axeman25
Active Member
Hello all!
After years of wanting to get a tortoise and continually putting it off, I am finally giving up the excuses of why I shouldn't. I am getting three Russian's this Thursday. They have all been in the same little "tub" since the person who now has them bought them.
I am considering it more of a rescue. They are in a very small enclosure (less than 5' for 3 that are 4 to 5 inches each) and the guy has lost interest in them so they are pretty much neglected. A friend of mine asked me about taking these for the guy who has them now. There is a male and two females. They have all been in the same enclosure without incident.
I just built a new enclosure for them. It is 2'x6' and there is a way to divide it if I need too (I will get pics up as soon as I get them)
I just ran across this site yesterday so what I've done may not be the best. I spent quite a bit of time on different sites trying to soak up as much info as I could to get this thing right, so here goes:
1) I used a 2'x6' bookshelf to make the outer frame for it. I used the shelves that came with it to make some door frames which I put chicken wire in (they cannot get to the chicken wire). The doors and chicken wire are mostly to keep stuff out, not in (like little kid hands, lol). The doors are hinged and I also put locks on them, again, just to keep my little ones out.
2) Lighting and heat. Ok, I may have messed up a little with the UVB light. I have just read that the cfl type uvb bulbs can be harmful. Literally, not even five hours ago. I had already bought one and have it in a fixture pointing straight down on it at a distance of about 12". I have several other fixtures, but the uvb t8 bulbs are expensive and at the time this seemed like a more efficient way to go. My heat lamp is actually a 250w lamp that is actually a stage lamp I used while in a band. It works great and keeps the basking area at about 95 degrees from 3.5 feet away. Both lamps are hooked up to a timer for 12 on, 12 off.
3) The substrate is a 60/40 mix of organic top soil and sand
I do have some questions though; I am having them shipped in from this guy on Thursday, should I soak them more than once a week to start with? I have heard that some get dehydrated if they are not taken care of and require even a soaking everyday.
Is it ok for me to use an aluminum pie pan for their water/soaking dish? Just till I can save up and buy them something a little nicer. Their shipping plus all the money I put into their house has tapped me out for a few day.
I'm sure I'll have a million more questions by Friday. Thanks to all! Sorry I wrote a novel up there.
After years of wanting to get a tortoise and continually putting it off, I am finally giving up the excuses of why I shouldn't. I am getting three Russian's this Thursday. They have all been in the same little "tub" since the person who now has them bought them.
I am considering it more of a rescue. They are in a very small enclosure (less than 5' for 3 that are 4 to 5 inches each) and the guy has lost interest in them so they are pretty much neglected. A friend of mine asked me about taking these for the guy who has them now. There is a male and two females. They have all been in the same enclosure without incident.
I just built a new enclosure for them. It is 2'x6' and there is a way to divide it if I need too (I will get pics up as soon as I get them)
I just ran across this site yesterday so what I've done may not be the best. I spent quite a bit of time on different sites trying to soak up as much info as I could to get this thing right, so here goes:
1) I used a 2'x6' bookshelf to make the outer frame for it. I used the shelves that came with it to make some door frames which I put chicken wire in (they cannot get to the chicken wire). The doors and chicken wire are mostly to keep stuff out, not in (like little kid hands, lol). The doors are hinged and I also put locks on them, again, just to keep my little ones out.
2) Lighting and heat. Ok, I may have messed up a little with the UVB light. I have just read that the cfl type uvb bulbs can be harmful. Literally, not even five hours ago. I had already bought one and have it in a fixture pointing straight down on it at a distance of about 12". I have several other fixtures, but the uvb t8 bulbs are expensive and at the time this seemed like a more efficient way to go. My heat lamp is actually a 250w lamp that is actually a stage lamp I used while in a band. It works great and keeps the basking area at about 95 degrees from 3.5 feet away. Both lamps are hooked up to a timer for 12 on, 12 off.
3) The substrate is a 60/40 mix of organic top soil and sand
I do have some questions though; I am having them shipped in from this guy on Thursday, should I soak them more than once a week to start with? I have heard that some get dehydrated if they are not taken care of and require even a soaking everyday.
Is it ok for me to use an aluminum pie pan for their water/soaking dish? Just till I can save up and buy them something a little nicer. Their shipping plus all the money I put into their house has tapped me out for a few day.
I'm sure I'll have a million more questions by Friday. Thanks to all! Sorry I wrote a novel up there.