have we missed anything ? plus questions from my daughter :O)

[jazzywoo]

my 6 year old daughter jazzy ( jasmine ) is desperate for a tortoise so desperate she cant wait for Santa to bring her one so she has saved really hard and has £50 of her own money and since its her birthday in 2 weeks she has asked everyone who is coming to her party instaid of a gift she would like £5 towards her tortoise fund and she has asked if we can put the rest towards it for her birthday this we have had to agree on as she is working so hard to save for her tortoise
she has picked the horsefield tortoise and she is going to name it Taylor
ok we have a tortoise table
we have been told we need
a solar glo mercury vapour lamp uv + heat combined bulb
glow light reflector
digital thermometer with duel sensor
hide
vitamins and calcium
food and water dishes
subtrate
all of the above is provided in the deal she has been given from the reptile shop

ok jazzy would like to know
which substrate is the best ?
she has seen people use different things in their set ups and wants to make it it interesting what do you recommend ?
we are using tops soil and hemp at the moment
jazzy wants to know can she put in the slate tile she made in the lake district and the slate bits she took from the mine too to make it look nice ?
can she put in rocks from the garden that are prety if she washes them first ?
can she put in plants ?
what type of houses do they like ?
do they like toys if so what ?
and what else can she put into her tortoise house so Taylor will be happy ?
she says she knows taylor will like to dig and play in the soil and most the bedding will be deep soil but since mummy ( me ) has ordered ready grass, hemp, aspin and oyster shell bedding too to make it look nice and so that taylor has lots of different places to go to, does she put the other bedding on top of the soil or make it deep in different sections ? ( i would have never have thought of that question )
also she has bought a plastic plant pot for taylor to play hide and seek in should she burry some of it to stop it moving and rolling about or do tortoises like to move their plant pots about taylor might not like where her plant pot it put
she doesnt want taylor to hurt her self or get stuck under it
also where taylor sun bathes under her lamp what bedding do you put under it jazzy has thought about this long and hard and decided putting the slate tile under is not a good plan as she once sat on a rock in the sun and burnt her bum and doesnt want taylor to burn her bum
also apart from weeds what else can taylor eat such as veg and salad from the shop ?

thanks ann xxx

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Ann:

I'd like to...

you and Jazzy to the forum!!

I don't mean to shoot you down, because they've done so much work on it and it looks great, but I THINK the sides might be too short. I feel a Russian tortoise might be able to stand on his back legs and reach the top with his front legs. They are very good at climbing.

 

[jazzywoo]

Hi Ann:

I'd like to...

you and Jazzy to the forum!!

I don't mean to shoot you down, because they've done so much work on it and it looks great, but I THINK the sides might be too short. I feel a Russian tortoise might be able to stand on his back legs and reach the top with his front legs. They are very good at climbing.

thank you for your welcome and honesty i was thinking this myself as the kids were setting it up and my other half is going to take a look and make the sides higher failing that we will set up the spare indoor rabbit cage instaid lol we are new to this and thats why we have joined here thought you lot would be able to set us straight
what about jazzys other questions ? can you help us with those
thanks
ann xx

 

[Yvonne G]

I've said it before, but I'll say it again: If I tell you, then I'll have to kill you!! (just kidding. I found a neat site that you transfer them from just like transferring pictures. I'm trying to find the one that Jordan has found with all the little turtles on it.)

 

[Stephanie Logan]

Hi Mum of Jazzy,

Welcome to the forum! You are wise to be asking questions and doing your research BEFORE you add Taylor to your household.

I am not an expert here, but there are many experienced Russian tortoise keepers on the forum who will chime in with more detailed advice.

After you address Yvonne's point above that the sides of the enclosure must be high enough to keep Taylor from climbing out, you will also need to pay attention to Taylor's activity levels; if she keeps trying to climb the sides or her "hide" (the plant pot, and she should actually have at least two good hides, one on each side, so she can feel safe and concealed from predators), she may fall onto her back, which can be super stressful to tortoises that aren't good at righting themselves. People here recommend having some plastic or real plants and a few large rocks or smaller piles of rocks for her to brace against if she's overturned.

You probably already know, if you have browsed the "enclosures" and "food and diet" sections on TFO, that her substrate needs to be kept moist so that Taylor has a high enough humidity level that she won't grow a pyramided shell.

The slate tile may be a good feeding place, where Taylor has to work a bit to pick up and chew her food; the slate will help keep her beak nice and trim.

Taylor should have a basking spot, heated by a UVB bulb (or a regular bulb if she gets outside exposure to sunlight at least 30ish minutes a week), where the temperature is 95-100, or 35-37 degrees celsius. The rest of her enclosure should have a warm area of about 21-23 degrees, and her cool hide should be allowed to drop to about 18 degrees so she can cool off there if she needs to.

Again, I'm not a Russian expert, but these are some general "tortoise" guidelines, and now I hope one of our Russian keepers will clarify and extend the information you need.