Is this setup sufficient?

[russiantortoise2013]

Hello all! I am new to this forum as well as keeping a tortoise as a pet (im more of a reef tank guy haha). So heres the deal. About 3 days ago I bought my little brother a 3yr old Russian Tortoise for his birthday. I did my research beforehand and decided they would make a good pet (ill be the one caring for him anyway). Ever since then he has been in a 30 gallon tank with fake grass (turf like) substrate and a small hide. So I decided to make a small tortoise table for him. Its approx 44x19" rectangular shape. The walls are a little over 5". Its also made out of pine wood. I read online that a potting soil and sand mix would be good. Outside at my house we have a mound of potting soil (we garden) and I already had all purpose sand. So I mixed them in a 80/30% soil/sand ratio. Is the outside potting soil ok? As well as the all purpose sand? I havent put Rafael (the tortoise) in yet, the table is sitting in my garage. Any input is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome the soil and sand is fine, as long as there is no fertilizer or pesticides in it. However, you enclosure is way too small. If you could post a pic that would help us tweak it with you. The enclosure needs a hide, water dish (large enough for him to get into) food rock or dish and should have some plants. All that in the size enclosure you mentioned, won't give and roaming room and they like to roam.

 

[sibi]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Is the potting soil organic (without fertilizers)? If not, you need to get either outside soil from the ground that has not been treated with chemicals or fertilizers. That's why I suggested organic soil. I am not a fan of sand, so if you can get something like coco noir or peat moss and mix that together, I think it might be a better mix. Check what others have used as a substrate since I don't have a russian tort, but generally, soil mixed with some other material that can retain some humidity without developing mold would be good. Post pics of your table too.

 

[russiantortoise2013]

As of right now, I cannot post any pics. And the table will have to do for now as I dont have the funds to build a bigger one (and its much better than a 30gallon tank haha). Thank you guys for the feedback, I will be posting more questions soon!

 

[tortoise007]

don't build a table yet. just go to lowes and buy a 10$ cement mixing bin (the big size about 2-4 feet) fill it with dirt, give him a water dish a hide and a basking spot and you will be set for at least a few weeks. Do you know what all the temps should be? Do you know what to feed him? Do you know the signs of sickness?

PLEASE READ THESE!!!

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-66977.html
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-66801.html
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-22635.html
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-35317.html
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-661.html

Tese threads should give you a good idea about caring for tortoises. You might want to read the last one first because it's a great set up that's nat very hard to put together. The first two are mine......

 

[russiantortoise2013]

Heres an update. So today I bought a big bag of EcoEarth loose coconut husk substrate and it looks great. It holds moisture well and humidity levels are near perfect. Also bought 2 150w clamp lights at wal-mart for like 7$ each. Sure beats the 22$ my local pet store tries to sell them for. Is there anything else my russian will need besides a hide, water dish, proper substrate and lighting, and basking area for now?