Got my Russian Tortoise today...

chelslpn

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I named him Goku :) When I bought him, the lady said he is probably a little under a year old.

I bought a bookshelf, took out the shelves, and flipped it on it's back for him to live in... i'm using coconut substrate, got a hut for him to go in, a water dish, & a heat lamp ...I plan to get some plants and things later this week. He was in his food dish.. literally sitting on the food eating when I picked him out.. friendly, stuck his head out to look at me.

When I put him in his new home, he went underneath his hut, and he's been there about an hour... is that okay? Will he come out to explore.. should I just leave him alone for a few days? I want him to be comfortable without me scaring him ha. Any advice for the first few days or weeks?
 

Cowboy_Ken

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I give tortoises, new to the ranch, a day or two to settle in, then I interact with them for the contact. Start with food offerings from your hand.
 

kimber_lee_314

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Congratulations! We love pics! Give him a few days to get used to his new surroundings. :)
 

Anthony32

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Russians are awesome my RT Tedo does the same thing he sits on top of his food and eats his way to the ground. The bidding thing is normal they say it can take a few week to months to get comfortable mine took about a week and now he has his own rutine .......welcome to the forum
 

Camryn

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It could be worried about being in a potential opponents territory.
I've never heard anyone say that. I like what you said there.. Its true, and out of all the things I thought a tortoise could be scared of when you first bring them home, that never popped up into my mind. :D
 

chelslpn

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I took this picture right after I put him in.. before he ran under the hut lol he dug a hole and slept under there all night.. when I woke up he was sticking his head out but when I offered him a carrot he covered his face so I just put some vegetables on his plate. When I got home from work today he was in the very back with all his arms and legs tucked in fast asleep again... but the food looked untouched.

Should I be concerned or is this just normal behavior for him while figuring out where he's at? He's right by a window by the way so he gets sunlight all day, until I can get a lamp thing for my uvb bulb. I live in south Florida where its 97 degrees every day with a "real feel" of 117... so I'm sure he's getting enough humidity.
 

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jaizei

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I took this picture right after I put him in.. before he ran under the hut lol he dug a hole and slept under there all night.. when I woke up he was sticking his head out but when I offered him a carrot he covered his face so I just put some vegetables on his plate. When I got home from work today he was in the very back with all his arms and legs tucked in fast asleep again... but the food looked untouched.

Should I be concerned or is this just normal behavior for him while figuring out where he's at? He's right by a window by the way so he gets sunlight all day, until I can get a lamp thing for my uvb bulb. I live in south Florida where its 97 degrees every day with a "real feel" of 117... so I'm sure he's getting enough humidity.


Do you have the window open or closed?
 

chelslpn

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I had it open pretty much all day until now, but he's been under his hut since yesterday... so it's not like he's even tried to sit in the light, sun, or under his heat lamp. He's curled up all the way in the back of his hut with one foot out lol

I got him from a pet store where he was eating and somewhat active even with all the people walking by, and he was in a tiny tank with another tortoise and I don't think he really had any humidity at all. But now that he's here with all this room to himself, he's shy.. I thought he would be more active instead of less?
 

chelslpn

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It's always pretty warm in my room, even at night, because I get terrible ventilation in here. And if he was cold, wouldn't he attempt to sit under the heat light?
 

Tyanna

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I would relocate the heat lamp so that is on the other side of where his hut is...so that way one side is cooler and the other side is warmer...they like cooler temps when they sleep.
 

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