1<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> 2<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> 3 4<head> 5 <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /> 6 <title>Tortoise tables & indoor housing</title> 7 <meta name="description" content="Everything you need to know about the Hermann's tortoise in one easy to 8 use website." /> 9 <meta name="language" content="english,EN" /> 10 <meta name="keywords" content="Hermanns, tortoise, tortoise husbandry, tortoise housing, tortoise enclosures, tortoise tables" /> 11 <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen,projection,print" href="./css/setup.css" /> 12 <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen,projection,print" href="./css/text.css" /> 13 <link rel="icon" type="image/x-icon" href="./img/favicon.ico" /> 14</head> 15 16<!--[if IE]><style type="text/css"> body {word-wrap: break-word;}</style><![endif]--> 17<body> 18 <div class="page-container"> 19 20 <div class="header"> 21 <div class="header-top"> 22 <a class="sitelogo" href="http://www.hermannstortoise/" title="Go to homepage"></a> 23 <div class="sitename"> 24 <div id="sitetitle"><a href="http://www.hermannstortoise.co.uk/" title="Go to homepage">Hermann's Tortoise</a></div> 25 <div id="sitesubtitle">The Hermann's Tortoise </div> 26 </div> 27 <div class="nav1"> 28 <ul> 29 <li><a href="http://www.hermannstortoise.co.uk/" title="Go to homepage">Home</a></li> 30 <li><a href="sitemap.html" title="Get an overview of website">Sitemap</a></li> 31 <li><a href="about-us.html" title="Get to know who we are">About</a></li> 32 </ul> 33 </div> 34 </div> 35 <div class="header-middle"> 36 <div class="sitemessage"> 37 38 </div> 39 </div> 40 <div class="header-breadcrumbs"> 41 <ul> 42 <li>Home</li> 43 </ul> 44 </div> 45 </div> 46 47 <div class="main"> 48 49 <div class="main-navigation"> 50 <div class="round-border-topright"></div> 51 <div id="menutitle">Menu</div> 52 <dl class="nav3-grid"> 53 <dt><a href="http://www.hermannstortoise.co.uk/">Home</a></dt> 54 <dt><a class="selected" href="indoor-housing.html">Indoor Housing</a></dt> 55 <dt><a href="outside-housing.html">Outside Housing</a></dt> 56 <dt><a href="heat-and-light.html">Heat And Light</a></dt> 57 <dt><a href="general-tortoise-care.html">General Care</a></dt> 58 <dt><a href="tortoise-diet.html">Diet</a></dt> 59 <dt><a href="hibernation.html">Hibernation</a></dt> 60 <dt><a href="buying-a-tortoise.html">Buying A Tortoise</a></dt> 61 <dt><a href="to-do-list.html">To Do List</a></dt> 62 63 64 </dl> 65 <br /><br/> 66 <div style="text-align:center;"> 67 <iframe src="http://rcm-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=ramybl-21&o=2&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&asins=1842862138" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe> 68 69 </div> 70 </div> 71 72 <div class="main-content"> 73 74 <h1 class="pagetitle">Indoor Housing</h1> 75 76 <div class="column1-unit"> 77 <h2>Introduction </h2> 78 <p>Keeping a tortoise in the UK is challenging because we do not have the right climate for them. Hermann's tortoise originate 79 from the Meditteranian area, which is hot, dry and sunny. In the wild they would emerge from their scrapes in the morning to 80 warm themselves by basking in the sunshine, retreating again when the sun gets too hot. Here in the UK we have alot more rain 81 and cold damp conditions. This can be a real problem for tortoises and can cause them to suffer from respetory diseases and 82 shell rot. Replicating a tortoises natural climate here is difficult. Although out doors is best, there must also be indoor 83 housing available to your tortoise for when the weather is wet or too cold. 84 85 <p></p> 86 <h2>Tortoise Tables</h2> 87 <p> The glass vivaria tanks more often than not recommended by pet shops are completely unsuitable for a tortoise. They do not allow adequate ventillation 88 nor do they allow for a range of temperatures that your tortoise will need to self regulate their body temperatures. They are also not nearly big enough. 89 The see through glass will mean the tortoise will repeatedly attempt to walk through to get to the other side, this will make them stressed and they may 90 damage themselves. Symptoms of Metabolic Bone Disease are often seen in tortoises kept in these conditions. 91 </p> 92 93 <p>A tortoise table is a much better alternative. Tortoise tables are open topped to allow good ventillation. They should be deep sided to
94 stop the tortoise from climbing out and be as large as possible. These days tortoise tables can be bought from some pet stores or from web sites such as 95 ebay. Alternatively they can very easily and cheaply be custom made to fit whatever space you have. We made ours from 96 the wood of an old dismantled wardrobe. Before that we used a plastic under bed storage bed - although due to their small size these are probably best 97 used only for hatchlings or small juveniles. </p> 98 99 <p>Once you have your tortoise table, you need to provide a suitable environment. That means providing heat, light, a good 100 substrate, shelters and interest to stop your tortoise getting bored. </p> 101 102 <p>For heat and light there will need to be a basking lamp and UV light (either separate bulbs or a combined UV/basking lamp) 103 over your table. Ideally, the lamp should be placed a one end of the table so that you can have a temperature gradient. This 104 gradient should range from around 32c at the hot end to 20c at the far end of the table. Bear in mind when making your table that 105 the height of the lamp may need to be moved up or down from time to time to maintain correct temperatures. You will need a 106 couple of thermometers (one for each end of the table) so that you can monitor the temperatures. We use the probe type 107 thermometers which are accurate and cheap to buy. </p> 108 109 <p>The substrate should be made up of 50/50 topsoil and play sand. As your Hermanns tortoise will burrow into the substrate for thermoregulation and to 110 prevent dehydration, it will need to be deep enough for them to cover themselves. Small mounds of stones or rocks for climbing over will not only add 111 interest by breaking up the line of sight but will also help to keep claws trimmed. Be careful though that these are not positioned to close to the sides 112 of the tortoise table as your tortoise may decide to use these to help climb out over the side. A slate or flat stone used as a feeding area will help 113 keep beaks trimmed. Small plant pots on their sides and sunk into the substrate also provide shelter and hiding places as will a hollowed out log. 114 Spraying the substrate daily will add some humidity as this can become very low under hot basking lamps.</p> 115 116 <p>Always provide a shallow dish for water as your tortoise will drink. We find that using the water dishes made for plant pots that are sold in garden 117 centers are perfect. Surround these with stones or slates to stop the substrate being dragged into the water when your tortoise decides to climb in. </p> 118 119 120 <p> 121 </div> 122 123 <hr class="clear-contentunit" /> 124 125 126 127 <div class="column2-unit-left">
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