Our Tortoises
We have so far 5 Herman tortoises. You will see them in the summer in our tortoise garden. Our garden is full of edible plants and weeds for them to all eat.
We hatched 2 tortoise eggs last year in 2019 that was given to us, We used our incubator and hatched both eggs which was an amazing experience. They are called Mila & Princess. They can hatch between 8 to 11 weeks in the incubator. Temperature determines the gender of a tortoise. The hatching turns out to be a male if the tempeture is at 26 degrees and female when reaches 30 degrees.
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Hatchlings are around 4cm (1½in) in length and they grow annually to a maximum adult length of about 20cm (8in). Their Lifespan is 70 years or more.
Herman tortoises are small to medium-sized tortoises from southern Europe. Young animals and some adults have attractive black and yellow-patterned carapaces, although the brightness may fade with age to a less distinct gray, straw, or yellow coloration.
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Princess & Mila having a bath
A large shallow bowl of clean fresh water must always be available and it will need to be large enough for your tortoise to bath in but not so deep as to pose a risk of drowning. The water level should be just deep enough to submerge the plastron (bottom half of the shell). In addition to the water bowl, a tortoise will require a bath at least twice a week in tepid water as well as flush out any wastes such as faecal and uric
Herman's tortoises are one of the most popular species of tortoise to keep as pets and it’s easy to see why. They have a level of individual personality that is rare in reptiles, and they can be very charming and funny.
Early in the morning, the animals leave their nightly shelters, which are usually hollows protected by thick bushes or hedges, to bask in the sun and warm their bodies. They then roam about around their habitat in search of food. They determine which plants to eat by the sense of smell. In captivity, they eat a variety of wildflowers, however care must be taken regarding which are made available, as some flowers such as buttercups are toxic to them. Certain plants such as kale are high in oxcilic acid, which can build up over time causing renal failure, it is therefore important to carefully monitor their diet and give a varied selection of wildflower leaves.
They are friendly, hardy and stay small to medium size.
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KoKo in her garden
Even though it is believed that tortoises can live outdoors and are capable of surviving the various weather conditions, the limited period of warm weather and sunshine in the UK is not really enough for the tortoise to maintain correct husbandry.
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KoKo, LouLou & Charlie
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LouLou & Mila
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Charlie
Princess
The oldest known Hermann’s tortoise in the UK was over 110 years! This is a rare case, but a happy and healthy Hermann’s tortoise should be expected to live for over 50 years so they are certainly a long term commitment.