Hello from Southeast Pennsylvania

ScStange891

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Joined
Dec 5, 2017
Messages
52
Location (City and/or State)
Pennsylvania
Hi, All! My name is Scott, and I've been surfing the forums religiously for the past several months doing research to (try to) prepare myself to house my own Tort.

About a month ago, I received a baby Russian Tortoise from Tyler Stewart of Tortoisesupply.

This is Tortellini (Lini for short), and from the day I got it, it's been quite an enjoyable adventure. Lini has been inquisitive and active since the day I got it. While Tyler said it's not unusual for them to ignore food on the first say, mine was chowing away and getting into mischief from day 1. It actually ended up on it's back from trying to climb a half-log hut on its first day, but it was able to correct itself in less than 5 minutes, so I definitely got a spunky one.

Right now my current care is as follows:

-Enclosure type: ZooMed Tortoise House. The tort will outgrow it in a few years, but it seems to have ample space for a baby.

-Entire enclosure kept around room temperature (mid 70s) with a cooler (high 60s to low 70s) hide box (part of the design of the enclosure). It has not gone into the hide area yet in my one month of having it though.

-Substrate is current coco coir (Eco Earth, which I guess is slightly different?)

-Basking spot is in the form of a hard plastic deck (designed for aquatic turtles). I had removed it for risk of the tort flipping, but it seemed to be upset at that, because it loves to burrow under it as a hide, to climb around on it and bask, and to use the corner posts as head support/to scratch while basking.

-Basking spot temp is between 92-96 degrees Farenheit. I use a Zoomed Reptisun UVA/UVB long bulb, and a 100W heat lamp in order to keep the temperatures as such.

-Humidity is somewhat of an issue. Since my enclosure is open-top, and there's a fairly high amount of light coming in, a lot of it seeps out. I have a fogger to increase humidity, but unless I make it so that the fog is visible (which messes with the heat), the humidity is pretty low, at 40%. I'm trying to figure out how to make a humid hide, so any tips would be appreciated.

-I currently soak it daily for 30 minutes. Some nights I will also soak it a second time if I come home and notice that its skin appears more dry than usual.

-Diet is standard spring mix, supplemented with Mazuri LS tortoise diet, and Zoomed Gourmet tortoise food. I also add in other greens such as Collard or Kale on an intermittent basis (every couple of weeks). I'm currently evaluating my options as to growing plants indoors, so that I can give it dandelion/hibiscus, other varied plants to help it grow. I also supplement with small amounts of calcium powder a couple times a week, and have a cuttlebone in the enclosure (which it completely ignores for now).

-Current Status- Shows slight response when I call its name. Still very active and inquisitive. Ravenous eater. Usually poops at least twice a day. Is slowly becoming more tolerant of being held (when I transfer it to its bath). Comes to me when it knows I'm holding food.

Please give me any tips/critiques, as I am quite new to this, but would like to give my number 1 little guy a good life.

Thanks!

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Tidgy's Dad

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Feb 11, 2015
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Fes, Morocco
Hello, Scott, and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum to you and Tortellini. :)
As you say, the Zoo med tortoise house is too small for anything more than a tiny baby and will soon need replacing. They also tend not to hold in the humidity, though humidity is not such a worry with this species as with some. I wouldn't worry about this as long as you keep the substrate nice and moist and continue with the soaks.
Eco Earth is coco coir at a higher price.
I expect you've read : https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
and https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
I post them just in case.
 
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