Mischievous little tort

hello, been lurking here for the past week since getting our new family member.

Not sure he was settling in too well but seems to have come alive today. Being very mischievous.

Hello Ben. Nice little tort.
Make sure you check out the care sheet for your specific tortoise. I don't know what it is , but I see a few small issues..Like the rabbit pellet substrate.
Can you photograph what type of lighting you are using, also?
We'll get you all set up correctly.

Hello! I would also get rid of the rabbit pellets, and I can't tell but if you're using a red light (the 2nd picture looks a bit red) I would get rid of that too.

I really like the pot on its side. Going to try that. Definately see some minor changes are needed though. That substrate is not good for their leg development and it doesn't hold humidity. The water bowl is a flip hazard. Swap it out for a terra cotta saucer.
Welcome to the forum. He is a cute little guy. Russian?

ZEROPILOT said:

Hello Ben. Nice little tort.
Make sure you check out the care sheet for your specific tortoise. I don't know what it is , but I see a few small issues..Like the rabbit pellet substrate.
Can you photograph what type of lighting you are using, also?
We'll get you all set up correctly.

Click to expand...

Thanks, our first reptile, any advice is greatly recived.

The setup was bought as a tortoise starter bundle from our local pet shop, so I hope it's acceptable.

Jodie said:

I really like the pot on its side. Going to try that. Definately see some minor changes are needed though. That substrate is not good for their leg development and it doesn't hold humidity. The water bowl is a flip hazard. Swap it out for a terra cotta saucer.
Welcome to the forum. He is a cute little guy. Russian?

Click to expand...

Lol, it wasn't supposed to be on its side, but does give him some soil to dig in now.

Yea, I was told he's a Russian Horsefell at around a year old.

Haha he's cute! Mine likes to lodge himself in weird places too!

hey welcome where you From the gear looks like what pets at home sell are u UK resident

Welcome to the forum. He sure is a cute little tortoise . When I got my first tortoise (Russian hatchling) the reptile store sold me the same kind of substrate. I soon found out it was bad to use and I switched over to coconut coir by ZooMed (Eco Earth) and mixed some cypress mulch in with the coir. This substrate mixture can be kept moist to give your little tort the humidity he needs for smooth shell development. Read the care sheets for Russians here on the Forum as they are full of helpful information to raise a healthy tortoise.

Hello, Ben and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum to you and your Russian.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...or-other-herbivorous-tortoise-species.107734/
Should provide you with some useful information.
Sadly, pet shops are in the business of selling products and not always about knowing what is good for the tortoise.