Have a couple questions

[ilovemyrussiantortoise]

I am looking into getting a Russian tortoise and I have a couple of questions. What UVB and heating lamp do you guys suggest using? How many days a week should I feed my tortoise? Should I give it a grassland diet? and if so how many days a week? What type of wood should I use to build the enclosure? I have found some great websites that sell Russian tortoises, but where did you guys get yours from? Sorry for all those questions I just want to make sure I am giving it the proper care it needs! Thanks!

 

[Yvonne G]

You should know right off the bat that it's pretty hard to keep a wild caught (read pet store) russian tortoise 'up' during the winter. They are programmed to brumate. Also, an almost full grown russian tortoise needs a very large indoor habitat. Really, the best place for a russian tortoise is outside because of the space they need. They are hard wired to wander over great distances looking for food, and even though you provide the food and there's no need to wander, they still have that instinct to wander.

You would be much better off buying a captive bred russian tortoise from a breeder rather than from a classified site or pet store.

 

[Tom]

I am looking into getting a Russian tortoise and I have a couple of questions. What UVB and heating lamp do you guys suggest using? How many days a week should I feed my tortoise? Should I give it a grassland diet? and if so how many days a week? What type of wood should I use to build the enclosure? I have found some great websites that sell Russian tortoises, but where did you guys get yours from? Sorry for all those questions I just want to make sure I am giving it the proper care it needs! Thanks!

Good questions. I'll answer them one at a time.

What UVB and heating?
There are four elements to heating and lighting:

1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt floods from the hardware store. I run them on a timer for 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. You can mount a fixture on the ceiling, or hang a dome lamp from the ceiling. Go lower or higher wattage if this makes the enclosure too hot or not warm enough. Do not use "spot" bulbs, mercury vapor bulbs or halogen bulbs.
2. Ambient heat maintenance. Unless your house gets unusually cold at night, you can skip this step for a Russian or other Testudo species. Night lows above 60 require no night heat for Testudo species.
3. Light. I use florescent tubes for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most tubes at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. I've been using LEDs lately and they are great, and run cooler than a florescent. This can be set on the same timer as the basking bulb. If your tortoises room is already adequately lit, you don't need this one either.
4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside in a safe secure enclosure for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. If you want it anyway, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. It helps to have a UV meter to test and see what your bulb is actually putting out at your mounting height. Plexi-glass or screen tops will filter out some or all of the UV produced by your bulb. Regular "T 8" type UV tubes produce hardly any UV. CFL type UV bulbs are also ineffective, and sometimes dangerous, and should not be used.

More info:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

How often to feed? Every day. Tortoises are grazers. They need food, the right food, every day.

Russians are not grass eaters. Having said that, ZooMed's Grassland tortoise chow CAN be used to amend the grocery store greens and improve their quality as a tortoise food. More on diet in the link above. Will at @Kapidolo Farms also sells all sorts of dried food items that can be mixed in with grocery store greens for more variety. I've been using them daily for a while now and love them. @TylerStewart and his awesome wife Sarah also sell this one, which I've been using and loving for years: https://www.tortoisesupply.com/HerbalHay Tortoise supply also sells a fantastic seed mix so you can grow your own food in pots, plots, or just on the ground. I've also been using this for years and it makes up a large portion of my tortoises diets for most of the year: https://www.tortoisesupply.com/TestudoMix

What type of wood? None. Wood will rot. Babies will do best in a closed chamber. Adults are fine in an open topped table in a normal room, but the substrate still need to be damp, which is a problem for wood. I still haven't found any coating for wood that I feel is effective and safe. Here is what I currently use: https://apcages.com/collections/terrestrial-cages Since the time I bought these, @Markw84 has begun making his own and that is what I intend to buy next time.

Where to buy a tortoise? The best place is a private breeder who knows each baby and starts them correctly. I have first hand experience with @Carol S and @kanalomele and I highly recommend both of them.

Welcome to the forum. More questions and conversation are welcome.