Shell photographs are a tortoise's identity card
A Hermann's tortoise is identified by its shell, so the paperwork opens with photographs of the carapace from directly above, both sides, the plastron underneath, and the head and legs. Shell pattern, scute shape and old wear marks separate this tortoise from every other Hermann's in a boarding room, and boarders who house several tortoises rely on exactly these views. Add any microchip number and paperwork, ownership or breeder documents you hold, sex, age if known, and current weight.
A diet sheet built on weeds, not lettuce alone
A Hermann's tortoise diet page lists the edible weeds and leafy greens you actually feed — the mix this tortoise recognises — and how often calcium-rich variety rotates through the week. Hermann's tortoises are grazing herbivores that do poorly on fruit-heavy or protein-rich handouts, so name what must not be offered, including the well-meaning fruit treats visitors assume tortoises love. Record how water is provided, whether this tortoise soaks willingly, and its recent appetite and droppings pattern as a normal baseline.
Basking, UVB and the hibernation question
A Hermann's tortoise setup page gives the basking spot reading, the cool-end reading, the UVB lamp hours and type, and the substrate and hide arrangement of its table or pen. Then it answers the question that changes everything seasonally: is this tortoise prepared for hibernation, currently winding down, or firmly in its active season with feeding continuing as normal? A boarder who does not know may keep feeding an animal that should be emptying its gut, or starve one that should be eating, so state the position in bold with the dates of your own plan. Note the weighing routine you follow, since a boarding stay is often when a weight trend quietly matters.
Emergency contacts and permission for tortoise care
A Hermann's tortoise emergency page lists you first, then a backup person able to collect a tortoise and its table equipment, then a veterinary practice with genuine tortoise experience and its emergency route. Written permission for urgent care and transport follows, with the payment arrangement agreed, because tortoise problems that need a vet rarely wait politely for a traveller's reply. Include your return date and unreachable hours. Headline any current watch item — a soft-feeling shell area, a recent beak trim, a tortoise recovering condition after rescue — so the boarder's first observation each morning is an informed one.
Tortoise signs that should prompt a call
A Hermann's tortoise that is bubbly at the nose, wheezing, gaping, refusing food for days outside any hibernation wind-down, passing runny droppings repeatedly, or found flipped onto its back and unable to right itself needs a same-day call to you and the tortoise vet. Swollen closed eyes and a tortoise that stops basking and hides through the day also belong on that call list. A tortoise that digs, naps after lunch and eats steadily is living normally and needs no report. Ask for shell and face photographs with any concern; tortoise breathing and eye problems are far easier to triage from a clear picture than from a worried description.
Handing over a slow animal with fast paperwork
A Hermann's tortoise handover is unhurried, which makes it easy to do properly: walk the boarder around the table or pen, point to the basking lamp and water, and run through the folder page by page. Copies live on your phone and with your backup collector. Bringing shell photos, diet, setup and contacts together in a KinsLe Pet Passport means this tortoise's long, detailed story arrives as one packet the boarder can actually keep track of.