Hi, i have a hermann who is 10 months old, i am very new to keeping tortoises so always worried anyway did as much research as poss before getting "Billy-Jo" he has outside enclosure for when its warm enough and a table top enclosure indoors with at the moment a 60w bulb for warmth, he eats dandelions and sometimes cucumber and am growing my weed seeds as we speak, he seems to wee an poo normal , i have had him for 4 weeks but my problem is is that he hides under a log in his enclosure and doesn't come out unless i put him under lamp he will stay there( under his log ) all day if i let him is this normal, am so worried he just seems listless am i doing something wrong? Please help me

Hi Lisa,

May I ask how frequently you bath him please?

If he's from a pet-shop, it's usually advisable to take a stool sample to the vets to get it screened for worms.

Darren

Hi darren, i bath him every day and didn't get him from a pet shop i got him from a breeder in yeovil, would i know if he had worms and would that make him lethargic?

Hi, Lisa

I'm sure you've probably got everything set up properly, but may I please ask:-
What the temp is under the basking lamp and also the cooler end of the enclosure?
How big is the table - is sufficient light getting to the end where he's taking cover to encourage him out?
Does the license have the breeder's name in Box 1 and does it have UK in the country of origin?

A heavy worm load can affect a tortoise's health. If everything is in order and he continues to be lethargic, I'd be inclined to take him to a good vet to have him checked over, including a stool sample screen.

Darren

The heat is 80f under basking lamp and 65f at the cool end he is in a guinea pig enclosure so quite big for him, but have just looked at hs license and he is imported which am not happy about but was bought as a present so what can i do, i think i will need to take a poo sample to the vets to see whats going on as don't like to see him so lethargic thanks for advice

Hi Lisa,

Good luck and let us know how you get on. Make it as fresh a sample as possible (you can keep it overnight in a sealed container in the fridge if necessary).

Nina

Also meant to say that you could try upping the temperature a little (bring the lamp down a little closer to the tortoise) until the it reaches 90Fe (and the cool end is about 70).

Nina