Little russian hiding

katym

Member
Joined
May 31, 2020
Messages
14
Location (City and/or State)
Chesterfield
Hi guys, I'm new to owning these beautiful little guys/gals. My Boris is 8months old. I have him in a tortoise table. That is 3ft by 2ft and also have an outdoor enclosure of 6ft by 6ft. I have his basking area at 95 then the cooler end at 70. He has water available all day. I soak him every other day. My little guy has a hide in the warmer area and a hide in the cooler area. He decides to dig under his hide and push it out of the way and completely bury himself. Is this normal and is there anything I'm doing wrong? I have his substrate at 7 inches in the corners and where his hides are. I use a mix of organic topsoil and sand. I spray it every other day. I just want to make sure he/she is in good health and I'm giving him the best I possibly can. Thanks guys! IMG_20200525_080405_404.jpg
 

iAmCentrochelys sulcata

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 10, 2019
Messages
1,322
Location (City and/or State)
Alief
His enclosure may be to hot. It’s normal for them to hide and burry themselves.
You’ll need to increase the Humidity to prevent your tortoise from Pyramiding.
Don’t use topsoil nor Sand, change the substrate to Coco coir.
 

katym

Member
Joined
May 31, 2020
Messages
14
Location (City and/or State)
Chesterfield
Thanks. Iv just ordered Coco coir. I was wrongly advised on the substrate which I found out after reading a few thread on here! But I'm changing this asap.
 

katym

Member
Joined
May 31, 2020
Messages
14
Location (City and/or State)
Chesterfield
I changed out the soil and sand and he's now happy in his Coco coir and I replaced his wooden hide with a plastic one that's enclosed so hes got his comfy humid hide! Also placed a bit of orchid bark round his enclosure so he has a few different textures. The information I've found on here has been so helpful. Any more tips would be appreciated DSC_0067.JPG
 
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