Tortoise-world Forum

Hi everyone,

I have a few more questions for you since my last thread a while back and really just want to make sure im doing everything right.

I bought my baby hermann on the 18th January 2010 and its weight was 34g, its weight on the 18th February was 38g and his weight earlier today was 44g although this may go down slightly as he hasnt pooed today lol. Does this sound ok? Im feeding as i was told the size of his shell everyday and he eats it all straight away he has never left anything.

He isnt as active as when i first had him, he wakes shortly after his lights are on and straight out for food then goes back for a short nap until the afternoon. I feed him in the morning before i go to work when his lights are not actually on so hes still asleep. Is it ok to give him all his food in the morning or would i be better off feeding some in the morning and some when i get home from work (5.30pm)?

I bath him everyday for just over 10mins and he seems to like it alot more than he did. I do sometimes pour some water over his head (pour maybe the wrong word lol bascially get his head a little wet not drown him) as i was advised to do so but i think he gets a little annoyed when it goes in his eyes as he rubs his feet against his face lol. Does this matter? Also i pour some over his shell. Regarding the shell do i need to do anything other than wash it gently with my finger to get the mud off from where he digs down occasionly?

The past week around my area has been really nice and warm out of the wind. I put the little tort out in his enclosure for about half an hour as it was his first time outside. In his outdoor enclousure its mainly top soil and some grass, he started to eat the grass which i assume is ok? Its quite funny seeing him on the grass as hes so light he balances on all the strands with his feet off the ground, looks like hes floating lol.

Thanks,

Shaun.

Hi Shaun
Feeding the amount of the shell is a fallacy as different leaves are different densities and so on. You need to be guided by his weight gain and if he is gaining too much then cut down what you are feeding him. Try scattering his food around so he has to look for it - don't feed from a bowl as this invariably leades to weight gain.
Nothing is needed to keep the shell clean other than water, even that is not a necessity as torts in the wild are sometimes quite dirty, it helps to camouflage them.
It does not have to be warm to put them outside, just sunny. A tortoise can get quite warm even in winter if the sun is out, the suns rays warm up the shell which is a brilliant heat conductor, but you need to be ready to take him in if the sun goes down (at this time of year).
Hope this helps