Matthew Torrey Jr
Member
- Joined
- Dec 26, 2016
- Messages
- 44
Hello everybody! I was just wondering how my setup is looking right now on Day 2. And how often I should replace the substrate. The substrate is mulch.
My enclosure
- Thread starter Matthew Torrey Jr
- Start date
Too small to dry and to bare. Russians need a lot of space. They cover a lot of ground in the wild. A minimum or 4x8 needed.
You are not gonna want to hear this. No glass and no wood chip substrate. The tortoise cannot recognize the glass and will keep running into it. At some point there will be injury to the beak. The wood, well you can look it up. Some wood is toxic to the tortoise. I would recommend a plastic tote for starters and coconut coir for substrate. A 50 or 45 gallon tote is cheap at Walmart. Put barriers in there to block his line of sight, that makes it look larger to the tortoise.
Glass is not the issue. The problem is it's too small. Fish and Water turtles live in glass all the time without issues. I along with several of the more experienced members use glass all the time. You will need something much bigger than even a 50 gallon tote, measure the floor space on it and it's probably smaller than what you have now. This will work temporarily but start looking for something much bigger.
I agree, glass is fine to use. It can be blocked where the tort can't see out. The problem with glass is they usually don't come big enough for tortoises. The size of this one would be big enough for one small hatchling for a very short time. Plastic totes are cheap and they can be joined together to give bigger more interesting space.
Agreed, Walmart may still have some Christmas tree storage totes. Putting 2 of them together would be nice. It would only be a couple feet wide but it would be over 8' long.
Alexio
Active Member
I got mine at Aldi's.
For everyone else's information - Matthew is only 13 years old. Please go gently with him.
Hi Matthew
The others are correct - the enclosure is too small for your tortoise.
Have you read our care sheets for Russians? They're written by species experts working hard to correct the outdated information widely available on the internet and from pet stores and, sadly, from some breeders and vets too.
Beginner Mistakes
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
Russian Tortoise Care
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
Hi Matthew
The others are correct - the enclosure is too small for your tortoise.
Have you read our care sheets for Russians? They're written by species experts working hard to correct the outdated information widely available on the internet and from pet stores and, sadly, from some breeders and vets too.
Beginner Mistakes
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
Russian Tortoise Care
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2016
- Messages
- 119
'Deck boxes' butted up together look nice and would give you more room.
Can get at Sears and sometimes @ Home Depot.
Can get at Sears and sometimes @ Home Depot.
Ask your parents to help you build a tort table...if you have the space in your room go with a 6x2 box made of plywood....will run you about 40bucks...then add in the top soil and decorations which you can make yourself as well or get at a 99cent store...you can add legs to it also made from 2x4..and make sure to build the walls atleast 15in high if you decide on adding in a 2nd level...
I really like stevenf625's idea of the deck boxes. It gives the tortoise lots of room.
Matthew, I realize you're trying your best to provide a good home for this little Russian tortoise. And it's hard to be creative when you don't have your own money and have to ask your parents to help out. Go to the stores and price (or look online) the deck boxes, then price the big plastic tubs like this:
You can use two of these, end to end and cut out, just like the deck boxes. I don't think these cost too much.
Matthew, I realize you're trying your best to provide a good home for this little Russian tortoise. And it's hard to be creative when you don't have your own money and have to ask your parents to help out. Go to the stores and price (or look online) the deck boxes, then price the big plastic tubs like this:
You can use two of these, end to end and cut out, just like the deck boxes. I don't think these cost too much.
Matthew Torrey Jr
Member
- Joined
- Dec 26, 2016
- Messages
- 44
Thank you guys a lot that was very helpful!
I bought my deck box at Home depot. Assembly required. I ordered mine online and it was delivered free to a nearby store, You are looking at over $200. If you do not own a drill or won't buy one for assembly I would say forget it. The deck box is a Rubbermade. They are very good quality and strong, I have some I keep my rifles in too. Easy to put together, but time consuming and the directions not the clearest in the world.
There are some people out there with as much or more experience than you have who disagree with you about glass. It took me about 5 minutes of watching Buster run into the glass to take him out of an aquarium.
Mathew, if you have access to Amazon then you can watch a series of videos about caring for Russian Tortoises from someone with decades of experience with enclosures and feeding and I believe you can watch them for free if you do not mind commercials.
All viewpoints are valid.
Big Ol Tortoise
Well-Known Member
Mrs.Turtle (my 3 toed box turtle)lives in an aquarium and she doesn't run into the walls.
I've seen tortoises run into wood enclosures when they were first put into the enclosure and then they settle down. Whatever Matthew decides on, will be up to him to decide if his tort has issues.
Can I see a pic of it please? We rescued Stanley our eb turtle...and I feel he is not happy in his tort box...
