New Tortoise Mommy.. HELP!

[btindall]

Hello TURTLE LOVERS.. My name is Brandi and yesterday I bought a russian tortoise, his name is scooter.. He is very active, I love to watch him crawl around and try to climb on his log. This is my first reptile. I bought EVERYTHING the people at the pet store told me to. But I do have a few questions..

1. I have him on turtle pellets, as well as veg. I also dusted his pellets with the calcium stuff. I know some say DONT DO THE PELLETS. DO I keep him on them? Or do I just do the veggies? Or both?

2. I have a 100 watt heat lamp that stimulates UV. Do I need to also purchase a UVB?

3. The bottom of his habitat is filled with repti bark. The pet store said to get it that is what they use. I also have a moss in there, they said to get it to help with the humidity. Is this correct, or do I need to get him something else?

4. I was wondering about the soaking/bath thing. I hear people say they soak there turtles? Do I need to soak mine? Ive been googling and researching, for the past 14 hours. And everywhere I go some say this and then others say dont do that?? Scooter cannot go out to get the natural sun right now, due to the snow we live in CT.

I feel very overwhelmed, but I know I can do this. I just need to know the right direction to go. I am going out today to get more things for him. If you have any suggestions. Please let me know. I want him to have a healthy happy environment.

Also I know you may be wondering, his humidity is at 60% and the temp is at 90 that was the night time temp. with out the heat lamp. He is sleeping right now. I was so worried about him and not having everything right I stayed up with him all night, and since we didnt get him home till 5pm I wanted him to keep warm my house temp is 74. I didnt turn his heat lamp off till 3am.. That was 4 hours ago.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME..

 

[jrholls]

Hi and welcome. You will get loads of help here. First of all, everyone is going to want to see pictures of Scooter, and his home. As far as substrate (the stuff on the floor of his enclosure), there are lots of opionions on substrate out there, but I really like a mix of coconut choir and play sand (mostly choir). Little Bo burrows all the way down to the bottom every night to sleep . She will eat darn near anything I give her, but from all our research, my wife and I decided to feed a steady diet of organic spring mix (spinach picked out) and other leafy greens like endive, escarole, collard greens, mustard greens, radiccio etc. We also feed butternut squash or carrots around once a month for a treat. I live in maine so produce this time of year is kinda lousy, but this spring I plan to grow and feed mostly weeds and flowers like dandelions. You will need to provide UVA and UVB light for Scooter. I and most people prefer a MVB (Mercury Vapor Bulb) because it provides both UVA/UVB and heat all in one bulb. I think you should keep his light on for 12-14 hours a day, and if your house ambient temp is 74, then you wont need heat at all at night. You should also provide fresh water in his house in a very shallow dish and change it everyday. We soak our tort around twice a week in warm (not hot) water and she usually drinks a bit then goes to the bathroom in there. How old is Scooter? Ive heard you should soak more often with very young torts. Hope this helps and I know you are going to love having your russian tort There are some great care sheets out there, and I'm sure someone will post some links for you.

 

[coreyc]

Hello welcome to the forum

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Brandi:

Welcome to the forum!!

You didn't say if your new Russian is a baby or an adult. When they get to be a couple of years old, they don't need so much humidity in their habitat any more. Just keeping a waterer in there would be sufficient...with maybe weekly soaks.

I'm not a fan of pellets. I feed fresh greens and veggies. Dark leafy greens like endive, escarole, turnip and dandelion greens, etc. In the wild Russians eat more of the broad-leafed weeds, not so much the grasses. I usually use Spring Mix and to that I'll add some clippings from outside. Whatever edible leaves and weeds are available.

You can trust this web site:

www.russiantortoise.org/

 

[btindall]

Hi Brandi:

Welcome to the forum!!

You didn't say if your new Russian is a baby or an adult. When they get to be a couple of years old, they don't need so much humidity in their habitat any more. Just keeping a waterer in there would be sufficient...with maybe weekly soaks.

I'm not a fan of pellets. I feed fresh greens and veggies. Dark leafy greens like endive, escarole, turnip and dandelion greens, etc. In the wild Russians eat more of the broad-leafed weeds, not so much the grasses. I usually use Spring Mix and to that I'll add some clippings from outside. Whatever edible leaves and weeds are available.

You can trust this web site:

www.russiantortoise.org/

I am not sure if he is a adult or baby. I dont know how to tell?? But I have gotten the light problem resolved, I soaked him and he loved it. Then I rubbed him down with a shell lotion. He is now basking with his cuttle bone. As far as the pellets go apparently the man at the pet store had no idea what he was talking about, so the lady helped me and we got everything figured out, I am returning the pellets. And he is eating carrots, red peppers and leafy greens. He seems happy right now, although I dont think he was when I got home, cause I woke him up to re do his habitat and soak him he hissed at me, it was kinda cute.. Loving my turtle <3

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome!

 

[Jacqui]

Hi and welcome! Congrats on your new Russian. A picture would really go a long way with us helping you even guess at an age for him. Also what do you mean by a "shell lotion"? Depending on what your referring to, chances are good we are going to suggest you not to use it.

 

[Zeely]

Welcome!

 

[B K]

Hello and Welcome

 

[CtTortoiseMom]

Welcome, I also live in CT.

 

[pdrobber]

welcome

 

[btindall]

Hi and welcome! Congrats on your new Russian. A picture would really go a long way with us helping you even guess at an age for him. Also what do you mean by a "shell lotion"? Depending on what your referring to, chances are good we are going to suggest you not to use it.

Its called, turtle vita shell.

 

[Sky2Mina]

Welcome to the forum! I'm sure if you read a lot, you'll sure know what to need to know. I'm just reading and learning too, before getting my first tortoise.
There's so much contradicting information in the internet, sometimes it's hard to know what's best. In that case, I'd say just do what you think is best and what seems logical.
I have never heard of "shell lotion", but I wouldn't use it. I don't really know if it's good or bad, but my guess is, that, if they don't use it in the wild, then they don't need it.
Anyways, welcome to the forum and have fun with your cute little tortoise.

 

[jeffbens0n]

Welcome!

 

[Madkins007]

Shell lotions...

This is a debated issue. The basic idea of almost all skin (and shell) lotions, regardless of what the advertising says, is to help trap moisture in the cells. You soak the skin or shell cells to get them all nice and plump, then add a lotion, wax, or oil on top to slow down dehydration. This is the basic idea behind hand lotion, lip balm, and more.

There is usually a claim that ingredients in the more expensive lotions 'feed' the skin, but the top layers of epidermis are dead and do not benefit from vitamins, nutrients, etc. to any real extent. In fact, one of the most highly rated hand lotions is Vasoline Intensive Care, which is Vasoline Petroleum Jelly trapped in microspheres- almost nothing helpful or nutritious to the skin.

The anti-lotion side usually comments about attracting dirts. blocking the pores from breathing, or long-term intimate exposure to chemicals. It seems odd that no one makes these claims for hand lotion, baby lotion, or lip balm which all do the same thing. It does not really attract dirt if the layer is thin enough, and tortoises should get dirty sometimes. They do not breathe through their pores (neither do humans), and there is no real evidence that lotions or oils on the skin cause any real health issues.

I cannot find any real objective evidence that lotions or oils really help or hurt.

IN MY OPINION (take this for what it is worth):
I use a bit of baby oil on my young Red-foots after their monthly or so soaks and I think it helps maintain their hydration, but I have no hard evidence that it is doing much.

If you choose to do this, use a product you would feel OK using on a baby, with minimal fragrance or other stuff in it. My dermatologist once defined a good hand lotion as 'cheap, white, and in a pump bottle'. Other options would be baby lotion, baby oil, olive oil, etc. I see absolutely no benefit to 'shell treatments' or specialty lotions or oils for this purpose.

Should you choose to go this route, the basic treatment is to soak the tortoise, then use a very small amount of oil or lotion to rub over the entire shell. Wipe off any excess.