Russian Tort Enclosure + Temperature

[Sanch84]

Hi All,

Recently I'd posted about my baby tort, he was unhappy with his enclosure. We just bought him a bigger one with lots of substrate so he can dig very deep and waking space. The problem is he has become very active and it's winter! we have not seen him this active even in summer. I'm trying to get him to stay in his enclosure but he wants out at least 4 times a day (this was in his old enclosure) & when we are at work, he must be getting super stressed.

I was told by the vet to lower his temperature in the enclosure. So at night I don't put the central heating on and let it drop to about 15 C & was told not to make his basking light too hot, It can get up to 27C.
So is this right? we are moving him into his new enclosure today and we want to make sure he is happy in his new house and will stay in there with comfort and still be warm enough. I'm so anxious about moving him into the new one, hoping he will like it, but I'm not sure if I'm doing things right.

Sancho has had a recent vet check, his weight and size is perfectly fine, he eats well ad drinks water. So apart from that I think it was just his enclosure being too small. But I'm worried I'm not setting the temp right.

Would like some advice on how to know about the basking light temp and how cool his bedroom should be at this time of the year, since we will not hibernate him just yet & how to keep him in his enclosure.


Thanks

 

[Tom]

No. That is not right. A young healthy tortoise SHOULD be active and inquisitive. Why would your vet want to discourage this?

Your tortoise should not be "out" of his enclosure if this means walking around on the floor of your house. This is a very dangerous practice and frequently results in injury or death. Tortoises need to be in tortoise enclosures that are designed, set up and made safe for them. I prefer a large outdoor enclosure for nice weather, and a large indoor enclosure for when they must be inside. Having both is a big plus.

Daily basking temp should reach 36-37. A 15 degree night temp is certainly survivable for this species, but I would not consider it "optimal". I prefer to keep my babies around 20C at night.

Have you seen these:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

 

[Sanch84]

No. That is not right. A young healthy tortoise SHOULD be active and inquisitive. Why would your vet want to discourage this?

Your tortoise should not be "out" of his enclosure if this means walking around on the floor of your house. This is a very dangerous practice and frequently results in injury or death. Tortoises need to be in tortoise enclosures that are designed, set up and made safe for them. I prefer a large outdoor enclosure for nice weather, and a large indoor enclosure for when they must be inside. Having both is a big plus.

Daily basking temp should reach 36-37. A 15 degree night temp is certainly survivable for this species, but I would not consider it "optimal". I prefer to keep my babies around 20C at night.

Have you seen these:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Thanks a bunch for your reply. I'm think it's because previous to the vet visit the tort jumped from his enclosure. We had secured it after that, but he was trying to get us to make him calm down. However, the lovely people on this site, informed me that the enclosure was too small, hence him trying to escape & we have got him a larger one.

We don't allow him to walk in the house, if he scratches to get out and we are home then I let him out in the garden, but because it's a rented house, we are not really allowed to fix any wires or anything in the garden, so I have to watch him all the time. I did not realise at the time we started to let him out that he would always want to get out. Still new tort parents, so we are learning about it all.

The enclosure we got now is a lot bigger, he has plenty of room to walk in it, due to living in a small place, we can't get the recommended 4'x8' enclosure. Thank you for the advice on the temperature, that is a big help its so confusing knowing the right temp when every site says something different. So now it's winter here the basking light should still be at 37? Does it confuse them when the night temp drops so much & then during the day it's that warm? Just wondering.

Many thanks

 

[Tom]

If you are not hibernating them, then, in effect, you are making perpetual summer, so yes, 37 is the right basking temp. They need to be able to warm up enough for their digestive and immune systems to function.

Russians benefit from a drop in night temps. Its what they have evolved to deal with. Everyone has an opinion on how much it should drop, but in all honesty, I've seen them survive just about everyone's opinion. This adaptability and hardiness is just one of the reasons why this tortoise species is such a good pet for so many people.

 

[Sanch84]

Thanks Tom, your advice is very helpful will be changing the setting of the light so it's a lot warmer.

So I moved him into his new , bigger enclosure - but he still wants to get out. He was okay for a while when basking. Now I'm not sure what to do, is this because we have given him the habit of being let out of his old enclosure?
He has been trying to get out, I think he's confused because it's not his old house and I don't want him to stress out. I'm not sure whether to just let him get used to it or take him out to walk. And whether or not to move him into a different room, where he won't see us much, therefore wanting to get out.

It doesn't make sense as he has a much bigger enclosure now I'm really confused. I'd appreciate any advice.

 

[Yvonne G]

If I'm interpreting correctly, you've allowed this tortoise to be outside his habitat on occasion? In my opinion, it's a mistake for keepers to allow tortoises out into the house/room. This lets them know the world is bigger than their four walls, and naturally, then they want out into that world. If a tortoise only knows the boundaries of his four walls, he is content to live there. Having said that, Russian tortoises are one of the species that continuously digs at the corners of the habitat. This might just be something you have to get used to. But hopefully, once you leave him in his new habitat and once he gets used to living there, he'll settle down and be content.

 

[Sanch84]

If I'm interpreting correctly, you've allowed this tortoise to be outside his habitat on occasion? In my opinion, it's a mistake for keepers to allow tortoises out into the house/room. This lets them know the world is bigger than their four walls, and naturally, then they want out into that world. If a tortoise only knows the boundaries of his four walls, he is content to live there. Having said that, Russian tortoises are one of the species that continuously digs at the corners of the habitat. This might just be something you have to get used to. But hopefully, once you leave him in his new habitat and once he gets used to living there, he'll settle down and be content.

Hi, thanks for your advice. Yes unfortunately, we didn't know we shouldn't let him out. He had a very small enclosure so we'd let him out once a day with supervision. But recently he wants to be out all the time & it's not fair on him when we are at work. That's when someone suggested a bigger enclosure.
So we got him a very good once with lots of walking room. It's his first day in it and he keeps trying to get out, he's okay for a while then he tries again when he sees us walking around. He's temperature has been increased on the light, and I just fed him a grape to calm him and now he's sitting in his house just fine, he's a naughty little one.
For now we are just letting him be and although he's trying come out, we aren't allowing it, it's something we have to make him get used to. He's got so much soil to dig in now, and more room, so he's got everything better in this new enclosure, we just want him to settle down. Might take a few days- have to be patient hehe, but i just wanted to make sure we are not being horrible by leaving him in the new enclosure.

 

[WithLisa]

Is the new enclosure as plain as the old one? Even in a large enclosure, with nothing but soil and a water bowl they are bored and try to escape. With some sight barriers (plants, stones, logs,...) they have a reason to walk around and explore.

 

[Yvonne G]

Another thing to consider, since he's now in a new home, tortoises are territorial. You've taken him out of his territory and plunked him down into a new and bigger territory. Stands to reason he's going to try to escape and try to find his old territory. He'll stop eventually.

 

[Sanch84]

Is the new enclosure as plain as the old one? Even in a large enclosure, with nothing but soil and a water bowl they are bored and try to escape. With some sight barriers (plants, stones, logs,...) they have a reason to walk around and explore.

No with this one we got him a cave for sleeping under, that he seems to enjoy climbing! and we have planted things like dandelions in there, but for now I keep putting a lot of plants in there. He's not interested, he was curious for a bit then the minute he saw us, he wants us to take him out. I think because he is just so used to being out now.

 

[Sanch84]

Another thing to consider, since he's now in a new home, tortoises are territorial. You've taken him out of his territory and plunked him down into a new and bigger territory. Stands to reason he's going to try to escape and try to find his old territory. He'll stop eventually.

That makes a lot of sense, thanks for pointing it out. Last night he was wanting to get out every time he'd see us, but once I turned off his light for bedtime he went straight to bed.this morning he had no problem he sat under his light and seemed relaxed, but the minute I went in there to check him and he saw me, he started trying to get out but when i'm sat in the next room, he goes quiet! He's very cheeky, I think he'll get used to it, just a bit confused at the moment and not used to not having his way!