Need some baby RT advice

[Bobo's Dad]

I just bought a baby russian tortoise off of a dealer. He is about 1 month old. I have him in 20 gallon long tank with contact paper on the sides about six inches up to prevent him running into the w alls. I have a hideaway log on the cold side (72 degrees) and a stone hideaway on the basking side (97 degrees). I heat with a flukers sun dome with a exo terra 160 watt combo heat/UVA and B lamp, and at night I use a 75 watt black night heat bulb. I have a clear flat dish in the middle with his food (baby romaine green and red and carrot shavings) little guy loves to eat! Also I have a piece of cuttle bone in the middle too. I mist his food with calcium supplement. He has plenty of room to roam around. I am using fir bark for his substrate and he seems to like to dig in it an cover himself up. I try and soak him every 3 days. I also its the the substrate daily to keep it nice in there. I was just wondering if I am doing all the right things? I am not home alot during the day so I do not see his behavior pattern while I am at work. How many times a day should I feed him? Does anyone have any advice or suggestions? His name is Bobo and he is so freakin cute. He does spend a lot of time in his hot side hideaway is that ok? I am getting ready to grow dandelions in dixie cups in order to adventualy incorporate them into his habitat. Any advice wil be appreciated!

Thanks Darren

 

[TortoiseBoy1999]

Well you should soak him in lukewarm water AT LEAST once a day, but 2 times a day would be better (once in the morning, once in the evening) his basking spot should be 100° and his cool side should be 80°-ish. Russian's love to dig so that's normal. Does he get any grass? Russian tortoise's need fiber. You are going to need to get a bigger tank in the future but for now he's good. Good job! Hope this helped!

 

[Bobo's Dad]

Thanks for the advice I am planning on growing a patch of grass in a rectangular dish and plant it in the tank. I am actually going to build him a tort table 2 story in the next few months. I will upload a pic of bobo tonight if you want to check him out. I will defiantly soak him like you said. Will that help with digestion because I have not spotted fecies yet since I got him Sunday. I will increase his temps also. Any advice is appreciated.

Darren

 

[Laurie]

Russian babies are cute!! I think you're keeping your enclosure too warm. That with less frequent soaking can lead to dehydration. I like to keep my Russian babies with a basking spot between 90-95F, warm side 75-79F, cool side 70-75F. Your nighttime temperature should drop to 60-65F, so unless your house is pretty cold at night, you can ditch the night heat bulb.

I also like to soak my babies daily, make sure he/she always has access to a shallow, easy to get in/out of water dish. I like to use plant saucers for this.

 

[Bobo's Dad]

Ok so what your saying temp wise is different than the guy above commented he said hotter temps. Just wondering. So you think I should ditch the night light? Should I get a small battery operated fan and put on top the screen to help circulate the air?

 

[Bobo's Dad]

I also not noticed that he has pooped since I got him Sunday. Is it because it is to small to see? Also will soaking him more help him urate better? Would it be better if I used a shallow plastic container to house him in versus a tank? Also my substrate is it proper for babies or should I use something different. I am using that repti bark fir bark stuff.

 

[TortoiseBoy1999]

I also not noticed that he has pooped since I got him Sunday. Is it because it is to small to see? Also will soaking him more help him urate better? Would it be better if I used a shallow plastic container to house him in versus a tank? Also my substrate is it proper for babies or should I use something different. I am using that repti bark fir bark stuff.

The warm water should help his digestive system, I like to use coco coir for baby's because I have had a baby tortoise choke on that bark, the tank is ok for now while he's small. And you can listen to Laurie about the temps. I don't think however that the temps should drop below 70° at night for risk of a RI (RI=Respiratory Infection) to cold and to wet is a bad mix. And we LOVE pics of baby tortoise's! And I don't think you'll need to get a fan.

 

[Bobo's Dad]

Thanks tortoiseboy. I have 2 new bricks of coir at home I will change to that. Should I really squeeze the coir as dry as possible or leave it a little damp? Is coir ok will it not get in his eyes and cause probs? I was going to give him more room in a cement mixing tray you buy at home depot that way he would have more area to roam. Can you plant dandelions or grass in that coco coir?

 

[TortoiseBoy1999]

Thanks tortoiseboy. I have 2 new bricks of coir at home I will change to that. Should I really squeeze the coir as dry as possible or leave it a little damp? Is coir ok will it not get in his eyes and cause probs? I was going to give him more room in a cement mixing tray you buy at home depot that way he would have more area to roam. Can you plant dandelions or grass in that coco coir?

Coir is good damp I have bricks of it too that I use. It shouldn't cause any problems. And I plant, plants in my coco coir! I don't know what you mean by the cement thing.

 

[Laurie]

Russian tortoises benefit from a night time drop in temperature, 70F overnight for a russian is too warm. Russians do not need to be kept in high humidity. Those high humidity threads you see of Tom's are specific to Sulcatas and Leopards.

I have three russian tortoises, one adult, two babies. Here is what I like to do:

Temperatures: Basking 90-95F, Warm side 75-79F, Cool side 70-74F, Nighttime everything is off, enclosures drop to low 60F.

Substrate: I have coco coir that I mix with some dirt from my backyard. My torts lived outside for the summer, they did well on the dirt, thats why I mixed it.
Some people use 100% coir, some use sand mixed in. It all depends on what you like. I prefer the coir/dirt because its easy for them to burrow in
and it holds moisture well. It also forms a nice "crust" on top and allows underneath to stay nice and moist. A good way to tell if its moist enough is
to try to form a ball of it with your hands and have it stick together without being dripping wet.

Lighting: I currently have tube uvb lighting and just a regular 60W lightbulb providing their basking spot. My lights come on at 6:30 in the morning and turn off at
7:30pm. They are on timers so its easy and consistent.

Soaking: I soak my babies once a day for 20 minutes each day. Everyone has a nice shallow dish filled with clean water in their enclosures.

Food : I try to feed as many things as I can fresh from outside. Luckily, my yard is full of weeds They eat sow thistle, dandelions, rose of sharon, clovers,
opuntia, sedum, mulberry leaves and pretty much whatever else I can find. I just go out and grab a bunch As less become available due to the
weather, I will supplement with some grocery store greens. Mustard greens, turnip greens, kale, collards, endive, dandelion greens are all good choices
and should be rotated for variety.

I have asked many people on the forum when I was new. Everyone does things a little differently (maybe a different substrate or uv source and such). This has been working well for me and my tortoises, they seem healthy, alert and active.

 

[TortoiseBoy1999]

You can listen to Laurie if you want.

 

[Laurie]

You can listen to Laurie if you want.

It's not about "listening" to one person . Everyones input helps

 

[Bobo's Dad]

What about the cement mixing tray versus the 20 gal long tank I have him in? I am thinking better air circulation and better lighting temps.

 

[Creedence]

I pretty much hate tanks for my russian. He spent all of his time pacing even after I covered the walls. I vote mixing tray.

 

[TortoiseBoy1999]

What about the cement mixing tray versus the 20 gal long tank I have him in? I am thinking better air circulation and better lighting temps.

Hmmmm maybe Tom will know.... Shoot him a PM. You'll find him in the Sulcata section

 

[kanalomele]

I have had Russians for about 15 years now, 3 adults that give me hatchlings almost every year. My babies are all indoor babies, housed in a large tank with an open top. I personally like my hatchlings to be super socialized right from the beginning and find a tank very useful for this. I like for them to see me and come running for their treats. Occasionally I will have one that is stressed by the glass, but that is rare for me. I have never had a problem maintaining temps for them. Mine are usually in line with the temps Laurie uses. I also shut everything off at night. An average home temp is fine for nights. I do however completely cover the tank at night so that the temp changes more slowly than an immediate change when the lights go out. I use a MVB and a che if I need more warmth, I usually don't. I do provide a humid hide for them which they use all the time. For substrate I use a combination of coco coir and organic topsoil, or dirt from the yard and sphagnum moss. I soak at least once a day for the first 6 months. They are usually going to their new families by this time and I have the new family agree to every other day soakings. If I am holding any over for any reason, then I will continue daily soaking. Soaks help with digestion, and expulsion of urates. It is good for you if this happens in the water as it keep the tank cleaner longer. 20 gallon tank should be plenty of space for a hatchling.

 

[JoeImhof]

On Lauries post, I dont understand how you get it down to 60 at night, in an indoor enclosure, in summer. Even a house with full blown AC running is going to be 72 or so.

Do you have a water bowl the baby can climb into on his own? Once my Skittles was a month old, I never had to "soak" him on purpose ever again. Every morning he climbs into his water bowl in the enclosure, and soaks himself without any need of encouragement.
I keep this little water bowl right under the light, and he will spend 1/2 hour or more in it willingly, on his own, every day.

Good luck!

 

[Laurie]

On Lauries post, I dont understand how you get it down to 60 at night, in an indoor enclosure, in summer. Even a house with full blown AC running is going to be 72 or so.

Do you have a water bowl the baby can climb into on his own? Once my Skittles was a month old, I never had to "soak" him on purpose ever again. Every morning he climbs into his water bowl in the enclosure, and soaks himself without any need of encouragement.
I keep this little water bowl right under the light, and he will spend 1/2 hour or more in it willingly, on his own, every day.

Good luck!

My tortoises stay outside during the summer. I just brought them inside a couple of days ago when our night time temps started to be consistently below 50f. Our summer nighttime highs here in upstate NY are not that high

 

[kanalomele]

On Lauries post, I dont understand how you get it down to 60 at night, in an indoor enclosure, in summer. Even a house with full blown AC running is going to be 72 or so.

Do you have a water bowl the baby can climb into on his own? Once my Skittles was a month old, I never had to "soak" him on purpose ever again. Every morning he climbs into his water bowl in the enclosure, and soaks himself without any need of encouragement.
I keep this little water bowl right under the light, and he will spend 1/2 hour or more in it willingly, on his own, every day.

Good luck!
[/quote ]

For me here in CA, my adults and juvies live outside year round. The hatchlings live inside. Night temps are varied by where you live in the country, as well as indoor ac temps. To get my babies cooler I have them next to a closed window, it also helps them warm up very evenly in the morning. For me 60 degrees at night is not the goal. Cooler is the goal. I don't worry if they get as low as 60 but never lower. More fluctuation than that will make them want to brumate and I never let hatchlings brumate their first year.

 

[Laurie]

I agree with you, my post said low 60's. Here I can easily keep their indoor winter enclosures at 62F, I'm cheap and I lower my heat at night . I would say our summer overnight lows here were rarely over 60F , a day here or there of 70's would be fine.

I think the low 60's is achievable, but the cooler the better I think, within reason of course.

I think I left the "'s" in my post so it says low 60. My first post gives a range of the low 60's.