn't want to wake up. I finally got him up and soaked him but everytime we put him back in his house he would go back to sleep. He slept most of the day today. I heard maybe it is too cold in there for him? His basking spot is around 88 to 90 degrees and the cool end of the pen is around 73 to 77 degrees. I turned off his lite at night....do you think he got too cold then? He has been drinking a little and eating some. He has had bowl movements so I know he is okay there. Any ideas?

Baby's do sleep often at that age and you just got the little one yesterday. I would suggest to allow him time to adjust to his new environment (the less stress the better at this point). Soak and feed as usual, but allow him time to get used to his new surroundings. Your temps are ideal, I wouldn't change a thing there.

Good luck and be patient
Lori Neumann

Thank you guys so much! I was so worried about him yesterday. So this morning I turned on all his lites...it is getting warm now....should I wake him up and give him his soak and feed him or let him sleep?

Just let the little one be for now. He will wake up when it is time for hime to awake.
Relax
Lori Neumann

I will try! He seems to be doing pretty good this morning. He had his soaking and then he ate really good. I'm starting to feel better now. Especially knowing that I am not freezing him.

I agree with Lori, your baby is probably tired from the journey and just needs rest and time to settle in. Your basking temps are fine--I've noticed that my Hermann's spends most of his time holed up if the temp goes over 90. They don't enjoy higher temps the way sulcatas do.
-----
Sohni
Northern California

0.1 Baja de L.A. Rosy Boa
0.1 Okeetee Corn Snake
1.1 Rubber Boas
1.0 Leopard Gecko
0.0.2 Hermann's Tortoises
plus my kids' herps:
0.0.1 California King Snake
1.0 Mexican Rosy Boa
0.1 Leopard Gecko

I didn't notice where you mention if you provide heat at night. With a small tortoise especially you need to provide heat unless you have a room where the temps do not go below 75. I'd highly recommend that you fix up some kind of heat source at night. A popular source is a ceramic heat emitter. I'd suggest you give him the same night time choice as the day time. (75 to 95) You'll see him vary his position from night to night based on the ambient temperature.
-----
Ed
Tortoise_Keepers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care