New Russian Tortoise Owner Help

[JGold]

Hi everyone,
I just got my Russian Tortoise yesterday and i have some questions. (please don't just paste a care sheet)
Questions

1. Is My Enclosure suffice?

I know my glass isn't the best. It is a 40 gallon tank with ZooMed Eco Earth Compressed Coconut Fiber Substrate. The UVB light is a Zilla Strip Light Tropical 25 UVB T8 Fluorcent Bulb. The Heat light is a ZooMed Nightlight Red 100w. The humidity and temp pictures are included let me know if its to high or to low. If there is anything i can change or add to my setup please let me know. Here are pictures. Click for Pictures

2. Tortoise activity

My tortiose seems to just dig and go in his hide is that normal? (i have moved stuff around a lot and i got him 1 day ago so maybe he just has to adjust)

3. He hasn't ate yet is that normal?

4. How much food is enough to give him at a time and how often should i refill/feed him?

5. How long do they typically sleep and when is there most active time of the day?

 

[wellington]

If this is for a. Adult, then a much bigger enclosure is needed. The water dish is dangerous, torts have been known to drown in them, get a clay saucer, the kind that they use under flower pots and big enough for him to fit into it. The food dish has too high of sides, again, a clay saucer is good for this too. They usually do sleep and hide a lot until they get used to their new home. Your temps and humdiity seem okay, but what is the basking temp? They need to warm up under a 95-100 temp basking spot to properly digest their food. At the beginning of the Russian section are some good stickies and caresheets you should read.

 

[Jodie]

Welcome to the forum. You have more right then most. The dial gauges are often not accurate. You can get digital thermometer that records hi n lo and measures humidity at a home store. It will take him a while to adjust. The temps will need to be warm enough for him to hear up to 85F for him to eat.

 

[JGold]

Hey Guys,

Im looking to see if any knows approximately what age and sex my tortoise is?

The people at the store said 6 months and a male. i think he is older than 6 months though... what do you think?

Pictures

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome. Most Russians from pet stores are wild caught and are adults. Unfortunately most pet stores don't have a clue what they are talking about with most of the animals they sell. It's an adult, anywhere from 5-10 years, no way of telling for sure. It most likely a male, but we will need plastron shots (bottom shell) around the tail area to sex it.

 

[domalle]

Hey Guys,

Im looking to see if any knows approximately what age and sex my tortoise is?

The people at the store said 6 months and a male. i think he is older than 6 months though... what do you think?

Pictures

Russian or Horsfield's tortoises come from extreme climate environments and have very short,
limited activity periods in the wild so growth rings don't always reflect years of growth but periods.
But Wellington is right, this is wild caught young adult specimen.

 

[Yvonne G]

No one can tell his age, but he's almost full grown. So a good guess would be - over 10 years.

To tell you the truth, I'm a little offended about your "...do not just paste a care sheet..." comment. Quite a few of us use a small device to access the Forum. It is quite difficult to type on that small screen, and really unnecessary as the info you're requesting is already written out for you in the very well researched and written care sheet. So we have to do double work because you won't read the care sheet. Sorry if that sounds harsh, but if you can read a response in a thread, you should also be able to read a good care sheet, written by two of our members and containing up-to-date info.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

No red light