RussianTortKing
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I have 1 Russian tortoise now. He's doing great in the tank he's in. But I'm looking to gets. Female and I want to know what is a good size for both? I'll post pics later or tomorrow
What is a good size tankfor 2 RT's?
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You can't keep a male and female in the same space for the reasons I detailed in your other thread. If you must have a pair, then set them up in individual habitats.
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Your male will kill the female and there is no tank big enough for even one Russian. 4x8 minimum for one Russian and a large room or yard for more then one, like 3 one male to at least 2 females together with lots of hiding places. They are not small animals that should be kept in a small cage. They roam lots of territory in the wild.
another enclosure all together is a good size. torts don't do well in pairs they don't need or want a friend and your male will likely harass the female to death
Tanks are good to start baby russians tortoises in, but once they reach 3-4 inches, even a 100 gallon size tank is too small. They need more room than that.
As everyone else has told you, pairs do not do well together. We all want another tortoise too, but you've got to do what is best for the tortoises. Separate enclosures is what they will need.
Please give these a read:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
As everyone else has told you, pairs do not do well together. We all want another tortoise too, but you've got to do what is best for the tortoises. Separate enclosures is what they will need.
Please give these a read:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
A tank is torture for a tortoise...if you have the space...a 6x6 is awesome but for 2 females....the males need to be kept alone....you can build it cheap from your local hardware store...no tanks please...
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...And Russians are notorious escape artists/climbers as well as fighters.
Russians need to be kept alone.
Males and females alike are very territorial and both sexes will bully another tortoise, especially if it's smaller or weaker, to persuade them to leave their territory.
Groups of three or more Russians of a similar size may succeed in a very large enclosure (minimum 4'x8' PER TORTOISE) with plenty of sight barriers. But they may not too.
You should only keep multiple Russians if you have the space to keep them separately.
This is not true at all. Me and many other members here have been using tanks for decades and had nothing but success. Tanks are especially good for starting babies because you can keep them warmer and more humid, plus they are impervious to the needed damp substrates that should be used.
Any normal tank that one would buy in a store is too small for an adult tortoise, but tanks are not "torture".
Don't believe everything you read on the internet.
It's not bad information. Don't know what your situation was but it isn't as easy as saying tanks are bad. I think they definitely have their place, in certain situations. And there's more than one right way to do something.
False, I can promise you tanks hold heat and I've raised plenty of turtles and a few torts in them.
You calling Tom out like that is funny. Let's see how many you've raised vs him.
You are going to have to undue 38 years of experience with literally hundreds of tortoises of several species for me to go along with this. You are wrong and I'd like you to share what experience you are basing this on.
Glass holds in heat very well when the top is covered, and not one of the hundreds of babies or juveniles that I have housed in glass tanks has ever been stressed by it in any way. I have read what you have read, and are repeating here, many times from many sources and it is not correct. Its one of those often repeated myths that isn't true and never was true.
I base my assertion on almost 4 decades of first hand experience using all sorts of glass tanks of all sorts of sizes and shapes, that have housed hundreds of individual tortoises. What are you basing your assertion on?
I'm with Tom. Vivs are great for babies.
They stop being great when the tortoise gets bigger simply because the floor area is too small for the tort to be properly active.
A lid is needed to contain the heat and humidity. With the lamps on all day, as they should be, the tortoise stays plenty warm enough. It's a small area to heat.
Glass won't retain the heat as the room cools overnight, but neither do wooden constructions without extra insulation. That's why some people use a Ceramic Heat Emitter on a thermostat to stop their enclosure cooling too much overnight.
They stop being great when the tortoise gets bigger simply because the floor area is too small for the tort to be properly active.
A lid is needed to contain the heat and humidity. With the lamps on all day, as they should be, the tortoise stays plenty warm enough. It's a small area to heat.
Glass won't retain the heat as the room cools overnight, but neither do wooden constructions without extra insulation. That's why some people use a Ceramic Heat Emitter on a thermostat to stop their enclosure cooling too much overnight.
False is your words...I will take the advice of the reptile society and seeing these animals in their natural habitat...we are not talking aquatics...dont spread bs.. We talking grassland and forest type animals...glass terrariums is the worst home for a captive bread tortoise...
Basing this on my own experience with my redfoot and russian....we have a 55gallon that never kept the heat with the cover...not a hood..humidity went up when the fogger was on and our apt is very warm, along with the room the torts are in...we had her since a hatchling.....
Alex
I am not a moderator of this forum, just an ordinary member with decades of experience.
As a seasoned member of this forum, please can I ask to take a deep breath before you post.
You are new round here. Using bad language (bs accusations) convinces nobody and only serves to upset people rather than highlight your views.
You are correct that glass is not an insulator. However, for starting babies it can be, and is, used successfully for.
If you would like to start a thread in "debatable topics" on this subject and include links to the information you have then I am sure others will discuss it with you. Kicking off a debate in another member's thread is not good forum form.
Let's see your enclosure?
I agree it's a bad place for an adult tortoise or turtle because of size but it works excellent for a hatchling or baby for humidity/heat and size. It's very easy to close off the top to achieve what's needed.
