Introducing our first 🐢 Oogway

[shelli82]

Super excited to welcome our first tortoise to our family. Introducing...Oogway 🐢



My name is Michelle and we live in the county of Hampshire, in England. We now have 🐈‍⬛️🐕🐕🐎🐟🐢... think we're on the way to creating a mini zoo 🤣

Never thought we'd have a tortoise, never looked after one and before now I've even seen one up close, but I am besotted! We currently dont have all the info about this little chap (last owner who gave him to us has moved away) he had him for about 5 years, and he's a male and thats all we really know. I think he might be a Russian!?!? But if anyone can correct that please let me know...

He has been kept in a vivarium for all his life so far, but this is all changing 😁 It makes me sad to see him in such a small enclosure (approx. 40cm x 70 cm), but I have plans to create him not 1, but 2 grand new 🐢 🏰 🏰 he'll have an bigger indoor table for everyday accommodation and a outdoor one for sunny days. I dont think he had ever been outside before, never had the sun on him, never stretched his little legs and felt the natural ground beneath him. I know this isn't always an option for some owners, and I don't judge, there are some lovely indoor tortoise homes 😍 but I really want my tortoise to experience the outdoors. I plan to make both his enclosures safe, roomy and interesting spaces for him to roam in, and I've been scrolling through posts on this site to get my inspirations 😍

We were told the only food Oogway has been fed is Romaine lettuce! I am currently doing as much research as I can. My understanding is that this isn’t the best food for them to be eating all the time?

Oogways first outdoor experience 🌞🌻🌷🌼 We had a 30 minute bask in the sun, he kept close to me but was very inquisitive and he ate Dandelions and Clover! Think I'll be able to add them to his salad plate list...


I put together a temporary enclosure for our second outdoor trip as I was so paranoid he would run off, or the birds would get him. This way I could sit close to him and he could have a bit of a roam... he loved it....


I've also had to temporarily tackle the indoor enclosure!! I read somewhere that tortoise don't like sudden changes to their living areas, so to be safe I am changing his enclosure gradually. His bedding was simply wood pellets! Not seen anyone use this substrate in my research. I have introduced coco coir, mixing it with the wood pellets, because firstly I didn't want to suddenly change the substrate he was accustomed to, and my theory is that it might absorb some moisture from the coir, as humidity was really high with only coir laid in the glass fronted tank. I won't use the pellets in new enclosure. I have brought a humidity monitor and with a bit of a jiggle with sensor postion and heat controls I now have it down to about 70% but I think this humidity level is still too high still? It is really hard to have warm and cool spots in such a small area and also get the humidity right! I have opened the vents to let some of the damp air escape, but not sure if there is anything else I can change?

I have created a tunnelled area which he loves to snooze in and he loves the mound of coir I have put one end, as he can now get closer to the heat from the light.



The light and heater are what came with him. The temperature from the "basking" light is only hitting about 80df on top of mound, I have ordered a temp gun to check, but before I created the mound Oogway was getting less than 80df! So hes currently getting more than he had begore. My understanding is that the basking area should be 90 to 100 df? I do have a overhead one coming with the new enclosure, which arrives in a couple of weeks, so im just trying to keep him more comfortable until its here.

Completely open to care advice, corrections, tips and suggestions, and thanks for letting me be apart of the group. I'm looking forward to reading through others experiences and sharing our own adventure with Oogway 🐢

Michelle & Oogway

Notes
Im a new 🐢 owner.
I'm unsure of species.
I may need help with light, heat, humidity and basking setup.
Vivarium, lights etc came with 🐢 its not staying like this.
New open top enclosure is ordered 😉
Advice welcomed

 

[Ink]

Welcome to the forum. Post a picture of the plastron (underneath) of your tortoise. This will help identify your tortoise.

 

[shelli82]

 

[shelli82]

Welcome to the forum. Post a picture of the plastron (underneath) of your tortoise. This will help identify your tortoise.

Thank you, posted below as didn't realise I could post the photo as reply.

 

[wellington]

Sadly, you need to give him a much bigger enclosure both inside and out.
4x8 is a minimum. Yes, he's not a large tortoise but in the wild they cover a lot of ground
That's a bad coil bulb to be using. Although you have it hanging the right way, it can still possibly cause eye damage. Use a tube florescent for uvb
The che is handing the wrong way, should be pointed down. The disc temp gauge is not reliable and needs to be at tortoise height. Don't see a basking bulb, a incandescent flood bulb should be used for basking
Temps, all over range from 75-80 with 95-100 basking and night temps can drop into the 60's. Humidity should be 30-50%
A clay saucer big enough for him to fit into should be used for water
Make changes ASAP, specially the enclosure size and bulbs.

 

[shelli82]

Sadly, you need to give him a much bigger enclosure both inside and out.
4x8 is a minimum. Yes, he's not a large tortoise but in the wild they cover a lot of ground
That's a bad coil bulb to be using. Although you have it hanging the right way, it can still possibly cause eye damage. Use a tube florescent for uvb
The che is handing the wrong way, should be pointed down. The disc temp gauge is not reliable and needs to be at tortoise height. Don't see a basking bulb, a incandescent flood bulb should be used for basking
Temps, all over range from 75-80 with 95-100 basking and night temps can drop into the 60's. Humidity should be 30-50%
A clay saucer big enough for him to fit into should be used for water
Make changes ASAP, specially the enclosure size and bulbs.

Thank you, completely agree with your change suggestions, I'm just waiting for the new enclosures and lights to arrive. "Disc temp gauge" don't think it even works, so not been using it, I have probes, and my temp gun just arrived, plus I have temp/hygrometer reader for indoor and outdoor enclosure monitoring. My temperature seems to regulate well, but it's the humidity I'm struggling with. My current room humidity is reading 69%!

Is there a way to make it dryer for time being? dont want to cause him any harm whilst im waiting for new enclosures to arrive.

Thank you for your guidance

 

[wellington]

He doesn't need it dryer. They need the humidity. I'm afraid if you ordered an enclosure that wasn't special made, or a type of raised garden bed or pop up greenhouse,it likely will be to small. Any premade enclosures made for tortoises are good for hatchlings only, not juniors or adults.

 

[shelli82]

He doesn't need it dryer. They need the humidity. I'm afraid if you ordered an enclosure that wasn't special made, or a type of raised garden bed or pop up greenhouse,it likely will be to small. Any premade enclosures made for tortoises are good for hatchlings only, not juniors or adults.

Thank you for you reply. So you think 70% humidity is OK for this species of tortoise? I've been worrying about it being to damp.

The indoor enclosure is being made to measure and the outdoor one will end up being about 15 feet long once finished.

 

[wellington]

Is he in the closed aquarium or what looks like an open top table in the last pic you posted?
What kind of substrate? The pellets should not be used, neither should cedar. Orchid bark or fir bark should be used
The 70,% won't hurt, just let it dry out a bit closer to 50% .

 

[shelli82]

Is he in the closed aquarium or what looks like an open top table in the last pic you posted?
What kind of substrate? The pellets should not be used, neither should cedar. Orchid bark or fir bark should be used
The 70,% won't hurt, just let it dry out a bit closer to 50% .

So, we got given him 3 days ago and all he had when we got him was the glass fronted "closed in" tank, the heater and the coil bulb. There was no basking lamp and the previous owner always used the wood pellets and thats what was in the tank when we got him, it was very dry inside. I have added coco coir substrate. But I have also ordered some Orchid bark, so I will replace the current bedding with that once it arrives.

Thanks again, this is a great help 😀