Hello to all!

[goodsmeagol]

Hi, new to the site.
Kingsnake
3 Bearded Dragon
3 Ball Pythons
1 Hedgehog
And added 3 weeks ago, a Russian Tortoise!

A little about me, and my new tortoise.
For years I wanted a tortoise but always read about larger ones, the smallest being redfoots. I live in Canada and find most of my interest through seeing them for sale online or through forums, do the research, and sometimes choose to commit to a new pet. Russians are very rare around Toronto, so they were a new discovery for me. I had decided I can commit 4x4ft of space for a pet. To small for redfoots, but just perfect for Russians. So now I am the proud owner of a 4" 2 year old male bought from a small breeder just out side of Toronto.
Clean fecal, good appetite of spring mix+dandelion greens+nasturtiums(from a restaurant kitchen)

Currently I have 2 45gallon bins set up for its enclosure.
One bin has Sand/coco fiber 40/60, the other sand/cocofiber 60/40.
One bin 4-8" deep substrate
Other bin 3-4" deep substrate
Ramp angle 20o
3 burrow/hides damp/medium/dry
Each bin has a 100W MVB(upgraded yesterday not in pic)
One bin 95o max
Other bin 90o max
Min temp 70-75o
Fake plants leaves are 4" min distance from the ground, he has never tried to nibble in front of me.
Bath 2-3 times a week.

A table will be built in the summer when I will have a week off to built a tv stand with the enclosure as the base and the tv on a sort of bridge over it, then it will be truely 4x4ft where as right now it is 4x4 in floor space, but reduced because of the bins.
I get a lot of little questions not generally found in care sheets, so I look forward to learning more about these lil buggers.

Cheers

 

[terracolson]

Welcome...

are the pictures sideways?

 

[Tom]

Welcome. Cool set-up. Very inventive. I love LOTR too. Tolkien was my favorite author growing up.

 

[goodsmeagol]

Welcome...

are the pictures sideways?

Yeh I guess thats the way the pictures turned out.
The pictures are taken with the camera landscape style one picture per bin.

 

[egyptiandan]

Welcome to the forum

Danny

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi " goodsmeagol":

to the forum!!

Are you going to be able to set your new Russian up outside for a bit during the summer? Most tortoises do much better out in the natural sunshine and it keeps them happy and healthy. I'm sure you are going to just love having a Russian tortoise. They are quite people oriented.

 

[DoctorCosmonaut]

Hi there! cool double wide

 

[goodsmeagol]

Hi " goodsmeagol":

to the forum!!

Are you going to be able to set your new Russian up outside for a bit during the summer? Most tortoises do much better out in the natural sunshine and it keeps them happy and healthy. I'm sure you are going to just love having a Russian tortoise. They are quite people oriented.

Yeh I know and understand the importance of strong UVB for shell growth and calcium and d3 absorption. Which is why I felt the need to make sure BOTH bins had sufficient UVB, when I had it first set up, he would sometimes spend most of the day in the darker bin, under the light 'basking' at a mere 85o. So now I have lots of UVB in both sides.

Re:Outdoor enclosure.
I am an apartment bachelor(with a 2 bedroom apartment) but no yard. I have chosen to not have a permanent outdoor enclosure. However do plan on building a tortoise run on my balcony for 'play time' in the early afternoons before I goto work. Perhaps after a permanent table is build I will adjust the 2 bins to connect = = instead of | |, and use them as the outside enclosure.

He has started to get real grumpy if he does not wake up to a breakfast. I susually get up a few times through the night, and got into the habbit of putting a small meal in the cage an hour or so before he gets up. Today I had to go shopping first, and he almost rushed me when I did maintenance with my hand in the cage, attemnpted to eat me! Lesson learned, MAKE SURE HE HAS BREAKFAST!
* I do hear they will always look at me as a walking garden, and to watch out for toe or finger nibbles. Do you guys agree with this?

 

[DonaTello's-Mom]

Welcome! LOTR fan here too! Viggo mortensen very yummy, he hee!!

 

[spikethebest]

Welcome! Very nice setup!

 

[Stephanie Logan]

Did you guys know that the Lord of the Rings was the 2nd best selling book(s) of the 20th century? Superceded only by the Bible. Great piece of literature, and my favorite too.

Yvonne, that's a nice Welcome sign--love that cute baby seal!

Good luck with your new Russian. He is a fortunate tortoise indeed to have been chosen by a caring conscientious keeper.