# 17 year old hermann tortoise



## mryxn

Hi all! So my partner and his mum has had a tortoise since he was a baby and he is currently 17 years old! We moved out a little while ago and she just asked us today if we wanted to take on Patrick (his name) as she thinks we could give him a better life as we have a lot of area and he’s going to have a 8ft L shaped tank so will have lots of room. I have two musk turtles so I’m used to having shelled buddies but I just have a couple questions 


can I do a bioactive tank for him? (my pet frog has a bioactive tank)

what substrate for him? And if I can have a bio active tank, what sort of substrate if it’s not the same as non bioactive.

Whats the best diet for him in everyone’s personal experiences?

I currently have an Arcadia Pro t5 forest 6% UVB for my white tree frog and I’m wondering if an Arcadia Pro t5 desert 12% would be good for him or one that’s less % like the frog one?

Any tips and things I need to know? We won’t have him until we are fully ready but I’m doing my research and I just want everyone’s advice


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## purplepixie

Firstly we need to know the species:0)
If you can post a picture someone will be able to ID for you. As some tortoises are tropical and have different needs to med tortoises:0)


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## SueBoyle

A Hermanni tortoise of this age should be outdoors in summer and hibernating in winter. They should never be kept in tanks, even as tiny babies. You need all natural terrain, so soil, logs, rocks etc and natural food.......see here www.tortoises.net This is how I have kept them for the last 40 years www.tortsmad.com Do you have pics of the tortoise?


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## mryxn

purplepixie said:


> Firstly we need to know the species:0)
> If you can post a picture someone will be able to ID for you. As some tortoises are tropical and have different needs to med tortoises:0)


Yeah it’s a hermann tortoise it says in the title and so he is a Mediterranean tortoise


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## mryxn

SueBoyle said:


> A Hermanni tortoise of this age should be outdoors in summer and hibernating in winter. They should never be kept in tanks, even as tiny babies. You need all natural terrain, so soil, logs, rocks etc and natural food.......see here www.tortoises.net This is how I have kept them for the last 40 years www.tortsmad.com Do you have pics of the tortoise?


He’s quite smal. About 7”. I think his growth has been stunted sadly which is why we are adopting him to give him a better life. We can’t have him outside but he can have an amazing life inside


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## SueBoyle

I’m afraid that there’s no such thing as an amazing indoor life for a tortoise. Sorry if that’s not what you wanted to hear. 7inches straight carapace length is normal for a 17 year old male hermanni, but that’s not to say that his growth has been optimum. There are lots of things that could have gone wrong with indoor keeping. A photo would help to show how well he has fared. Always here to help.


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## purplepixie

mryxn said:


> Yeah it’s a hermann tortoise it says in the title and so he is a Mediterranean tortoise


Have you actually had the tortoise ID?
As many a time the ID is incorrect. Unless you have the paperwork for the tortoise:0)
If this is a hermans they they really should be outside most of the year, and its what is best for the tortoise. They are a roaming animal and thrive doing so. If kept inside permanently their health in the long run will suffer. Sorry but its true:0)


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