Herbie & Annie - Herman Tortoises
| Scientific Name | Testudo Hermanni |
| Family | Testudinidae |
| Region | Southern Europe |
| Habitat | Mediterranean Meadow |
| Active | Diurnal |
| Size (cm) | 25 cm plus |
| Life expectancy | 25-30 years |
We have two Herman Tortoises who travel around with us, Herbie is our male he was born in 2003 and Annie is our female we are not sure of her age as she came to us as a re-home. Our tortoises are loved by pre-school children as we can let them roam around them while they sit on the floor and they let children have a stroke. Tortoises, like the Hermans, and some other European Tortoises were being captured from the wild and sold in the pet trade so these animals have to have an Article 10 Certificate, to make sure they have been captive bred and to monitor their circulation. There are different sub-species of Herman tortoise; Herbie is a 'Testudo hermanni harmann'i which can be found around Spain whereas Annie we believe is a 'Testudo hermanni Boettgeri', which is found around Greece and Turkey.
Tortoises leave their night shelters - usually hollows protected by hedges - to bask in the morning sun to warm their bodies and will then roam around the Mediterranean meadows in search of food. They have a good sense of smell and use this to navigate their way around finding many different types of plants and flower along with the odd piece of fruit. Around midday as it becomes too hot for them they return to their hiding place. During the colder months Herman's will hibernate under the ground emerging in late February to begin courtship. Forced hibernation is not required in captivity as long as you keep your tortoise somewhere warm over winter as hibernating tortoises can cause many health problems if not done correctly.
Herman Tortoise Care
Tortoises can make good pets as long as you understand their needs, its not always possible to leave them outside all summer as the weather in the UK is very unpredictable and they should be kept in runs to protect them for predators. Alternatively they can be left inside in a heated enclosure or conservatory.
Herman Tortoise Housing
There are many different types of enclosure for a Herman tortoise and bigger is always better for adult tortoises. Youngsters can be kept in a small wooden vivarium no smaller then 90x60x60cm (LxWxH) and put into outside runs on warm sunny days. While adult tortoises can still be kept in vivariums they will need to be considerably bigger around 240x90x60cm (LxWxH). We have seen keepers build a outside enclosure that combines the inside vivarium and outside run giving the tortoise the choice of habitats. They do this by connecting a large enclosed run to a garden shed then placing a cat/dog flap in the shed allowing the tortoise to go inside and have access to all the correct heating and lighting requirements or venture outside into the garden. This type of enclosures works well if you have a number of tortoises living together. Tortoises will spend most the day wondering around so a number of obstacles should be placed around the enclosure to break up the open space. We use a mix of hempcore and tortoise lite as a substrate in our tortoise enclosures. The enclosure should be spot cleaned when required and thoroughly washed and disinfected every month to ensure bacteria does not build up.
Herman Tortoise Heating & Lighting
Heating and lighting requirements for a Herman Tortoise are very important as being diurnal they get vitamins from the UVB given off by the sun. Therefore we have to match the natural environment as best as possible. We provide our Herman Tortoises with an Exo Terra Repti Glo 2% UVB daylight tube and a Exo Terra Repti Glo 10% UVB Desert tube. These two tubes give off almost the same level of light radiation as would be found in the wild. It has been proven by years of research that providing the correct light levels in the enclosure benefits the tortoise’s health and wellbeing. We heat our enclosures using ceramic heaters these come in a variety of wattages and it is important you choose the correct size for your enclosure. The enclosure should have a temperature gradient where one side is hotter than the other, the hot end should be between 40/45 degrees cooling off to 35/36 degrees, the night time temperature can drop to 25 degrees. The easiest way to monitor these temperatures is with a good control unit, there are many products available to purchase but we find the Lucky Reptile Thermo Control Pro II to be the best one for our requirements. This allows us to control the night and day temperatures and lighting setting in the enclosure all within one easy to use digital unit.
Herman Tortoise Humidity
Herman Tortoises require humidity of between 55 & 80% in their enclosure, this can be achieved by spraying the enclosure with water a couple of times a day or setting up a humidifier.
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Herman Tortoise Feeding
Herman Tortoises are herbivores and therefore their diet needs to consist of a variety of vegetation, fresh salad, herb leaves, fruits and vegetables. Fresh, clean drinking water should always be provided in a shallow bowl that will also enable them to bath in it as they will also absorb water through their skin.
Read about the vegetation suitable for Herman Tortoises...
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Herman Tortoises in captivity
Tortoises can make great pets for young children as they are slow moving and easy to interact with although care should always be taken when handling and children should never be left unsupervised. Good research should always be done before purchasing any reptile and you must consider the cost and time commitment involved for the entirety of its life span.
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