Overwhelmed by info, new owner...

[Littlest Hobo]

Hi everyone
I am sure that there are lots of messages on here with the answers I need, but there is sooooo much of it, and so many conflicting ideas I don't know where to start.

I have just brought my little Horsfield home this afternoon and I am so worried that I am not knowledgable enough, despite doing looooads of research. HELP!
He (Alan), is 9 months. I have a large wooden tort table which, tomorrow, I will make into an exciting home for him. For now he is in a cardboard box with some dry substrate (from breeder), water and a heat lamp. Tomorrow I will also fix the uv lamp on. I have so many questions and worries:
Should he have more humidity? (I was told not but on here it seems he should).
Do i turn his lamps off at night?
How do I know how close to put the lamps to him/his height?
How close should the uv and heat lamp be?
Will he be too cold at night? (My house is cold)
I was told to use dry substrate, but now it looks like I should be using topsoil?

Right now he is buried in the substrate. He has chosen the corner away from the heat lamp. Will he be ok over night? Is he going to be too cold?
He hasn't eaten anything yet. How do I know I am giving him the right things, there are so many options!
How often do i feed him. Once a day, an amount the size of him? Is that right? Should it be differnt food every day?
I've read I need to give him calcium (was going to get lime). Is there anything else I should supliment other than making sure he has a varied diet?
I have stones, slate for him to eat off, cuttlefish etc.
How often will he sleep and be still? He was very active earlier but is now so very still, i am worried! Will he be up in the night? I'm worried about him getting stuck in his water. The house is cold.
Is it right that I should bathe him for 20 mins every other day?
Can he get dehydrated under his lamp?

As you can see I am worrier! But there are so many horror stories. I really want him too be happy and healthy.

Any new mum tips you can give me are much appreciated. Thanks all
Alan's mum

 

[dmmj]

I love horsefields. How sure are you of his age? Where did you purchase/ acquire this tort from? We can help you get through this just relax and breathe. I ask about age, because how old he ( did you sex the tort yet?) a pic would help. Are you gonna grow your own food, use store bought? Sorry for all the questions, but answer will help. Salutations, and enjoy your tortoise.

 

[Littlest Hobo]

Hi, thanks for thee support and the quick reply. I'm in the UK and got him/her from a breeder called the tortoise shop. I know they were hatched last June. They have been very helpful and responsive to all my pre-purchase questions.
I was planning on growing some food and using a mixture of bought, home grown and (in summer) harvested (from rural areas I know are not fertilised), but have not grown any yet so am starting with bought options.
I have a couple of pics but they are on a camera not compatible with my device for the moment.
My main concern is him being too cold right now. He had a stressful day travelling with me so I hope he is ok. I gave him a warm bathe when we got in and have rigged a heat lamp over his temporary box. He has chosen to sleep the other side half under the substrate (wood chip and coconut husk). Should I buy topsoil tomorrow? Should he have a humid house to sleep in? How long do they sleep for? Thanks again

 

[dmmj]

Ok, that helps.
You can use rocket salad, UK version of spring mix, Does he have any heat source? Even a incandescent light will provide warmth for now. My answers will e all over the place, so feel free to keep asking questions. You should set up a proper habitat, are you getting lights? gonna use sunshine? Since he is oung he needs humidity to assure smooth shell growth.

 

[dmmj]

You can use topsoil, as lonng as it is additive free, a humid hide will help. You are gonna recieve a lot of info, just take it in slowly.

 

[Littlest Hobo]

I've got a heat lamp set up now (regular desk lamp), and a seperate uvb lamp for d3. Which i will set up tomorrow. We don't get much sunshine here, but I will be creating an outdoor enclosure for him too and he will get sunlight when we have it! At the moment it is freezing and grey!
Should I leave the heat lamp on all the time? Right now he is sheltered away from it anyway. Will he be too cold?
Yes tomorrow I will create his habitat. Should I use soil substrate? The breeder has given me dry substrate.

 

[Littlest Hobo]

Ok, Thanks

 

[tortdad]

Humidity is key to smooth shell growth. I'm not familiar enough with that species to tell you how much humidity it needs but it for sure needs it.

Just don't panic, read the care sheets we have and make the changes as you see them. The best advice I can give you is don't but lights and heaters until you've posted the brands and models here so we can tell you if its right or not. At he very least save the boxes the came in and receipts so you can return what's no good. I think I went through 3 sets of bulbs and heat lights before I got all the correct stuff.

It's time consuming and nerve racking get it all set up just right but easy to maintain once it is. Good luck and be sure to ask all the questions you have. The only stupid question is the one you don't ask.

 

[Heather H]

hi and welcome. And yes breath

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Read the care sheets on our site.

 

[Jodie]

Hello. That's quite the post. He should have humidity yes especially if the age is right. Turn the lights off at night. Use a CHE, ceramic heat emitter on a thermostat for night heat if you need it. I keep my night heat above 70, but believe Russians are ok cooler. Adjust your light height to achieve substrate temp approx 95F directly under it. Top soil or coco coir, sometimes called plantation soil ate my choices. Use a shallow water dish such as a plant saucer for water. Welcome to the forum.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello LH welcome to the TFO from AZ, USA . I've been raising Russians for over 14 years . Russians Rule !

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello. That's quite the post. He should have humidity yes especially if the age is right. Turn the lights off at night. Use a CHE, ceramic heat emitter on a thermostat for night heat if you need it. I keep my night heat above 70, but believe Russians are ok cooler. Adjust your light height to achieve substrate temp approx 95F directly under it. Top soil or coco coir, sometimes called plantation soil ate my choices. Use a shallow water dish such as a plant saucer for water. Welcome to the forum.

And of all the advice you got Jodie seams to be the most compleat and acturit . But think of a child give it a veryed diet , heat , humity , and a lot of love !!!

 

[Carol S]

Welcome to the Forum.

 

[Yvonne G]

Turn the light off at night. You can buy a CHE to use at night:



(Ceramic Heat Emitter)

 

[mini_max]

Don't worry the move usually is stressful, they are super active in the beginning and then seem to get super inactive (which is terrifying, but totally normal), and then it all evens out in a week or two.

Lights out at night, they can see any light, even an infrared heat lamp. Buy the Che as recommended for night heat. I have a Russian just a little older, and I found that especially if you are going to use a damp substrate - I recommend coco coir, soil does work too - temps at night and at the coolest point in his enclosure shouldn't be much lower than high 70s to 80 degrees otherwise you are gambling with getting a runny nosed tortoise.

If right this minute the house is super cool and he's burried anyway, I'd be tempted to leave that heat lamp on until you get a proper heater for night. Baby's need it a little warmer, and I made the mistake of not using night heat at first, and I made my little guy sick in the beginning.

You need to procure a temperature gauge. A little hand held digital gun that you can point at the area in question is the best, because as you may have noticed, there are a lot of temps to get a handle on when you are first setting up.

The temperature will guide you in how far away to put your light, you will be adjusting its height until you hit around 95 in the basking spot directly under it. Then you'll need to figure out if you need to run your Che in the day too to keep the rest of the enclosure above 75 ish at he coolest points. Don't worry, once you get it right the amount of fiddling, measuring, and general stress does drop!

Feed as varied as you can from weeds and grasses to dark leafy greens. Mazuri is a brand of tortoise food that can be purchased, and seems really popular. I have no experience with it as it's hard to get in Canada. I feed a heap the size of him daily. Maybe you put it in once, maybe you'll like to put less more often, you'll figure it out once he comes around. Once you get everything sorted out, there are so many edible plants that are readily available that you can plant in your enclosure.

For water, the best thing you can use is a terra cotta plant saucer from the plant section of the garden or hardware store. Sink this into the substrate, and you will have no issue.

Soaking even daily at your torts age is great. Nice warm water.

I think I hit them all. Question, do you have a hide, as a little cave or place to duck out and sleep is a necessary feature of any enclosure.

And truely, worry, but don't worry too much. It takes them time to get settled. They tromp about like crazy the first day, Im convinced because they are looking for their former home. Then once they figure out they are somewhere different, they hide. Then they come around and eventually settle into a routine of wake, eat, poop, bask, snooze, hide, snooze more, repeat. He is still a baby, so expect a fair bit of hiding and resting. I just built a new enclosure with lots of live plants, and I found he started to hide a lot less because the vegetation allowed him to be out but still feel sheltered.

Anyhow, for now the immediate concerns are heat/light and substrate. What sort of heat source are you using?

 

[mini_max]

oh, and I forgot - uvb- the coil type uvb bulbs are damaging to tortoises eyes. If you are running one, they can contribute to excessive hiding. You can either use a single Mercury vapor bulb which is uva, uvb and heat in one. Or a uva basking bulb and a tube fluorescent style uvb bulb.

 

[mini_max]

Agh, sorry, one more consideration. Is your wooden tort table, varnished or otherwise waterproofed somehow? With soil or coco coir, there will be considerable moisture....you will be pouring water over the substrate regularly. If it's untreated it will eventually warp, rot, mould.

 

[TortsNTurtles]

Welcome!

 

[Jodie]

And of all the advice you got Jodie seams to be the most compleat and acturit . But think of a child give it a veryed diet , heat , humity , and a lot of love !!!

Thanks!