Hehe thanks everyone! If anything it puts my mind at ease a little that pyramiding isn't a major concern in Russians. I just don't want to cause him any detriment by having him at a lower humidity than he should be at. I do remember something recently about a Russian in an aquarium with a Sulcata, and some other not-so-great things. I probably shouldn't worry because he'll have the humid hide, and most months out of the year our house will be humid, >40%, just not during the current Winter season when we have heat on.
My little guy is in a tort table that is if anything too big for him (It's 5.5 ft. by 1.5 ft or so!). The only concern I have still is it's a little high-sided (18 inches) because I built it to adult length, escape-proof, using pre-cut wood, and for deep substrate. We might get around to putting in some vent holes in the sides to ease that last concern. He's ignoring the ends of it for now and has visual breaks in it as well so I think size-wise it's ok. No idea where I'd put all his cage furnishings if he was in something considerably smaller...and I'm already considering a second story down the road.
Short story: I've gotten grief for it, but the eco earth and sand combo that is usually recommended isn't a good option for us due to extreme dampness in our climate (without heat on, so most months of the year)...it was way too hard to even keep a small part of the enclosure warm enough for him. Also, the vet recommended while he's young at least (for the first year or so I have him, and he's 4 months ish), something that I can keep up with his potty habits (I couldn't tell if he was pooping since his droppings are so small and the same color as eco earth), and keep him clean (he was getting fibers stuck in him, including in his neck, which scares me), is the best.
She impressed me with her knowledge of tortoises (I didn't disagree with her except on one thing which I'll talk about below, in almost 2 hours of consultation, and to boot she only charged $50) and came recommended by a local tort society so I trust her advice, and we can re-think his substrate after we can make sure all his basic needs are being met and he's not in the hatchling stage (although I really like the aspen as it's so much easier to deal with in general). The first week I got him he was in semi-hibernation because he was way too cold. His activity level seems better now (from what I've read about hatchlings, and I've still been spending hours a day worrying about him and looking things up; I've actually read through almost all the applicable posts on this board!).
Just trying to correct for any humidity issues that may arise from using a very dry (aspen) substrate which I haven't read much on besides this message board. The one thing I disagreed on from the vet: she wanted me to keep him on newspaper or paper towels with a little hay until he was at least 1 year old, but we decided to make a compromise with the aspen (from the advice of this board). It still met all her mentioned criteria and eased our concerns of muscle growth and digging/burrowing.
Thanks for all the concern! No worries at all. I'd never consider an aquarium for him...I bet that would cost even more than the tort table anyways.
I'm enjoying spoiling the little guy. I bought him organic dandelion greens from Whole Foods even though he couldn't eat even a fraction of them before they went bad...I learned to like them and have been making salad, lol. Every few days I go pick up really fresh spring mix (bulk, using spare change) just for him, and we've driven to all the local stores to visit produce sections. I spent all my Christmas money on him too. I think he likes the new heat emitter but hasn't quite learned that he should sleep in his hide under it (which is a nice night temp for him). Yesterday I slept in and missed his feeding time in the a.m.--he had already gone in for a nap. I sure felt bad about that! He ate late so that messed up his breakfast today. I feed him once a day (very early on work days) and I think by the time he got around to eating it was all dried up, so I gave him a fresh snack and we'll get back on schedule tomorrow. As my fiance puts it, I need to wake up early to feed my child. hehe I'm 22 and definitely childless so it's a big joke here.
My little guy is in a tort table that is if anything too big for him (It's 5.5 ft. by 1.5 ft or so!). The only concern I have still is it's a little high-sided (18 inches) because I built it to adult length, escape-proof, using pre-cut wood, and for deep substrate. We might get around to putting in some vent holes in the sides to ease that last concern. He's ignoring the ends of it for now and has visual breaks in it as well so I think size-wise it's ok. No idea where I'd put all his cage furnishings if he was in something considerably smaller...and I'm already considering a second story down the road.
Short story: I've gotten grief for it, but the eco earth and sand combo that is usually recommended isn't a good option for us due to extreme dampness in our climate (without heat on, so most months of the year)...it was way too hard to even keep a small part of the enclosure warm enough for him. Also, the vet recommended while he's young at least (for the first year or so I have him, and he's 4 months ish), something that I can keep up with his potty habits (I couldn't tell if he was pooping since his droppings are so small and the same color as eco earth), and keep him clean (he was getting fibers stuck in him, including in his neck, which scares me), is the best.
She impressed me with her knowledge of tortoises (I didn't disagree with her except on one thing which I'll talk about below, in almost 2 hours of consultation, and to boot she only charged $50) and came recommended by a local tort society so I trust her advice, and we can re-think his substrate after we can make sure all his basic needs are being met and he's not in the hatchling stage (although I really like the aspen as it's so much easier to deal with in general). The first week I got him he was in semi-hibernation because he was way too cold. His activity level seems better now (from what I've read about hatchlings, and I've still been spending hours a day worrying about him and looking things up; I've actually read through almost all the applicable posts on this board!).
Just trying to correct for any humidity issues that may arise from using a very dry (aspen) substrate which I haven't read much on besides this message board. The one thing I disagreed on from the vet: she wanted me to keep him on newspaper or paper towels with a little hay until he was at least 1 year old, but we decided to make a compromise with the aspen (from the advice of this board). It still met all her mentioned criteria and eased our concerns of muscle growth and digging/burrowing.
Thanks for all the concern! No worries at all. I'd never consider an aquarium for him...I bet that would cost even more than the tort table anyways.
I'm enjoying spoiling the little guy. I bought him organic dandelion greens from Whole Foods even though he couldn't eat even a fraction of them before they went bad...I learned to like them and have been making salad, lol. Every few days I go pick up really fresh spring mix (bulk, using spare change) just for him, and we've driven to all the local stores to visit produce sections. I spent all my Christmas money on him too. I think he likes the new heat emitter but hasn't quite learned that he should sleep in his hide under it (which is a nice night temp for him). Yesterday I slept in and missed his feeding time in the a.m.--he had already gone in for a nap. I sure felt bad about that! He ate late so that messed up his breakfast today. I feed him once a day (very early on work days) and I think by the time he got around to eating it was all dried up, so I gave him a fresh snack and we'll get back on schedule tomorrow. As my fiance puts it, I need to wake up early to feed my child. hehe I'm 22 and definitely childless so it's a big joke here.
