new mother to a Russian boy

[Wolfhengesh]

Hi! I am a proud mother of a *they think* 3 or 4 year old Russian tort boy. He was abandoned on the porch of a rescue a couple weeks ago and I was fortunate enough to be selected to adopt the cutie boy. The rescue is operated by an exotic vet and he made sure he was healthy before I took him home. We are located in eastern Pennsylvania.

His name is Greg and he is beautiful.
I am very very inspired to give Greg the best life I can.

Currently he is in a temporary enclosure (40x24 inches) while I build out a book case enclosure for him this weekend. I spent weeks reading this forum and I’m trying my best.

He has 3-5 inches of cococoir all over with 1/2 of the enclosure covered with orchid bark- I want to see what he likes more and adjust. He has 2 terracotta bowls pressed into the orchid bark side one with water one with fresh broadleaf greens( collard and dandelion) and a small amount of moistened Mazuri tortoise food. I have had him 48 hours and have seen him drink water while sitting in the dish. He has a hide in a corner but hasn’t used it yet. I plan to grab a slate tile today for a basking spot.
He has a t8 20 inch uv light about 14 inches from shell height and a 100w heat light on the coco coir only side.

Am I missing anything? I have read myself mad and any advice would be appreciated. He is my first reptile I will solo care for.

my first full day with him he woke with the lights around 7:30 and started moving about around 9 am. He was digging and eating from 9-1:30 and then napped the rest of the day. Is this normal behavior?

I love him so much I can’t believe I have such an incredible creature in my home.

So happy to be here!

 

[Wolfhengesh]

He also has eaten both days around 10 am. I just purchased a greenhouse tent to put around the temporary enclosure to hold more hear.

I have 2 temperature readers and a infared gun but they fell off the wall.
I know his humidity level Is about 60%. Aiming to keep his temperature at 80 degrees with a hotter basking spot

I want to do this so right.

 

[TammyJ]

Welcome! Nice little tortoise, congratulations. You came to the right forum for the best help with him!

 

[Wolfhengesh]

Welcome! Nice little tortoise, congratulations. You came to the right forum for the best help with him!

Thank you so much! Yea there is so much going on in this forum!!

 

[Ink]

Welcome to the forum. If you post a picture of Greg's bottom and tail area someone might be able to tell you if it's a he or she. Congratulations

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hello and welcome!
Greg is a charming guy for sure! And you are doing a great start with tortoise care.

There is a couple of things (nothing serious), I've noticed:
1. You mentioned T8 UVB lamp at 14 inches over shell. This type of lamps doesn't give much UVB comparing to newer T5 lamps. So it may need some adjustment. Or, since spring is coming, you can just give him some natural sun which is far better
2. Collard greens and dandelions are great as part of varied diet and should not be the staple foods. But, perhaps, you know it already

 

[SinLA]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Wolfhengesh]

Hello and welcome!
Greg is a charming guy for sure! And you are doing a great start with tortoise care.

There is a couple of things (nothing serious), I've noticed:
1. You mentioned T8 UVB lamp at 14 inches over shell. This type of lamps doesn't give much UVB comparing to newer T5 lamps. So it may need some adjustment. Or, since spring is coming, you can just give him some natural sun which is far better
2. Collard greens and dandelions are great as part of varied diet and should not be the staple foods. But, perhaps, you know it already

This is what I suspected with the lamps. My delivery got lost and I ran to the highest rated/ reviewed reptile store in the area they only had a t8. I think you are right and I’ll get a t5. ANYTHING FOR GREG

can you suggest other specific greens I should add?
I heard spinach is bad. Someone suggested spring mix but I keep finding it with spinach and I don’t want to accidentally feed him some. It’s false spring over here so there’s not much green outside. I am also open to starting to grow my own foods but that will take some time.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

This is what I suspected with the lamps. My delivery got lost and I ran to the highest rated/ reviewed reptile store in the area they only had a t8. I think you are right and I’ll get a t5. ANYTHING FOR GREG

can you suggest other specific greens I should add?
I heard spinach is bad. Someone suggested spring mix but I keep finding it with spinach and I don’t want to accidentally feed him some. It’s false spring over here so there’s not much green outside. I am also open to starting to grow my own foods but that will take some time.

1. "Anything for Greg" doesn't mean it has to be expensive T8 lamps aren't the best options, but still usable. Maybe, even 15 minutes of natural sunlight a day are more beneficial. And a right sized enclosure as well
2. For the diet you should check this care sheet: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/the-best-way-to-raise-any-temperate-species-of-tortoise.183131/ I don't think I can add more to what Tom has written Occasional spinach isn't as bad as it thought before, there is no need to pick it out of the Spring Mix. The whole thing with oxalates and raphides seems to affect mammals more than tortoises. That doesn't mean that all foods high in oxalates can be be fed without caution I'm not really familiar with your climate and seasonal plants, but maybe you can find some mallow, for example. Or opuntia pads in the Mexican ethnic stores..

 

[Wolfhengesh]

1. "Anything for Greg" doesn't mean it has to be expensive T8 lamps aren't the best options, but still usable. Maybe, even 15 minutes of natural sunlight a day are more beneficial. And a right sized enclosure as well
2. For the diet you should check this care sheet: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/the-best-way-to-raise-any-temperate-species-of-tortoise.183131/ I don't think I can add more to what Tom has written Occasional spinach isn't as bad as it thought before, there is no need to pick it out of the Spring Mix. The whole thing with oxalates and raphides seems to affect mammals more than tortoises. That doesn't mean that all foods high in oxalates can be be fed without caution I'm not really familiar with your climate and seasonal plants, but maybe you can find some mallow, for example. Or opuntia pads in the Mexican ethnic stores..

Thank you so much. I don’t have much outdoor space for him at the moment and my home is unfortunately sparse with natural light.

If a t5 is going to give more adequate uvb it seems like the move.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Ok, got it

Please, keep us updated on Greg's new enclosure and ask any questions you might have.

 

[EppsDynasty]

@Wolfhengesh ... anything for greg .... you are awesome. Keep hanging around here and greg will be the happiest tort that exotic vet has ever seen and you'll be a very happy tort owner. Keep it up

 

[Wolfhengesh]

Welcome to the forum. If you post a picture of Greg's bottom and tail area someone might be able to tell you if it's a he or she. Congratulations

 

[Wolfhengesh]

@Wolfhengesh ... anything for greg .... you are awesome. Keep hanging around here and greg will be the happiest tort that exotic vet has ever seen and you'll be a very happy tort owner. Keep it up

Thank you so much.

 

[Tom]

This is what I suspected with the lamps. My delivery got lost and I ran to the highest rated/ reviewed reptile store in the area they only had a t8. I think you are right and I’ll get a t5. ANYTHING FOR GREG

can you suggest other specific greens I should add?
I heard spinach is bad. Someone suggested spring mix but I keep finding it with spinach and I don’t want to accidentally feed him some. It’s false spring over here so there’s not much green outside. I am also open to starting to grow my own foods but that will take some time.

Give this a read too:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Ink]

I think it's a boy.. however I can't see the entire tail. Can you get a picture of the tail

 

[Wolfhengesh]

I think it's a boy.. however I can't see the entire tail. Can you get a picture of the tail

Can you see it? I don’t want to pull it out

 

[Wolfhengesh]

Realizing neither of those photos may be what you’re looking for

 

[Wolfhengesh]

Also it seems like the humidity is closer to 80 on the warm side and 70 on the cool side is this too much?

 

[Tom]

Also it seems like the humidity is closer to 80 on the warm side and 70 on the cool side is this too much?

No. And that sure appears to be a male tail from what I can see.