wemakegreatpets
Member
hi!
I’ve owned my Russian, Delilah, for 5 full months now. I got her from a shelter. It’s unknown how old she is, but she’s a chungus—huge at 9” and about 3-3.5 lbs (need to weigh her but I’m guessing).
I DO know Delilah was kept indoors in a way too small enclosure. She prefers her 8’ by 4’ enclosure now.
I am making her a large enclosed outdoor one however. It’s 10’ by 5’ (a huge blowup kiddie pool w strong vinyl). I cannot let her out in the yard because we spray for weeds. However I bring her out 2-3x a week to the abandoned golf course away from the yard.
I’ve been reading about naturalistic keeping, and I do want to know your opinions.
1. How deep should the sub really be? Is 12” or 14” really enough?
2. Naturalistically speaking I “should” leave her outside heat round and let her hibernate (should she have even deeper digging room). However I live right outside of Chicago. It got to -50 F in January. That temp would surely kill a Russian tort even if she were 4’ in the ground. Correct? I want to let her live her best but I can’t physically leave her outside all the Time!
Plus our weather is notoriously, horribly fickle. It’s been 70 degrees in May—then 30 and snowing. What does everyone think?
3. I used several bags of dirt and cypress and the enclosure isn’t even 1/4 full yet at the depth I want it to be. Do most cheap mulches at hardware stores have toxic pine in them? I’d rather do this cheaply but I’ll do what I need to.
4. I have a few hides, wood and plastic caves for her to hide under, and am also going to plant some stuff in the dirt areas of the enclosure. What else can I do?
Thanks in advance!
I’ve owned my Russian, Delilah, for 5 full months now. I got her from a shelter. It’s unknown how old she is, but she’s a chungus—huge at 9” and about 3-3.5 lbs (need to weigh her but I’m guessing).
I DO know Delilah was kept indoors in a way too small enclosure. She prefers her 8’ by 4’ enclosure now.
I am making her a large enclosed outdoor one however. It’s 10’ by 5’ (a huge blowup kiddie pool w strong vinyl). I cannot let her out in the yard because we spray for weeds. However I bring her out 2-3x a week to the abandoned golf course away from the yard.
I’ve been reading about naturalistic keeping, and I do want to know your opinions.
1. How deep should the sub really be? Is 12” or 14” really enough?
2. Naturalistically speaking I “should” leave her outside heat round and let her hibernate (should she have even deeper digging room). However I live right outside of Chicago. It got to -50 F in January. That temp would surely kill a Russian tort even if she were 4’ in the ground. Correct? I want to let her live her best but I can’t physically leave her outside all the Time!
Plus our weather is notoriously, horribly fickle. It’s been 70 degrees in May—then 30 and snowing. What does everyone think?
3. I used several bags of dirt and cypress and the enclosure isn’t even 1/4 full yet at the depth I want it to be. Do most cheap mulches at hardware stores have toxic pine in them? I’d rather do this cheaply but I’ll do what I need to.
4. I have a few hides, wood and plastic caves for her to hide under, and am also going to plant some stuff in the dirt areas of the enclosure. What else can I do?
Thanks in advance!