New Russian Tortoise Owner

[Egerard98]

Okay so I got a Russian Tortoise as an Early Christmas gift and I have a couple questions. I have had him for two weeks and I'm unsure of a few things, My set up is shown below, the substrate is cypress mulch. My tortoise, Roger never goes in the water dish:/ I bathe him twice a week and he hate baths, I have never seen him in or near the water dish either, I was wondering if this was normal. As you can see in the first picture he is almost completely burrowed and I was wondering if that was okay, i wouldnt want the mulch to bother his eyes. I have his diet under control and follow the diet on russiantortoise.net. The left is the heat light, the middle is what I turn on at night the night bulb, and the left is the uva lamp. Yes I know this set-up is not adequate but its what I got as a gift. in Petco there was two in the size of this enclosure which I thought couldnt be right but my parents said that one of the people helping them said this was adequate. All of the research I did says this isn't. I'd Like to build some sort of tortoise table but being 16 I can't just drive and pick up wood and tools. By the way I live in New York so living outside really isnt an option for quite some time so for the time being he is residing in here! How can I get him some exercise and be safe about it? I feel like he doesnt being removed from his enclosure and spends his time under the half log and comes out when i come in the room expecting food, How can I get him to like me more? Any help would be greatly appreciated! I just made this account because this site was the most helpful, being able to hear from a bunch of different people! Thanks!

 

[Egerard98]

My name is Eric by the way!

 

[pam]

Welcome Eric

 

[Yvonne G]

Oh, Eric, Eric, Eric...You've obviously been listening to the clerk in the pet store. Let me turn you around 180 degrees:

Your habitat is way too small. Go buy a couple very large plastic bins, cut out opposing ends and put them together, or go to a feed store and buy a horse trough.

Those wood pieces are very hard for a tortoise to walk on and the alfalfa pellets will grow mold when wet. You want something you can moisten - yes, you want a MOIST substrate!

Fruity pebbles (our denigrating name for those colored food bits) are not what tortoises eat. Russian tortoises should be fed dark, leafy greens, weeds and plants. Or you can buy Spring Mix or Santa Barbara Mix (packaged salads) and mix in some weeds and plants.

The small opening on the screen top are filtering out your beneficial UVB rays...you DO have a UVB light, don't you?

Ok, now that I'v completely shot you down, Welcome to the Forum!!! We have a pretty good care sheet for you to read pinned at the top of the Russian tortoise section, but I'll link you to it:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

 

[zoe98love]

Welcome to the forum I'm going to have to agree with Yvonne on this one. She gives some great advice on how to make sure your tort is living a happy and healthy life!
As far as I know, burrowing is normal...I have my own Russian that likes to bury himself in his substrate when he goes to bed at night.

 

[Egerard98]

Let me just say again that I was NOT the one listening to the store clerk! he was a gift along with everything, my apologies for forgetting his diet in the message above, I cleaned out the food remains because hes about to go to sleep, I switch his diet up with Radicchio, Escarole, Romaine Lettuce, and Spring mix and I have a calcium supplement that I put on the food on occasions! I want to get him a bigger enclosure but my parents don't want to deep with the smell anywhere other than my room, now I know there is barely a smell because while i'm not at school I always check and spot clean. I'm only 16 and my parents were iffy about getting it but I did my research and I was ready to take on the responsibility, let me repeat that it was not my idea to get this size tank, i told my parents i almost had enough to buy everything, i had $500 saved up (I'm only a bus boy! haha) , BUT they suprised me so i just wanted to clear that up haha believe me I was expecting to hear it was way too small and I am 100% sure that i'm going to change it. I actually have a piano in this room that takes up space so I plan on moving it elsewhere so I can get a larger tank, I feel bad for the poor fella, and changes will be made! I appreciate the comments! sorry to upset you! I'll post the updated version of Roger's home when I can take care of it!

 

[Egerard98]

Let me just say again that I was NOT the one listening to the store clerk! he was a gift along with everything, my apologies for forgetting his diet in the message above, I cleaned out the food remains because hes about to go to sleep, I switch his diet up with Radicchio, Escarole, Romaine Lettuce, and Spring mix and I have a calcium supplement that I put on the food on occasions! I want to get him a bigger enclosure but my parents don't want to deep with the smell anywhere other than my room, now I know there is barely a smell because while i'm not at school I always check and spot clean. I'm only 16 and my parents were iffy about getting it but I did my research and I was ready to take on the responsibility, let me repeat that it was not my idea to get this size tank, i told my parents i almost had enough to buy everything, i had $500 saved up (I'm only a bus boy! haha) , BUT they suprised me so i just wanted to clear that up haha believe me I was expecting to hear it was way too small and I am 100% sure that i'm going to change it. I actually have a piano in this room that takes up space so I plan on moving it elsewhere so I can get a larger tank, I feel bad for the poor fella, and changes will be made! I appreciate the comments! sorry to upset you! I'll post the updated version of Roger's home when I can take care of it!

sorry I didnt hit "reply" i just commented on my own post, I'm still getting used to the forum and still checking it out

 

[Yvonne G]

Upset? No one is upset here. It's hard to read emotions into words on a screen. We're all fine here. You're doing the best you can with what you've got. We get it. So now you can use some of your hard-earned busboy $550 and buy the right supplies. It might be hard to administer to, but how about putting something on top of the piano? Two bins together would fit nicely up there.

We here at the Forum are very glad you found us. And your tortoise will appreciate it too, once you get it all straightened out. We have several youngsters that post all the time. I'd like you to meet @russian/sulcata/tortoise . He's a spoiled brat...er...uh...I mean, a very nice young fellow who lives a whole continent away from you on the West Coast.

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

Upset? No one is upset here. It's hard to read emotions into words on a screen. We're all fine here. You're doing the best you can with what you've got. We get it. So now you can use some of your hard-earned busboy $550 and buy the right supplies. It might be hard to administer to, but how about putting something on top of the piano? Two bins together would fit nicely up there.

We here at the Forum are very glad you found us. And your tortoise will appreciate it too, once you get it all straightened out. We have several youngsters that post all the time. I'd like you to meet @russian/sulcata/tortoise . He's a spoiled brat...er...uh...I mean, a very nice young fellow who lives a whole continent away from you on the West Coast.

i hate you the most!!!!!

 

[Egerard98]

Upset? No one is upset here. It's hard to read emotions into words on a screen. We're all fine here. You're doing the best you can with what you've got. We get it. So now you can use some of your hard-earned busboy $550 and buy the right supplies. It might be hard to administer to, but how about putting something on top of the piano? Two bins together would fit nicely up there.

We here at the Forum are very glad you found us. And your tortoise will appreciate it too, once you get it all straightened out. We have several youngsters that post all the time. I'd like you to meet @russian/sulcata/tortoise . He's a spoiled brat...er...uh...I mean, a very nice young fellow who lives a whole continent away from you on the West Coast.

well its not that big of a piano, not a huge master piano obviously but its not a fold up keyboard, I don't play it much anyways i'm more interested in my tortoise! I just want my little pal to be happy, I'm going to run it by my parents again and explain the situation because they argued it was enough space and I was like hmm nooooooo its really not so I guess we'll see how that goes! Now my parents told me that the clerk said Roger was a little younger than or about a year old just to put things in perspective

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

sup dude, finally someone my age! now I'm not forced to talk to these elderly people.

 

[Egerard98]

sup dude, finally someone my age! now I'm not forced to talk to these elderly people.

ahahaha nothing much man, hey i'm sure they know a bunch of stuff though! And I'm sure you do too! so you have a sulcata and a russian? how did it go for you when you started?

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Welcome. You will find that the proper substrate absorbs liquids and odors. Your habitat should not smell. Spot cleaning is always good, removing old food & fresh droppings, but the moist substrate itself is critical. It also is necessary for health.

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

what type lights are you using?

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

as already said above yes the russians cage is way to small. also if you don't know the gender, post a pic of the torts tail from the underside and i can tell you the gender. please read ALL of this care sheet http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

 

[WillTort2]

We're all the same age here; give or take a century. Most of the adult tortoises consider us their younger servants!

Consider using coco coir as your substrate. Holds moisture well; doesn't mold.

 

[WillTort2]

During the Christmas season, some of the stores will sell extra large storage containers. You should be able to get one at least 5 foot long. It would be a vast improvement over the glass tank.

Good luck.

 

[Egerard98]

as already said above yes the russians cage is way to small. also if you don't know the gender, post a pic of the torts tail from the underside and i can tell you the gender. please read ALL of this care sheet http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

OK so I just ran the enclosure situation by my parents, my mother was not happy considering the amount they bought the set up for, and my dad was nonchalant about it and said "yeah I said he needs more space" so im stuck in quite the pickle lol he's sleeping also so i'll have to check in the morning

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

OK so I just ran the enclosure situation by my parents, my mother was not happy considering the amount they bought the set up for, and my dad was nonchalant about it and said "yeah I said he needs more space" so im stuck in quite the pickle lol

just remember its the torts life. this animal can possibly outlive you.

 

[Egerard98]

just remember its the torts life. this animal can possibly outlive you.

Exactly, I want this guy to at the very minimum have at least an adequate sized environment, do you keep yours outdoors?