Your tortoise can't tell you the basking spot has drifted cool, that the UVB tube has aged out, or that growth is running lumpy. baskr watches the pattern across your logs, temperature, humidity, weight, diet and brumation, and shows you what needs attention before it becomes a problem.
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Doing okay
Hermann's Tortoise
UVB tube likely aged out
Installed 13 months ago, output has faded. Replace it to protect shell and bone.
Basking spot
32–35°C · 90–95°F
Cool side
20–24°C · 68–75°F
Humidity
40–60%
Ideal ranges for Testudo hermanni, the same targets baskr scores your logs against.
Basking and warm figures are surface temperatures at the spot; cool and ambient are air. Measure with a probe or infrared thermometer at the animal's height.
Diurnal
Active by day
Mediterranean southern Europe
Wild climate. Warm dry summers, cool wet winters; hibernates.
Why the care is what it is. This is why it grazes on weeds, wants a 32 to 35°C basking spot with UVB, and hibernates each winter when healthy.
Logging is the input. The product is spotting when a single off reading becomes a pattern worth acting on.
32–35°C (90–95°F) over the basking spot
A few degrees cool for a week and appetite, digestion and activity quietly drop.
A cool end of 20–24°C (68–75°F)
No real gradient leaves a tortoise unable to regulate, and skews its basking behaviour.
40–60%, a touch higher in a humid hide
Too dry for long spells is linked to pyramiding and dehydration; persistently damp risks shell and respiratory issues.
Slow, steady, smooth growth, not rapid
A downward trend, or sudden fast lumpy growth, is an early red flag worth catching.
High-fibre weeds and greens, offered daily
A run of refusals that isn't seasonal is worth a closer look at warmth, hydration and UVB.
A gradual, seasonal slow-down as things cool
baskr separates a normal pre-brumation wind-down from an off-season decline you should act on.
Safe to include
Avoid
Aim for a varied, weed-led grazing patch rather than one salad crop. Plant edible cover they can browse, rinse anything sprayed, and skip anything you can't confirm is non-toxic.
Staples
Occasional / treats
Never feed
Supplements. Dust food lightly with calcium (with occasional D3 if UVB is marginal), and offer a cuttlefish bone to graze. Keep the diet high-fibre, low-protein, low-sugar.
Good to know. Hermann's are strict herbivores, never feed animal protein, and treat fruit as rare or not at all. Wild, weed-based grazing with plenty of fibre is what keeps the gut and shell healthy.
The right kind of kit, pick brands you trust.
UVB lighting
A high-output T5 HO UVB tube (~10–12%, Ferguson zone 3–4) over the basking area, at the maker's stated height. Replace every 12 months even if it still lights, UVB fades long before the tube dies.
Basking heat
A white basking (halogen) lamp on a thermostat to hold 32–35°C at the basking spot; natural sunlight outdoors is even better in warm weather.
Thermostat
Non-negotiable, it controls the heat source so the enclosure can't overheat.
Thermometer + hygrometer
Digital, with a probe read at basking height, not stick-on dials. Check both ends of the gradient.
Enclosure & outdoor pen
A large tortoise table or vivarium indoors, plus a secure, predator-proof outdoor pen for grazing and real sun whenever weather allows.
Grounded in your own logs and the ideal ranges above, plain language, never a diagnosis.
Basking spot read 28°C for 5 days, below the 32–35°C your Hermann's needs to digest and stay active. Check the bulb height or thermostat.
Your UVB tube logged its install date 13 months ago, output has likely dropped. Swap it to protect shell and bone health.
Humidity has averaged 28% this week, dry for a Hermann's. Add a humid hide and daily soaks to reduce pyramiding and dehydration risk.
Enter your own readings for an instant care score, the same check baskr runs for you every day.
Enter a reading or two above to see Hermann's Tortoise's care score.
A quick guide, not a diagnosis. Ideal ranges vary with age, morph and setup, and individual animals differ, so confirm anything critical with an experienced keeper or a reptile vet.
Aim for roughly 32–35°C (90–95°F) at the basking spot, with a cooler end around 20–24°C (68–75°F) so it can thermoregulate. baskr checks the temperatures you log against this range and flags a sustained drift, but always verify with a good thermometer at basking height and a current care sheet.
A high-fibre, herbivorous diet of wild weeds and leafy greens, dandelion, plantain, clover, sowthistle, chicory, plus edible flowers as extras. No animal protein, and fruit only rarely if at all. baskr tracks what you log so a fruit-heavy or repetitive diet stands out early.
Healthy adults naturally brumate in cooler months, but only tortoises in good weight and health should, and it needs proper temperature control. baskr helps you separate a normal seasonal wind-down from an off-season decline; before brumating, confirm your animal is fit with an exotics vet. baskr is a husbandry assistant, not a diagnosis.
Pyramiding is usually linked to diet and environment, often too much protein or too little fibre, low humidity, or poor UVB. Keep the diet weed-led and high-fibre, provide a humid hide and good UVB, and have any marked shell changes checked by an exotics vet.
Log your hermann's tortoise's care in seconds and baskr does the watching. Free for your first 3 animals.
Start freeLast reviewed August 2026. General husbandry guidance, not veterinary advice, and ranges vary with age, morph, subspecies and setup. Confirm anything critical with an experienced keeper or an exotics vet.