Hi all.

[Jhaa]

Hi all, I am new to all this forum stuff, with me being 29 you would think I would have all the Internet mastered.. Haha.

But anyway, for past couple of years I really wanted to give a tortoise a good home so I recently got a horsefield after doing a good bit of reading about them the past couple of months (obviously there will always be more to learn)

But less of me rambling on.. I just wanted to introduce myself.

Here's a few wee pics I took on Snapchat earlier lol.. This is wee Erick in his tortoise table, any ideas on what I can put in with him to keep him happy would be appreciated. (I've got a few stones from the seaside for him to let him climb over, but I'm just soaking them in hot water and changing it everyday to make sure all the sea salt has been washed off.. I have found out his favourite food is kale, but he does get some other vegetables mixed in with it, like, a few bits of broccoli tops bell peppers and some we bits of chopped carrots (only now and again because we know there's is carbs in carrots lol).. And he has had grapes but doesn't really eat them so I have removed them from his diet plan lol.
I never purchased dry food because I always have leafy veg in the house and out in the garden.

Thanks

J

 

[Lyn W]

Hi and welcome. This is a great place for up to date information and its surprising how much there is to learn about torts!
Are you in the UK? Our pet shops/breeders tend to call Russians 'Horsefields' but maybe they do in other places too.
Have a look at www.thetortoisetable.org.uk which is a great guide to better foods for your torts and will tell you what are safe/toxic or should only be fed in moderation. Some of your foods aren't great for regular feeding and fruits have sugars which torts digestive systems can't deal with.
Have you found the caresheet for Russians/Horsefields in the species specific threads, that will tell you the best diet, temps, substrate etc. The white bits in your substrate could be a problem so check to see which are recommended.
Some plants would help him feel more secure - spider plants are safe, but try to get cuttings which are chemical free. if you buy from a shop you need to wash roots repot in chemical free soil and allow up to a year for any fertilisers/pesticides to grow out. Put them in the enclosure in their pot sunk into substrate so they can be swapped easily if needed.

 

[Jhaa]

Hi,
Yes I am in the UK, northern ireland, I will definitely take a look at the link you provided, thankyou..
I know the grapes aren't to great, but I seen they were in the dish in the pet shop so I decided to treat him with some, but he only ate the kale and rocket leaves and left the grapes lol.. I won't feed him any fruit because if doesn't really like fruit already then its a win for me.

He has went to toilet everyday since I got him.. As it is winter over here, some weeds are hard to come across but I look forward to going out and picking him some when they come up again..

I will definitely look into some plants, I wasn't sure about what to put in with him.. Beside the tortoise table is only 45 inches by 20 inches which I know is plenty for him atm but I have already started to build a table which will be 4ft x 4ft.. I want him to have a big space to make up for not getting out alot due to our unpredictable weather (even in the spring and summer lol).
I know all the temps for the wee man, I actually made sure I knew atleast a little bit about that specific breed before I bought him (I didn't want to jump in the deep end with it all)
As for substrate it is a mediterranean tortoise substrate that the pet shop recommended (I will attach pictures) he doesn't seem to acknowledge the white bits.. I'll do a little research on it because it is as deep as 4cm in his table because he just loves to dig lol.

I would love to see some other members tortoises.. Since I am the only person I know personally that owns a tortoise.. Everybody I've said to has never seen one lol.

 

[KarenSoCal]

If you are starting construction on a new table, the minimum recommended size is 8ft x 4ft. Russians need lots of space to walk to digest their food.

Here is the most up-to-date care sheet for your tort, along with heating/lighting info.

4 elements of heating: By Tom
There are four elements to heating and lighting:

Basking bulb. I use 65 watt floods from the hardware store. I run them on a timer and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. I also like to use a flat rock of some sort directly under the bulb.

Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species. You'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT.

Light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most bulbs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish.

UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. If you want it anyway, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.htm

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

www.tortoiseforum.org

 

[Hutsie B]

Congratulations on your new tortoise. You will find a lot of helpful information on this forum. The care sheet has a lot of good advice on care and set up.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi and welcome!