Questions from a newer owner

[Dracoluna]

I have a Russian tortoise, purchased from Petco, named Henry. Though I did some research before getting her (I'm pretty sure it's a girl but I had the name picked out before discovering that), I didn't do nearly enough so I have a few questions.

Current Husbandry:
She is living in a 40 gallon breeder tank with run of a 20'x10' room for several hours in the evening. Her tank has a tortoise style water dish (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000A1BDP0/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20) in the back center, UV/heat lamp on the right, and hide on the left. The substrate is coconut core, sand, and soil mixed together so she can dig and is about 4" deep. I'll try to grab pics a little later.
Her diet consists of a handful of organic spring greens sprinkled with a little calcium powder every evening along with several trips outside during the week where she can graze. My backyard is pesticide free (have a beardie who's been grazing out here for years) though she seems to stick to the dandelions and crab grass.
I have no clue on her age though she's about 6" long and about 2.5" tall (shell size only). Petco said she was hatched this year and was cbb but I know better than that. As for weight, she feels like you're picking up a brick so not dehydrated or malnourished from what I can tell. Her shell does show some definite signs of wear though from what I gather, Petco's tortoises are wild caught which would explain a lot.

Questions:
~Living in Wisconsin where the snow drifts get 6' high in my back yard, I'm assuming it's not safe to house her outside all year around. Do I need to set up hibernating conditions inside? The basement gets cool and dark, plus I can always put a nice deep box of soil there for her to burrow in. If she can go without hibernation safely like a beardie/snake, I would rather do that.
~I realize that her 40 gallon is not sufficient for long term housing. Is the exercise in the house enough or should I look at putting a much larger indoor enclosure in the reptile room? What is the ideal size for a Russian? If need be, she can have run of the 10'x20' room with a lamp, etc. set up for her. Just want her to have the best.
~Originally, I was hoping to get her to eat some pelleted food (grassland tortoise type) to ensure her nutrition was correct. However, she doesn't appreciate it and stubbornly waits for her greens. Is there anything else I should be including in her diet to ensure the proper nutrients? She does not get any sweets/fruits as I've read those can be bad.
~Is there anything I'm missing? Do they prefer to be social animals or is alone ok? Any questions about her husbandry that would need to be answered in order to answer the other questions?

Thanks for any help you can give me on this. I realize I should have done this research prior to bringing her home but after years of beardies and snakes, I figured it couldn't be that hard. Should have known better.

 

[wellington]

The bigger the enclosure always the better. You don't have to hibernate. She needs more variety in her diet. She is probably around 5 years old, but a picture might help someone to give a better guess.

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Also, the water dish is not really good. Take it back and buy a saucer, plastic or clay, the kind that goes under flower pots. Hello and Welcome

 

[Dracoluna]

The bigger the enclosure always the better. You don't have to hibernate. She needs more variety in her diet. She is probably around 5 years old, but a picture might help someone to give a better guess.

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Also, the water dish is not really good. Take it back and buy a saucer, plastic or clay, the kind that goes under flower pots. Hello and Welcome

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Thanks for the reply and welcome.

Alright, full room it is. Will it bother her to walk on the wood floor? She doesn't seem to mind it now and actually enjoys basking by the patio doors. Wasn't sure on long term though. She'd be going into her tank at night to sleep and will have plants to graze on in the room. Something tells me the cats will like that as much as she will...

What would you recommend adding to her diet? I've seen recommendations for everything from chopped up veggies to dry hays. I've given her timothy and alfalfa which she refused both.

I'll remove the water dish and give her a saucer. She does use it to soak in so should the saucer be large enough for that as well?

Here are some pics to help:

 

[Yvonne G]

Yes, that aquarium is way too small for a steppe tortoise of that size, however, giving the tortoise the full room is not a good idea either. You can pick up a used 4 or 5 shelf book case at a yard/garage sale, or even buy a new one, they're pretty cheap. Take out the shelves and lay it on its back. Instant tortoise habitat. Just line it with plastic, add substrate and accouterments and you're all set.

 

[wellington]

Yes the dish should be big enough for her to get in and out of easily and to be able to soak. I wouldn't use the whole room either. Either do the book shelf as mentioned or section off a portion of the room, lay plastic to the floor and give her appropriate substrate, lights and heat. Don't forget, floors are always colder and draftier then above the floor. Others will be able to help you out with food ideas. However you can check out thetortoisetable.org and the tortoise library.com for Edible plant ideas.

 

[Dracoluna]

Alright. Tortoise table in the reptile room then. How deep should the substrate be and how much higher should the sides be? She's already proven how well she can climb and how much she enjoys digging. I want to make sure that what I make is safe for her along with giving her everything she needs. I'll also check out the edible plants section and start looking for seeds, etc. I should probably mention I suck at growing plants but as long as she eats them fast enough, that shouldn't be too big of a problem.

 

[lynnedit]

If you can make any size table you want, then I would advise 3' x 8', so you can reach across fairly easily. Smaller is OK, say, 2.5'x6'. They just love to roam and explore and pace.
Make the sides 16-18" deep, so you can add substrate up 4-6" and still have 12" clearance or so.
Put a triangular piece of wood in each corner so she can shimmy out.

A bookcase on its back works well; some have flimsy backing so have to be supplemented with a piece of plywood. If the sides are not high enough, then you have to add an edge around all of the sides.

Line with heavy duty shower liner, or pond liner, or I got a piece of shower pan liner at Lowes' and folded it up the sides and stapled in place. My torts have not been able to dig through this.

If you can manage that size, then probably a UVB, and an additional regular house light bulb midway down. Or a good basking light for warmth and a 48" Reptisun UV tube light along one side.
At least a couple of hides. logs and rocks to climb over.

Diet:
Use the spring mix as a base, then try to supplement with different weeds and flowers, vary this daily. In the winter, use the spring mix as a base, and a different other green each week.

http://russiantortoise.net/russiantortoisediet.htm

(and I am impressed Yvonne know how to spell, accoutre... acoutreme...oh forget it!)