[size=large]
Hello All,
My name is Scott. I live in MN USA. I'm 37 and back in school with limited funds and time. I just got a really happy Russian Tortoise about 5 to 6 inches adopted from PETCO. It was a race between me and some little kid on a temper tantrum at the store. I was originally planning on waiting until my enclosure was complete, but I didn't want to lose the battle to a spoiled 8yr old monster.
So I've got him in a 50 gallon tote with a shallow dish of water. I'm currently building an enclosure with dimensions 5 feet by 3 feet and 2 1/2feet tall. I was planning on keeping it open with 12 inches of substrate. Any ideas of mixture and levels? I was thinking of using small pea gravel for 2 inches of base, 2 or 3 inches of peat sand and potting soil and the rest a mix of 4 parts organic hydroponic cocotex coir, 2 parts soil, and one part sand.
I was also thinking of getting an unglazed terra cotta wine cooler and gently filling it with river rocks and burying it up to the last inch or so near his future hide. That way I can fill it up with water and provide some ambient humidity through the natural porous material of terra cotta. River rocks are to prevent him from somehow drowning in this weird giant moist clay cistern. Thoughts? [/size]
Hello All, My name is Scott. I live in MN USA. I'm 37 and back in school with limited funds and time. I just got a really happy Russian Tortoise about 5 to 6 inches adopted from PETCO. It was a race between me and some little kid on a temper tantrum at the store. I was originally planning on waiting until my enclosure was complete, but I didn't want to lose the battle to a spoiled 8yr old monster.
So I've got him in a 50 gallon tote with a shallow dish of water. I'm currently building an enclosure with dimensions 5 feet by 3 feet and 2 1/2feet tall. I was planning on keeping it open with 12 inches of substrate. Any ideas of mixture and levels? I was thinking of using small pea gravel for 2 inches of base, 2 or 3 inches of peat sand and potting soil and the rest a mix of 4 parts organic hydroponic cocotex coir, 2 parts soil, and one part sand.
I was also thinking of getting an unglazed terra cotta wine cooler and gently filling it with river rocks and burying it up to the last inch or so near his future hide. That way I can fill it up with water and provide some ambient humidity through the natural porous material of terra cotta. River rocks are to prevent him from somehow drowning in this weird giant moist clay cistern. Thoughts? [/size]
