New to everything!

[bawksbawks]

Hello! My name is Meggan! Yesterday I bought my first Tortoise. He is a Russian Tortoise and I named him Darwin. Aaaand right now we're eating breakfast he seems to like the lettuce more than anything. Not really touching the tomato or cucumber. What is your (RT if you have one) tortoise's favorite food? Also I've been looking around on the internet to find out why he bobs his head. But there are A LOT of different answers so I was wondering if you could help me? I got and aquarium for christmas and I think he would like a bigger home. If you've got any suggestions on where to purchase one let me know(college kid on a budget).
Thanks!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Meggan:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

May we know where you are?

You can pick up a big plastic tub, a cement mixing tub or a used 4-shelf book case for pretty cheap. With a used book case, you take out the shelves, lay it on its back, line it with plastic, add substrate, waterer, food tile, hiding place, tortoise and...voila!! Ready to go.

Russian tortoises (Tesdudo horsfieldii) eat broad-leaf weeds and grasses. So during the winter, when he's in the house, you can buy dark, leafy greens like turnip greens, dandelion greens, mustard greens, packaged spring mix, etc. The "veggies" that you listed are really fruits, and fruit should be fed sparingly to Russian tortoises.

 

[dmarcus]

Hello Meggan and welcome to the forum...

 

[wellington]

Welcome

 

[DSaenz]

Welcome!

 

[Utah Lynn]

The head bobbing is a result of breathing. Welcome to TFO.

 

[TORTOISEMAN1]

Hello, Meggan! Welcome to the forum...

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome.

 

[coreyc]

Welcome to the forum Meggan

 

[kimber_lee_314]

Welcome!!! You can go to russiantortoise.org for good information. Mine love weeds the best, so I recommend as much free grazing as possible. Torts bob their heads when greeting a new tortoise and as a mating ritual. Is he actually bobbing (up and down) or bringing his head in and out?

 

[pdrobber]

welcome

 

[SailingMystic]

I'm assuming Darwin will also be traveling to collage with you? I got this house or pen, and my Russian really seems to like it for the winter months (he'll be outside in the summer):

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00167S5EY/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

I place a log cave in there (on what's called the "hide"). I use a pie dish with rocks for steps around it and plants for cover. Light and heat are extremely critical to a Russian. Offer options so he can hide or cool down. My little guy sits under his light uses the cave but also enjoys a heat rock that's off on the side. It's important to use organic leafy greens and keep your water clean how big is Darwin? You want to be sure he can get in and out of his water dish without any struggle or real effort. Congrats!!!

 

[Floof]

Welcome to the forum!!!

To start, as has been said once already, tomatoes and cucumbers = not good for your tortoise! Maybe every now and then a little cucumber wouldn't hurt, but it's definitely not something you feed every day. As for what to feed him, my Russians usually get a mix of collard greens, turnip greens, endive/escarole, mustard greens, occasionally kale, dandelions during the warm months, and, every now and then, either lettuce or spring mix. I've had a couple that preferred Collards over the rest, others who liked dandelions the best, and at least one tortoise (actually, my leopard, not a russian) who loved Endive more than anything else. They also all love cactus pad, but that's more of a once a week thing.

As for a new enclosure, they do like a lot of space! There are a couple things you can do. First, at this time of year (aka Christmas time), there's this completely awesome tote available for sale at stores like Walmart called the Christmas Tree Storage Tote by Iris. It's over 4 feet long, and almost a foot and a half wide. It's $30, so should be plenty doable on your college budget, and is probably the single largest tote you can get at the average store. Still on the side of "minimum enclosure size" for a Russian, but it is big enough for him, and cheap for the space!

Then, of course, there's the bookcase method... Get a used bookcase, or just a cheap new one (Walmart's 5 shelf bookcase, which measures 6 feet by 2.5 feet and 11" deep when laid on its back, is $30), lay it on its back, take out the shelves, staple in some kind of liner--a shower curtain will do, or a heavy duty tarp. Easy to do, and won't cost more than around $50 (and that's if you get everything brand spankin' new, instead of just getting a used bookcase for cheap/free, and decide to put on a new plywood backing instead of just using the flimsy cardboard thing--which isn't a bad idea, mind you!).

The other thing is to look on your local Craigslist for deals on really cheap tanks or, even, cheap livestock water troughs (the stainless steel ones are neat, and come in some really nice sizes). Granted, for a Russian tortoise, you need minimum a 75 gallon (4 ft x 1.5 ft floorspace) tank, and ideally a 100 gallon (6 ft x 1.5 ft) or larger, and, by then, tanks start getting REALLY heavy... I have 2 75 gallons in use, then my Russians are in a 100 gal 'til I can make room for a big table, and those things are HEAVY. The 75s, at least, I can move if I have help.. But that 100 gal takes 2 full grown men to move, and once it lands, it's not budging.

So, a few ideas for you to mull over... There are plenty of other ways to go, too--like building your own... You can find some really good ideas over in the Enclosures section.

 

[Yash Raj]

Welcome.

 

[bawksbawks]

Hello guys! Thanks for all the feed back! Sorry it took so long for me to reply. Darwin is at college with me since this is my second year. He's about the size of a small desert plate. His shell is about 4" (measured width and height) I'm trying to figure out how old he his not sure if it's possible. He's also really spoiled. He'll only eat iceberg lettuce from work. I've got the grassland food from petco and also I bought Spinach and had him try carrots and he just buries them. Also my friend just found a tank for me for free and I'm in the process of building him a little pen that will go under my glass table.