my temp enclosure

[stables_26]

first of all he is my tortoise Nate

this is the small enclosure i built as a temp untill i get the main one designed and constructed.

i know its not that big but the real thing will be much better suited.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi stables_26:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

May I make a couple suggestions? Don't know why I asked, as I'm going to make them anyway!

Your little Nate is just as cute as he can be. I notice quite a bit of pyramiding on his carapace. May I ask what kind of light you're using and what you feed Nate?

Sometime little baby tortoises get quite adventurous and I can see Nate flying off the second story and landing on his back. You might consider making a little fence up there so he can't try out his superman powers.

It would be easier for Nate to get into his water dish if you scrape away some of the substrate from underneath it so it sits flush.

I love your habitat. Its a good size and is eye-appealing to boot!

 

[yagyujubei]

I have to say that for temporary digs, it's great.

 

[stables_26]

thanks . well at the moment i have a basking bulb for during the day and a reed bulb for night i got them from the same shop as nate but after reading up for the past week im away to purchace a uv tube . i feed him mostly on water cress and the odd bit of fruit and lettus . was given arkvits by the seller to sprinkle on his food every so often but again trying to find out more . i have only had him a week so any help or input would be great

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi stables_26 (what would you like us to call you?):

Here's a site dedicated specifically to the Russian (Agrionemys horsfieldii) tortoise. It gives you a much more varied list of foods to feed your little guy:

http://russiantortoise.org/russiantortoisediet.htm

For the Russian tortoises, I don't think the tube-type UV bulbs put out enough UV. See if you can find the mercury vapor bulbs where you live. They're expensive, but they're the best.

 

[lynnedit]

This is what people in UK use, similar to our combination MVB bulbs (UV and heat).
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Arcadia-Rep...2A9S/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1326166327&sr=8-3
Yes, not cheap, but they seem well worth it.
That is all you need. On 12-14 hours per day, off at night. Timers are great.
Unless your house gets less than 15-16C at night, you don't even need heat at night. These torts seem to prefer the temp change night to day.

you might soak him in warm shallow water 2-3x per week. They often don't like it, but it is really good for them as inside enclosures tend to be drying.

I think your set up looks great! In your new one, you might consider having part of it be organic topsoil, with the bark around the water dish and feeding slate (piece of slate helps trim nails and beak). They love to climb; a railing is a nice idea.
Very cute tort!