Setting Up a Good Tank For My Russian?

[FriesTheRussianTortoise]

Hello Tortoiseforum! I wish I could be joining under better circumstances, but here we are haha.

Context: I've had my Russian Tortoise for some amount of years now (don't remember how long, but a rough estimate would be 4-5 years?) and I've only just now learned that basically everything I've done so far is wrong. Since this is a situation where I need to fix living conditions for an existing animal I'm trying to address the issues as quickly as I can. I've been able to figure out most things that I need to change from the guides in the sticky threads, but the big thing that I am still confused about is how to go about the new enclosure.

Right now his enclosure is a plastic storage bin that's about 1 ft wide, 2 1/2-3 ft long, and 1ft tall. The lid is the lid for the bin with the middle cut out and replaced with a somewhat thick wire mesh. For substrate I use the ZooMed reptile bark. Heating and UV are both on during the day, I turn it on when I wake up and turn it off

My main questions are:

• Should it be open or closed? If it should be open, would a mesh/otherwise equally porous lid still work? (I have pet cats around the house and I obviously don't want to give them access to him)
• If it is a closed tank, what should the bulb setup be for that?
• What substrate(s) I should use? Is dirt okay or not (the care guide threads have opposing opinions on dirt)? How deep should it be?
• How do I go about keeping the tank + substrate humid? How should I go about preventing mold?
• Is the tank itself something I should be looking into building from scratch, or are there kits for tortoise tables that actually fit the 4ft by 8ft size minimum? (Whether or not I have to build one from the ground up is definitely a big concern as none of the people in my family are super handy plus we don't have many power tools anyway)

If I can think of any more questions to ask I'll edit this post to add them. Basically though what I want to know is how the tank should actually be set up. Bonus points if you have pictures! I want to know what I should be aiming for and a visual reference is much easier for me to process than looking through a wall of text. I'll also gladly answer any questions on my situation or the current enclosure if it helps you all get a better understanding of what specifics I need to provide. Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[SinLA]

Closed tanks are necessary for babies and species that need high humidity. Adult Russian's do not, so don't make that your highest priority. I don't want to say "forget" about humidity, but you have a lot lot lot of other things to focus on first.

Your highest priority *needs to be* horizontal space. You are at 1 x 3 and it should be 4 x 8 feet so get that however you can. There are no "kits" but many people do DIY with bookcases you can get from goodwill or Buy Nothing, and lay them horizontal and take out the shelves (or better yet put "holes/doors" in the shelves so they make sight barriers).

You need to make sure you have the right temps, lighting, and food as well. Can you describe what you have for that?

Seriously, humidity is like the least of your concerns with a Russian.

 

[wellington]

Agree with SinLA, size of enclosure needs improving yesterday and last year. You need to work on that ASAP. 4x8 is a minimum, go larger if possible and do an indoor and outdoor enclosure if possible.
An adult needs 30-50% humidity but this can be done without a closed chamber for older torts, only babies need a closed chamber.

 

[FriesTheRussianTortoise]

Closed tanks are necessary for babies and species that need high humidity. Adult Russian's do not, so don't make that your highest priority. I don't want to say "forget" about humidity, but you have a lot lot lot of other things to focus on first.

Your highest priority *needs to be* horizontal space. You are at 1 x 3 and it should be 4 x 8 feet so get that however you can. There are no "kits" but many people do DIY with bookcases you can get from goodwill or Buy Nothing, and lay them horizontal and take out the shelves (or better yet put "holes/doors" in the shelves so they make sight barriers).

You need to make sure you have the right temps, lighting, and food as well. Can you describe what you have for that?

Seriously, humidity is like the least of your concerns with a Russian.

• Not sure on the exact temperature. Getting the thermometer + UV + humidity monitors are on the list. If it helps, I use the ZooMed desert heat + UV bulbs
• For food at the moment I'm doing grocery store lettuces/leafy greens and peas with the ZooMed grassland tortoise food pellets and the Repashy Superfood brand vitamin supplement sprinkled on top. I am aware that this isn't ideal but I don't know what I should be doing until I can figure out a way to grow my own food for him.
• In regards to food there's also the issue of him being extremely picky. I've tried to give him stuff like mustard greens and dandelions in the past but he is just Not Interested in it at all and I don't know how to fix that. If you have advice for remedying that as well it would greatly appreciated.

 

[SinLA]

I'll let others talk about bulbs, as they are not my forte...

No peas, they are bad. If you are doing with grocery store greens, try radicchio, endive, and escarole. Mine won't touch pellets, but I also haven't tried very hard to add them to his food.

 

[wellington]

The uvb should come from a tube florescent.
Basking from a incandescent flood bulb
Any added day heat needed and night heat should be from a ceramic heat emitter.
As for food, feed the better stuff SinLA mentioned and a long with cactus pads, arugula, dandelion. You need to trick him into eating the better stuff. Chop up the better foods fine along with what he likes the best, mix together and spritz with water. As he starts to eat this, then you slowly add more of the better and less of the bad.

 

[Tom]

• Not sure on the exact temperature. Getting the thermometer + UV + humidity monitors are on the list. If it helps, I use the ZooMed desert heat + UV bulbs
• For food at the moment I'm doing grocery store lettuces/leafy greens and peas with the ZooMed grassland tortoise food pellets and the Repashy Superfood brand vitamin supplement sprinkled on top. I am aware that this isn't ideal but I don't know what I should be doing until I can figure out a way to grow my own food for him.
• In regards to food there's also the issue of him being extremely picky. I've tried to give him stuff like mustard greens and dandelions in the past but he is just Not Interested in it at all and I don't know how to fix that. If you have advice for remedying that as well it would greatly appreciated.

Good advice from SinLA and Wellington so far. Here is all the correct care info all in one place for you. Questions are welcome. Look for the temperate species care sheet at the bottom. Food, enclosure size, heating and lighting, substrate and much more is explained here. Take a few minutes to read through both threads at least a couple of times to take it all in, and then go to work on one thing at a time. Your substrate choice has been excellent, so I agree that enclosure size is #1 priority, followed by getting rid of the cfl UV bulb.

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[FriesTheRussianTortoise]

One possibility that I've found for the new tank could be a garden bed. The main issue is that a lot of them tend to end up being made of something toxic to animals. Are there any lists of what woods + metals are and aren't toxic to animals that I could use for reference?

 

[FriesTheRussianTortoise]

Update on my tank search! I've found a possible tank which both fits the dimensions needed as well as actually being meant to be a reptile enclosure. I wanted to get it checked by you guys before I actually committed to it though because it's rather expensive. Here's a link to the tank.

 

[SinLA]

Update on my tank search! I've found a possible tank which both fits the dimensions needed as well as actually being meant to be a reptile enclosure. I wanted to get it checked by you guys before I actually committed to it though because it's rather expensive. Here's a link to the tank.

I think Garden State Tortoise uses their enclosures. I am not sure if we have members here who use them, also check out @Markw84 as his may be cheaper

 

[Tom]

Update on my tank search! I've found a possible tank which both fits the dimensions needed as well as actually being meant to be a reptile enclosure. I wanted to get it checked by you guys before I actually committed to it though because it's rather expensive. Here's a link to the tank.

That looks great for an adult Russian.

 

[Markw84]

Update on my tank search! I've found a possible tank which both fits the dimensions needed as well as actually being meant to be a reptile enclosure. I wanted to get it checked by you guys before I actually committed to it though because it's rather expensive. Here's a link to the tank.

email me and I can send complete info and pricing on my Smart Enclosures.

[email protected]