new mother to a Russian boy

[Wolfhengesh]

Hello fellow tort lovers!!
Greg’s new enclosure has been built and I’m trying to figure out the best arrangement for him.

It’s 60x 30 with 16 inch walls. Its been coated in latex paint so I hope it holds up.

I am thinking of setting it up like this

I want to give him a range of temps/humidity/substrate. I have cococoir and orchid bark.
I am thinking about covering only a portion of the enclosure with a green house tent as I’m finding difficulty finding something 60 inches long.
The green house portion will have the humid hide, a Che, and a water bowl- thinking about having plants in there but playing around with location.

The open area will have another different heat source on the other side a large wading water dish and several food stations.

I have the substrates separated right now and am liking it as it’s easy to clean up the lettuce he throws around when it’s on the orchid bark. Where should the different substrate go in this arrangement? Should the cococoir go in the humid side. Or I could even just surround the water and food areas w orchid bark. And go coco coir everywhere else.

Or does anyone have suggestions? I know nothing I do will be permanent but I’d like to use others trial and error to my advantage and create an enjoyable environment for Greg.

 

[SinLA]

your experience may be different, but Russian's don't tend to like water. So you should definitely have a sunken water bowl he can access, but I wouldn't worry about making big like a "wading pool" the way you see online that other tortoises like. If you find he really does like his water bowl you can make it larger, but I very rarely see mine actively seek it out, so I would not take up precious floor space with it.

Looks like a real labor of love you are doing!

 

[Wolfhengesh]

Oooh yes yes. That makes lots of sense.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hello!

Greg is really lucky to have you!

1. Basking lamp and UVB light should be mounted close to each other (you need heat, visible light, IR and UV over the same area). I would put them. over the center of "food-food-water" triangle.
2. Orchid bark makes mess in the food and water dishes, so it makes sense to put it over the "dining area" (and under the dishes too).

I'm not sure that covering only a part with greenhouse will work as expected. You need to go "all in" Either use open table (which is certainly possible with adult Russian tortoises) or fully cover it. I would prefer to cover as temperatures and humidity are better controlled.
I was able to find suitable greenhouse tops here:
https://www.aosom.com/outdoor-patio/mini-greenhouses-c289.html (but I believe you can find the same brand on Amazon, Lowes or HomeDepot).

 

[Wolfhengesh]

It’s coming along. I wish it wasn’t so scary for him to have a room upgrade.

The wood is painted w latex paint but didn’t seem waterproof enough. The tarp will have to do until he rips it.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

It's looking nice! Greg will enjoy it once settled down a bit.

Just one thing, but very important: don't trust the lamp clamps. They often (if not always) fall. You need to secure them with a wire or zip ties. Some domes come packaged with a bracket for hanging off the hook - better to use it than the clamp.