New owner, is my enclosure and care good?

[Beckers]

Hi. My son just bought a Russian tortoise and I am not sure we are caring for it properly. His tank is a 2x4 plastic tub and my son built a second level for him. Substrate is a mix of playsand and coconut coir with repti bark on top level. He has a little water dish and we soak him every other week or so. He has a basking spot around 90 degrees, a warm area with hide and a cool area (70 degrees) under second level. He has a uvb light too. We feed him spring mix salad, cactus pad, and other greens and dust them once a month in a crushed tums. Is this good care? Is the second level too low for him? Will he escape?

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome. The enclosure is too short sided to keep in any proper heat and the tort. Russians are great escape artist. Get yourself one of the large Christmas tree storage boxes that are on sale for cheap this time of year. Or better yet even, a couple large tote storage boxes. A Russian needs lots of room a 2x4 is too small 4x8 or larger is best. Very Minimum is a 4x6. Don't us sand next time you change out the substrate. It's not needed and can cause impaction. Raise basking temp to 95-100. Be sure to read temps and humidity at tort level. Adult Russian should have 30-50% humidity at the minimum. Diet is pretty good. Get a larger water dish he can get himself all the way in, but short sided. Check out the great Russian caresheets under the Russian section

 

[Beckers]

Thanks. We will look at a bigger enclosure with taller sides.

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

Your Russian can easily get out of that. It's not safe to leave him in there - remove the top level for now unless you can put tall sides on it ASAP.

 

[Beckers]

Thanks. We took the top level off right after the tortoise climbed up there since we weren't sure if he could get out. We will look at getting a bigger tub and taller sides for the upper level.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

 

[Beckers]

Thanks

 

[domagoj]

What type of lighting are you using? Seems to me like you have a cfl bulb for UVB. Those can hurt eyes in tortoises. If that's the case you should get a tube tipe light or a MVB which provides light, warmth and UVB.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!!

Russian tortoises are great little escape artists. I'm surprised he didn't answer your question before you had the time to post it here!!

In my opinion, tortoises belong outside. If that's not possible, then the next best thing is a LARGE indoor enclosure. You can buy TWO large tubs pretty cheap, cut out opposing ends and place them together. Be sure to buy the tubs with tall sides and a lot of floor space.

I commend you and your son for the nice job you did on your first try at setting up a tortoise habitat. I can tell you both put a lot of thought into it.

Here's what a Christmas Tree storage bin looks like:



That tortoise is way too big to be in such a container, but he was a rescue and this was just temporary. In the first picture you can see that I used the same light stand that you have, but I took off the light hook arm and replaced it with a longer metal tube so I could hang two fixtures on it. To give you a size perspective, your little Russian tortoise is about half the size of that leopard tortoise.

Good luck in setting up a new habitat. That's always been my favorite part of tortoise keeping. I try to make them look as natural as possible (not this one, of course, as it was only temporary).

 

[Tom]

Thanks. We will look at a bigger enclosure with taller sides.

Give these a read through:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

 

[Beckers]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!!

Russian tortoises are great little escape artists. I'm surprised he didn't answer your question before you had the time to post it here!!

In my opinion, tortoises belong outside. If that's not possible, then the next best thing is a LARGE indoor enclosure. You can buy TWO large tubs pretty cheap, cut out opposing ends and place them together. Be sure to buy the tubs with tall sides and a lot of floor space.

I commend you and your son for the nice job you did on your first try at setting up a tortoise habitat. I can tell you both put a lot of thought into it.

Here's what a Christmas Tree storage bin looks like:

View attachment 195912 View attachment 195913

That tortoise is way too big to be in such a container, but he was a rescue and this was just temporary. In the first picture you can see that I used the same light stand that you have, but I took off the light hook arm and replaced it with a longer metal tube so I could hang two fixtures on it. To give you a size perspective, your little Russian tortoise is about half the size of that leopard tortoise.

Good luck in setting up a new habitat. That's always been my favorite part of tortoise keeping. I try to make them look as natural as possible (not this one, of course, as it was only temporary).

T

What type of lighting are you using? Seems to me like you have a cfl bulb for UVB. Those can hurt eyes in tortoises. If that's the case you should get a tube tipe light or a MVB which provides light, warmth and UVB.

I don't know but I will pass this info along to my son. He bought everything. Thanks for the help.

 

[Beckers]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!!

Russian tortoises are great little escape artists. I'm surprised he didn't answer your question before you had the time to post it here!!

In my opinion, tortoises belong outside. If that's not possible, then the next best thing is a LARGE indoor enclosure. You can buy TWO large tubs pretty cheap, cut out opposing ends and place them together. Be sure to buy the tubs with tall sides and a lot of floor space.

I commend you and your son for the nice job you did on your first try at setting up a tortoise habitat. I can tell you both put a lot of thought into it.

Here's what a Christmas Tree storage bin looks like:

View attachment 195912 View attachment 195913

That tortoise is way too big to be in such a container, but he was a rescue and this was just temporary. In the first picture you can see that I used the same light stand that you have, but I took off the light hook arm and replaced it with a longer metal tube so I could hang two fixtures on it. To give you a size perspective, your little Russian tortoise is about half the size of that leopard tortoise.

Good luck in setting up a new habitat. That's always been my favorite part of tortoise keeping. I try to make them look as natural as possible (not this one, of course, as it was only temporary).

Thank you so much for your pic and advice. I will look at getting tubs like that. His tortoise isnt moving around very much. The vet thinks he might be trying to hibernate. The store we bought him out didnt have the best set up for him.

 

[Yvonne G]

You may have to do a mini hibernation just to trick him into thinking he's slept and can now wake up. What you do is place him in a box of shredded newspaper and put the box in a cool, dark, quiet place. After two weeks get him out and place him into a bowl of warm water for about 15 minutes. During this two week period you can take advantage of his down time to get his habitat all set up properly. So after his soak, place him into his new home. He may still be a bit stressed and scared of the new environment, but every morning get him out of his hiding place and set him in front of his food. It won't take long for him to start eating.

 

[Carol S]

Russian tortoises are great climbers and escape artists. I agree that the fake Christmas tree storage bins are great. Walmart has them right now; they only sell them right after Christmas.

 

[Beckers]

You may have to do a mini hibernation just to trick him into thinking he's slept and can now wake up. What you do is place him in a box of shredded newspaper and put the box in a cool, dark, quiet place. After two weeks get him out and place him into a bowl of warm water for about 15 minutes. During this two week period you can take advantage of his down time to get his habitat all set up properly. So after his soak, place him into his new home. He may still be a bit stressed and scared of the new environment, but every morning get him out of his hiding place and set him in front of his food. It won't take long for him to start eating.

That is helpful. We might try that. Thanks

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hello, and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum.

 

[Beckers]

Thank you.