Delurkifying (and a couple of questions!)

My name is Sara. I live a bit outside of Seattle with my husband, daughter and our great dane, Sally. Husband and daughter arrived home with two russian torts today. Luckily- I've been socking away tortoise enclosure items just in case... (already had a tub and substrate and we are using found objects tile, flower pots, saucers, etc for hides and such). I just placed an order on amazon for an mvp powersun bulb, a che and fixtures- found all this to be substantially cheaper than in-store. I expect they will come early next week.

In the meantime, am I doing them any serious disservice with just a regular heat lamp to keep their basking area heat up?

Thank you in advance for answering my bazillions of questions.

Hi Sara:

I'd like to welcome you and your family (and the Great Dane) to the Tortoise Forum!!

Your new tortoises will be just fine under a regular bulb temporarily.

Hello Sara and welcome to the forum

Hi and welcome! I really like your choices in pet's as I love tortoises and have always wanted a Great Dane.

they are escape artisits and will climb out of a lot of totes.. so be sure the sides are higher then they are long.. and there cant climb on things and climb out.
Where did they get them from? know any history? always been together? males? diet? age?
WELCOME!!!!

Welcome.
A north westerner with Russians, yay!
Not sure what kind of tub you have, but Christmas Tree Storage Boxes will be going on sale soon and are a nice size.
Enjoy!

Welcome to the forum Sara

Hello and welcome. Be ready to separate them. Russians often don't get along in pairs.

welcome

welcome to the forum..

Welcome to TFO!

Welcome.

Tom said:

Hello and welcome. Be ready to separate them. Russians often don't get along in pairs.

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Good to know! Do they get along better in trios?

Hi Sara:

Indoors, in a tote or tub, male Horsfield's tortoises can be pretty aggressive. A male is better by himself indoors. Outdoors is a different story. With a large pen and plenty of sight barriers, you can keep a group of Russians together just fine. But they are very active breeders and the males pester the females all the time. Its just a good idea to plan for two separate habitats in case you run into trouble.

They are solitary in the wild.
So... 2 females might do OK together.
2 males will very likely fight once they 'mature' and probably do damage.
1 male and 1 female can be devastating to the female as the male will harass her (mate) so she hides all of the time.
If the enclosure is large enough, 1 male to 3 females* is best to even out the odds, lol.

*might apply to a larger outdoor enclosure; my male is separate from the females now because he is from a different source so being quarantined. However, I am prepared to separate him when they overwinter inside in the future. They have a large outdoor enclosure for nicer months.

You can post pics of your torts' shells: top view, bottom and back views including the tails.
If they are old enough, TFO members might be able to help you ID your torts sexes.

Welcome to the Forum We LOVE PICS

Thanks guys! We will cross that bridge if we come to it but it would not be the end of the world. I appreciate the gentle communication style of this board. I imagine it is frusterating to watch people make the same misakes again and again.

adsum said:

Thanks guys! We will cross that bridge if we come to it but it would not be the end of the world. I appreciate the gentle communication style of this board. I imagine it is frusterating to watch people make the same misakes again and again.

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The one that gets to me is the new little baby sulcata that is dying. We hear that one over, over, over and over again.

Welcome to TFO. I have to keep my RT's separated or at least referee'd. We are all constantly learning. Don't be afraid to ask your questions. I have never met anyone here that will put you down because you're new.