Dimitri's enclosure

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RumBrave13

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Hi everyone!

We wanted to share our Dimitri's enclosure with you all so that we can get some assistance. We are open to any suggestions as far as to how we have our set up, and if there is any way to improve it. We just want to make sure that he is happy and that there are no issues with his new home.

Just some background, we got Dimitri (Russian Tortoise) from a friend last Saturday (10/8/2011). We initially had him in a glass enclosure but found out that this might stress him out and it seemed a bit small.

He is about 4.5 inches long (not sure of his age)

We live in Pasadena CA. US

His current layout is:

45 gallon rubbermaid tub (hazy-clear plastic)
We have a Zilla slimline Desert 50 UVB (T8 Flourescant bulb) 4 inches above the enclosure

Zoo-med basking spot lamp (holds two bulbs) (about 7.25 inches above the enclosure, and set up to the far left of the enclosure)
Exo Terra 100w infrared Heat glo lamp (for night)
75w basking spot bulb for day

In the enclosure we have:
2 thermometers. 1 near the basking area to check how hot the temp can get, and 1 opposite the basking area to check how cool the temp can get.

On the basking site, the temp is usually between 85 - 95 degrees (can go up to 100 on a hot day, but we will turn off the lamp to let it cool a few degrees) and the cooler side usually stays between 80 - 85 degrees (90 on a hot day). We read that the cooler side should be around 75 degrees, but the weather has been unusally hot here (which should cool down in the next few days).

We worry that we may have some trouble with the temprature gradiant, but hope that once the weather cools out here it will be more managable.

1 Hygrometer to measure humidity in the enclosure. So far the humidity level ranges from 40% - 60%

The substrate consists of 50/50 mix of Coconut Coir and Play sand (read that this would be an ok setup on http://www.russiantortoise.org/)

a water dish located close to the basking area
a food dish in the cooler area (dont want his food to dry out)

a piece of cuttle bone

an extra large half log hideout (loves to hide in it)

some timothy hay

We soak him every 2 - 3 days, and allow for some time out in the sun. We try to keep him out for a good half hour but he tends to explore and find new hide spots, so he may actually get more of 15 minutes of sun. We dont want to keep picking him up though for fear of stressing him.

We do let him wander around the appartment for some exercise(always supervised).

I assume that it is just him adjusting to his new home so he has a few habits that we may be over-worring about. When in his enclosure he tends to dig at the corners and we are afraid that he is not eating as much as he should. I am pretty sure that this is normal adjustment behavior and that with some more time he will eat better.

I have added a few pictures of the enclosure (it looks a litlle dark since we took them at around 7 am this morning)

Thanks for your help & I apologize for the wall of text >_<
 

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ascott

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I think all looks good....see how he does with possibly seeing through the tub walls....and if he has an issue there are great ways/prints you can use to block his view.... However, I "personally" do not care for sand in an enclosure....it, to me, creates an unnecessary exposure for impaction...again, IMHO :D
 

lynnedit

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Good improvement. Sometimes they don't try to climb out of enclosures with hazy walls as much as they do clear ones. If he seems to, you can line the lower edge with some brown paper. Russians tend to pace the edges even with solid walls until they settle in.
Eventually you may be able to find a used 'wardrobe' or bookcase that you can lay on its side as long as the sides are high enough.
With your area being that warm, you probably don't need the night heat bulb. They can easily tolerate night temps of 60d and seem to do better with that change. I would suggest you turn off the heat bulb entirely unless your house gets below 60 anytime of the year.
If they don't have a cooler side down to 70 or so, they can't self regulate (warms themselves, then cool off). This is very important for them. Your basking side sounds fine, but there does need to be a cooler side to retreat to. Turning off the night bulb may help some (less residual heat), but it may turn out that you will need a larger enclosure to achieve this. Have you seen this in the enclosure section, using 2 containers together?
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-New-Setup-Good-read-for-beginners#axzz1aiu56GBt
This might allow you to get a better temp gradient. You could opt side to side or end to end.
The web site you mention is very good overall. Their diet list is great. They do like sand in the substrate, some of us don't, but it is good for drainage, etc. You could consider adding another brick of coir (rehydrated) to the whole mix to give him more areas to burrow and deepen the substrate, even have a little hill in the middle.
Good for you getting him outside. Even a short time is helpful. Russians thrive outside.
Sorry to rattle on, but you have clearly done your research and have already improved your little guy's life a lot, so these are mainly tweaks!
 

RumBrave13

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Thanks everyone! & no worries lynnedit, we dont think you rattled on :)

We are very open to suggestions & that link you provided is def something we will look into. Ascott, thank you for your insight regarding the play sand. The only worry is the possibility of impaction and that has us thinking about it >_<

What do you guys use as substrate?

So far 100% Coconut Coir sounds like the way to go?

This weekend we will get some supplies for Dimitri and will keep an eye out for a bigger enclosure (Really liked the set up in the link you provided).

Thanks again every one :)
 

lynnedit

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You will find lots of varying choices for substrate. Coir is great, about perfect if you pick one.
Choices:
Topsoil (organic, not potting soil because it has vermiculite which they might eat).
Coir
Cypress mulch (available at Home Depot or Lowe's, depending on where you live).
Aspen (ok for part of it, too dry by itself probably).
Some use coir, for example, around the basking area because it holds moisture. then Cypress mulch around the water dish.
Others like to mix coir with soil and/or cypress, or sprinkle the cypress on top.
Actually, come to think of it, we are all kind of strange about this, lol.
Mine love Timothy hay or Aspen in their cool side hide to sleep in, they burrow right in.
 
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