rbcurdt
New Member
Hello all. I have been silently reading and researching on this forum for months, and we got our captive bred baby Russian last week. As much as I thought we were prepared, this all seems very overwhelming for such a small pet!
I'm going to add pics of our enclosure and ask a few questions if that is alright.
He sleeps most of the day, mostly in the light. Is this okay? I'm chalking some of it up to the journey he took to our home and getting used to his setup.
He barely ate, and didn't poop for 5 days after arrival. (We've had him one week). I did call the breeder and she thought maybe he was being picky to the food I was offering (kale, radiccio, turnip greens) and suggested I try something "sweeter" (dandelion greens & dark romaine) to see if he warms up to that. He finally ate a good bit Sunday night, and pooped! Yesterday, only two small leaves. (Like maybe a square inch total)
His enclosure is a "under the bed box" base with a wooden box built around it. Substrate is coir. Using Powersun 100w bulb, that up until today was getting 95 temps in the basking spot, and lower 70's in the cool. Today, though, I cant seem to get anything but mid 80's? I've read a general rule of thumb is that the bulb is 12' away. Currently, I have the bulb dome 12" away from substrate. Should I lower that so the bulb, that is a few inches inside, is 12" away? I don't want to burn the little guy, or come home to tortoise jerky.
My kids (who are allergic to most animals) absolutely love him, and I don't want to screw this up. Am I missing anything???
I'm going to add pics of our enclosure and ask a few questions if that is alright.
He sleeps most of the day, mostly in the light. Is this okay? I'm chalking some of it up to the journey he took to our home and getting used to his setup.
He barely ate, and didn't poop for 5 days after arrival. (We've had him one week). I did call the breeder and she thought maybe he was being picky to the food I was offering (kale, radiccio, turnip greens) and suggested I try something "sweeter" (dandelion greens & dark romaine) to see if he warms up to that. He finally ate a good bit Sunday night, and pooped! Yesterday, only two small leaves. (Like maybe a square inch total)
His enclosure is a "under the bed box" base with a wooden box built around it. Substrate is coir. Using Powersun 100w bulb, that up until today was getting 95 temps in the basking spot, and lower 70's in the cool. Today, though, I cant seem to get anything but mid 80's? I've read a general rule of thumb is that the bulb is 12' away. Currently, I have the bulb dome 12" away from substrate. Should I lower that so the bulb, that is a few inches inside, is 12" away? I don't want to burn the little guy, or come home to tortoise jerky.
My kids (who are allergic to most animals) absolutely love him, and I don't want to screw this up. Am I missing anything???
