Newbie maybe?

[Zombiepanda]

Hello everyone!! I am new and considering adopting a baby tortoise. I used to have a bearded dragon but she passed away due to a birth defect in her heart. So now fast forward to now and I am having empty tank syndrome pretty badly.

A friend recommended I look into getting a tortoise. I've always loved them just never considered it an option. I've done a bit of research and found one locally someone is rehoming. I'd like a bit of advice from experienced owners before moving forward though.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Yvonne G]

You can start here:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Then come back and tell us what species the tortoise is, how big it is and appx. where you are geographically.

 

[Alicia Hoogstra]

Good luck!

 

[Zombiepanda]

Hi! Thanks for all the info!! A lot of this I think is self explanatory until I remember "oh yeah I've given this same advice to dragon newbies" luckily with my dragon I researched months in advance and NEVER listened to the pet store---HORRRRRRRRRRIBLE. I've actually been banned from a local store for correcting an employees advice to a family and then gettin heated at the employee for giving advice that would have killed that little reptile slowly.

Anyways! I do have a temp gun and probe and monitoring temps regularly would be no problem. I'm against sand completely and have terra cotta type tile as a substrate. I also buy basking bulbs from a hardware store, except I have a t5 uvb bulb as well. Do tortoises need a uvb light? Also I have calcium and calcium d3 still as well.

From reading this I am certain my tank is entirely too small. A 40g was my dragon tank and I'm thinking I'd need much bigger for a tortoise. I agree as well though that nothing should be in a 10g, it's just too small.

The little guy I saw was online someone selling him, I'm assuming they bought him at a pet store and realized they didn't want to put in the time so are rehoming him/her. It's still a baby, I think maybe 3".

I just want to do all my research and see if this is even something that I can do and do well. If I don't think I can put in the work or give the guy a home he can THRIVE in then I will pass altogether. I'm not the type of person who would take on the responsibility of an animal on a whim so no worries there

 

[Yvonne G]

Go for it! But find out the species. Not all tortoises take the same care and environment.

 

[Zombiepanda]

Russian

 

[Zombiepanda]

Hey guys! So I ended up buying a lil fella from petsmart... which I wanted to avoid like the plague but couldn't resist getting him out of there. He's a Russian and about 5". But he's hiding and refusing to eat and drink

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome. A tile floor is not a proper substrate and an aquarium is not big enough except for a hatchling. An adult Russian needs a minimum of a 4x8 foot enclosure and bigger is better. Yes, they need UVB.

 

[Zombiepanda]

He doesn't have tile, he has aspen/coir mix. And I am using my t5 22" uvb. I have all this posted in the other thread that I think you had replied on as well. The tile was previous and was taken out before he ever went in. Also doing 13 hr day cycles

 

[Zombiepanda]

Oh and I have a 55g just until a table is finished. 2 weeks tops