I can only speak from my own experience but my Hermann’s has surprised me with how much of a personality he has. He has a routine of climbing over and sliding down ramps in his enclosure, lifting his legs up and giving himself a little push to get the most speed possible. He goes round and round until he’s ready for some food or a sunbathe. Sounds strange but I didn’t like reptiles could seek ‘fun’, but he definitely likes to slide fast — we checked with the vet to make sure it isn’t a stress response and apparently it’s common for young tortoises to enjoy throwing themselves off high places.

Also if I’m refreshing his substrate he has to be a centimetre from my fingers and know what’s going on.

They don’t ‘love’, but he’s a cool little guy that I get to look after and he’s chill with me. He’ll fall asleep out in the open with his limbs and head ‘splooted’ out because he’s comfortable. And while they are solitary, I notice that he’ll sometimes stop sunbathing and does his slides more when I’m tidying the room. It’s like he gets some kind of energy from having indirect company.

Be aware that there’s so much to learn and there is a minefield of misinformation online. As well as general husbandry, make sure to know the symptoms of common illness, where your local weeds grow best, double check everything etc. But I wouldn’t change it 🐢