New owner with some ?'s & looking for feedback

[Lovenmysuber]

Hello,
As I mentioned in the intro section we have added a male RT to our family. He is around 7 according to his previous family. When we went to pick him up yesterday I realized he had some irregularities on his shell; there are craters & he seems quite “blonde”. I was wondering if the craters are from him not being care for as ideally as recommended, or if it is normalish & if his color will get darker with a different environment? He lived in a glass enclosure with cedar chips, a water bowl & a hide log & was strictly an indoor tortoise. He ate mostly lettuce & grapes every once in a while.

We built a tortoise table for him & as you can see from the picture he has a UVB light & a basking light, two hide outs (the second is under the corner ledge). We also planted a small clover patch, petunias, & a hosta plant to munch & step on. There is a water bowl in the large hide, & a slate title for Fred to eat of off. His beak & nails seem a little long so I was hoping between the rocks & slate this would help dull them a little. I also added a cuttlebone, as well as thermometer & hygrometer set this morning. I was wondering if we need to get some sort of black (red or blue) light for the night. I have read contradictory things about using light at night & was wondering what the consensus is. I have also bought some coconut husk for the enclosure. I used a coir& sand mixture for his enclosure & we just plan on spraying it to keep the humidity up.

We also made a small enclosure for Fred outside, eventually I want to offer him a much larger section of the yard, but for now this is what he was. Please feel free to comment on any potential problems that you all see with the current set up or share any information.

Thanks in advance!

 

[WillTort2]

At night your torts enclosure should be dark. If heat is needed at night use a CHE (ceramic heat emitter). In colder weather if temps are dropping below 55 degrees you may wish to use the CHE.

I have seen reports of sand in the substrate causing impaction. If using sand with the coco coir the proportion is based on dry weight not on volume. Many members use top soil (with no additives) with the coco coir rather than sand.

Your lamp needs to have the cord anchored as well as the clamp holding it in place. Think of wrapping the cord as a safety belay to protect against the heat from a fallen lamp causing injury to your tort or fire from the heat to the substrate.

What bulb are you using?

Buy a temperature gun to determine exact temperatures for your cool side and your basking spot.

Make sure your water dish does not have tall sides; they can be a flip and drown hazard.

Consider adding a second story or an expansion, Russian torts need a lot of roaming room.

Good luck and welcome.

 

[Lovenmysuber]

Thanks for the feedback. The basking bulb is a Zoo Med basking spot lamp I think it is a 50W (it provides heat of 90-95) & the UVB lamp is a 15W Zilla bulb it was on the previous owner had for him. It looks like it is the Tropical 25 T8 UVB Fluorescent Bulb. They weren't sure how old the bulb is so I am buying him a new one. His water dish is also one they provided, & the sides (from the inside) measure not quite 3/4 of an inch. We were talking about giving him more room, but I don't want the poor guy going into shock... this is much bigger than he had for the last 6/7 years; plus he is outside during the day. Hopefully, by the winter we can add more.

I felt bad for him last night because as soon as we shut his lights off it was as though he froze and was still in the same spot this morning....wasn't sure if that was normal or if that's why they were "supposed" to have a light at night. Thanks for clearing the night time light thing up.

Should I be concerned about his shell? He has a checkup, but the guy that my "normal" vet recommended is on vacation so he can't be seen until the 13th. Thanks again for the feedback- already fixed the cord.

 

[WillTort2]

When my timer shuts off the lights for my tortoises I'll leave the hall light on for about 30 minutes to give them a little light to change position. But usually they have moved into their sleeping positions long before the timers shut down.

I run my lights from about 7:30 am to 8:30 pm; it seems to work for them.

If you wish you can have a small light running from a separate timer.

Good luck.

 

[Lovenmysuber]

Thanks!