Russian Tort in Las Vegas

[Comrad Turtles "grandma"]

Okay, so I am new to the whole tortoise world. I have tried to do the best I can since my daughter got Comrad Turtle (I know it's not original but he's Russian and a boy...so ) for Christmas. I know I haven't done the ideal thing yet, but am slowly getting things better for him.

His "bedroom" as I have called it is in a Rubbermaid container, with a mixture of sand and pea gravel (I know it's not the best but will work for now - he previously had alfalfa pellets as his substrate), he has a large flat rock under his basking light & his hidey hole is under the basking rock. He has a nice soaking dish and I feed him for 20 minutes each morning (a mix of spinach, green leaf lettuce, green beans, an occasional carrot, sweet poatato and apple as well as "turtle food pellets"- I found he really enjoys the carrot, sweet pototato & apple but did read it should only be given occassionally), and then let him run around the house with me, or cuddle with me on the couch in my blanket.

Today was his first adventure outside. I started him on the patio table and his towel until he got used to the idea. I then made sure the 2 escape routes from my backyard were blocked and then I let him roam. He stayed right next to the house and sun bathed

He had his first bathing/soaking adventure that we did for him yesterday and he seemed pretty happy. He only stayed in there for about 10-15 mintues before trying to figure out how to scale the sides of his "bathtub". He has self soaked before as well.

My main concerns are, if I need to do something to adjust the humidity in my home. I live in the Las Vegas NV area (so it's a desert), and it's a very dry climate. I made it "rain" in his bedroom the other day to make sure it wasn't too dry, but don't know if I should be more concerned and diligent about the humidity. I keep my house between 73 - 75 degrees and at night it doesn't get lower than 68 degrees. Am I okay, or am I hurting poor Comrad? ... Oh and I bought him a cuttlebone today.

I am pretty in love with this little dude so I want to make him as happy/comfortable as possible during the transition to his Master Bedroom/Apartment

 

[slowpoke]

(I feed him for 20 minutes each morning (a mix of spinach, green leaf lettuce, green beans, an occasional carrot, sweet poatato and apple as well as "turtle food pellets")

first off i wouldnt give them any fruit .... might want to get some spring mix and add in one of these greens and to change it up once a week kale , mustard greens ,collard greens ...but make the base spring mix ... you said you had a basking light ... may i ask what kind ? and is there a spot in his "bedroom" where it is cooler that he can go to? and the turtle food pellets ? does it say turtle food on it? because if it does please stop feeding him that....are you giving him any supplements? calcium, d3, any thing like that? and do away with the sand get him some cypress mulch or cypress mulch mixed with cocco core ... what are the temps inside of his "bedroom" they should be around 90 to 95 in the basking spot and 70's on the cool side at night it should be around 65ish to 70 in the whole habitat ... how old is your tort , if its still young (under 4inches) you need humidity around the 60% to 70% from what i read on here ... if its an adult then really you dont have to worry about it they are from dry places any way ...

 

[lynnedit]

That's right.
You will be able to compensate for the dry weather in your area by providing a better substrate; choose from organic topsoil (Home Depot or Lowe's is fine), Cypress mulch (may be harder to get in the West), coir (comes in bricks and you add water to expand), or a mix. They like to burrow, and contrary to a lot of pet store advice, are not 'desert torts', in that when it is dry in the wild, they burrow down to where there is is moisture.
You are doing a lot of fine things, including the sun exposure. There is nothing better. keep a close eye on him, they can 'disappear' faster than you think! Go through the pages on the Enclosure section of this forum for ideas for an outside enclosure.
No green beans. rare fruit (they like it, but it is like junk food). Feed him weeds and greens. better for him in the long run.
Cuttlebone=good! They nibble occasionally, but they know when they need it.

 

[Comrad Turtles "grandma"]

[split] x

@ Slowpoke and @ Lynnedit: Thank you for your response
So I hadn’t taken the time to check the temperature in his “bedroom” because I don’t have the right thermometer. But yesterday evening I went ahead and put a thermometer in there to get an idea of the temperature. It may not be 100% accurate but I guess it gives me something. According to my thermometer I do have it a little toasty in his bedroom. His basking area is 95-100 degrees, his “hidey hole” is 80 degrees, and the overall “ambient” temperature is 75 degrees. I am going to try and re-arrange his room today (after getting either a Coir brick or Organic top soil- whichever is most cost efficient) so that his basking area is not the top of his “hidey hole”. I will also get my husband to rig something so that I can put his basking light up a little higher to adjust the temperature accordingly.

I have NO clue as to how old Comrad is…. I am assuming he may be a young adult male because of his scarring on his top shell, which makes me believe he was wildly caught as a young adult… I could be TOTALLY wrong though. He is 5 ½ “ long and 5 ¼ “ wide. Attached is a picture of his “bedroom” with the thermometer I used, and a picture of him sleeping showing his top shell. I will post more pics later after he has a “re-model”.

I will also go buy some baby spring mix for his base food, and will stop feeding him the turtle pellets…. (why shouldn’t he have those?). I also plan on having a pot or two with his greens/weeds that I can grow (I checked out Carolina Pet Supply & will get the Russian Tort seed mix and dandelion’s). We also do plan on making him an outside enclosure but are of course waiting for it to get a little warmer for him to be outside a lot more. He is outside again this morning (44 degrees out with the high being 56 today) while the sun is there, but will bring him back in when the sun starts to leave the backyard. He will also get a bath today while I rearrange his bedroom I have noticed his love of burrowing, which I think is why he likes to sit with me on the couch with my blanket. He burrows all over and even while he’s sleeping

P.S: sorry for the long posts, but I am a detailed oriented person

1st picture is an overall of his bedroom with the thermometer I used
2nd is close up of his "hidey hole"
3rd is of Comrad's top shell

 

[Utah Lynn]

You should get him, at least, a 45gal. rubbermaid tub for indoors. Your temps are good; just need to spread out. IMO.
You have a very good looking Russian there.

 

[lynnedit]

Agreed. If you can hook two of those containers side to side, connect together with a tube (plastic piping, or I trimmed the upper edges of two rubbermaids and clamped them together with a pass through door sealed with duct tape). That way, one side can be warmer, the other cooler. Or a larger Rubbermaid, 54 gal size.
It might be hard enough to achieve a good basking side like you have (95-100 is great) while still getting a cooler side of 70 or so in your current container.
That would give you room for a water dish, food tile, etc.
I like the gravel in the basking area, and the large rock. Overall, as you have planned, just swap out the pellets and sand for something more moisture retentive. Pile it up in one area so he can burrow, perhaps on the cool side.
he looks good, you are right, some shell markings, likely wild caught.
Detail oriented is great, that's what it takes to get it right.

 

[slowpoke]

i agree with the two lynn's, needs to be a few more feet bigger ... i do like that "hidey hole" , and he is a good lookin RT , slowpoke has the same markings , got him at petco so i know he was wild caught ...

"and will stop feeding him the turtle pellets…. (why shouldn’t he have those?)." Well if it said its for turtles you dont want him eating it , i think those are really high in protein...(could be wrong)... there diet is alot different than a tortoise ... and i would keep him inside until those temps reach over 60 out side ... just what i have seen on here you can cause his digestive system to mess up or some crazy stuff like that and find a bulb that also emits uvb , like a good mvb bulb zoo med makes a great one puts off heat and light with the uvb all in one ...

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Hi and welcome...please change out his substrate just as soon as you can for he is on some really crappy stuff. He's a very nice looking tort in the pictures you posted and I am very glad he has you as his keeper. So because you love him you are going to stop giving him fruit as that is very bad for him. You will stop feeding him turtle food as it is made for turtles and he is a tortoise. You will stop allowing him to wander around on the floor in your house as it is very cold down there, take all your clothes off and get naked, then lay on your kitchen floor, see how cold it is? His insides need to be 85 degrees in order for him to be able to metabolize his food. So being on the kitchen floor is changing his temps from what they were when he was in his house and that's a bad thing. He can also eat dust bunnies and paper clips or cat hair or whatever you dropped on the floor and couldn't find, he will now find and eat. Tortoises are not like dogs, they are exotic animals and they need to be treated as such. That means you need to make a better/bigger house for him to live in with a much better substrate and a good hide and UVB light.
I will add a link for you that when you actually use it, it will take you to a website devoted to Russian tortoises. It was put together by the man who owns Carolina Pet Supply, he breeds and raises Russian tortoises and knows a whole lot about them and so his web site will have good information for you. I don't however, want you to leave TFO, I just want you to read up on Russian tortoise care so your little tortoise will grow up to be a great tortoise...

http://www.russiantortoise.org/

 

[Comrad Turtles "grandma"]

Thank you everyone!

I remodeled his bedroom today. I took out the majority of the alfalfa pellets(90%) and some of the sand (30%- it's outdoor play sand BTW) and added in a nice top layer of organic top soil (cheaper then the Coir at the pet store). I re-arranged his basking rock/hidey hole so it's not one in the same. Since he likes to climb I've propped the large rock up and put other smaller rocks around. Then in the corner on the other side I put lots of nice top soil and dried leaves from outside. I can't say I am too pleased with it's overall "look" right now, but it will do until I can get my 2nd container (which we have totally been planning on) and my combo UVA/UVB bulb.
I'm sad to think that putting him outside may be having a negative effect on him :-( I put him out at 9:30am and brought him in (protesting quite a bit) around 2pm. He was NOT happy to have me bringing him inside. He trucked all over the backyard today and apparently enjoyed himself so much that he didn't seem to want to come back in . He tried to burrow a little and was disturbing my "ghetto" thermometer so we took it out, and I covered him with dry leaves. He's probably pretty tuckered out.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and help with Comrad

 

[dmmj]

Here is a small list of what I feed mine, ( all home grown)
grape leaves (a favorite) Hibiscus flowers ( another favorite) dandelion leaves and flowers, radish tops, various squash leaves and flowers, artichoke leaves, strawberry leaves, and strawberry tops, I do feed mine a carrot once a month for beak maintenance, and some people feed squash once a month for their treat, mine like pumpkin when it is in season.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Thank you everyone!

I remodeled his bedroom today. I took out the majority of the alfalfa pellets(90%) and some of the sand (30%- it's outdoor play sand BTW) and added in a nice top layer of organic top soil (cheaper then the Coir at the pet store). I re-arranged his basking rock/hidey hole so it's not one in the same. Since he likes to climb I've propped the large rock up and put other smaller rocks around. Then in the corner on the other side I put lots of nice top soil and dried leaves from outside. I can't say I am too pleased with it's overall "look" right now, but it will do until I can get my 2nd container (which we have totally been planning on) and my combo UVA/UVB bulb.
I'm sad to think that putting him outside may be having a negative effect on him :-( I put him out at 9:30am and brought him in (protesting quite a bit) around 2pm. He was NOT happy to have me bringing him inside. He trucked all over the backyard today and apparently enjoyed himself so much that he didn't seem to want to come back in . He tried to burrow a little and was disturbing my "ghetto" thermometer so we took it out, and I covered him with dry leaves. He's probably pretty tuckered out.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and help with Comrad

I don't know how being outside would be having a negative effect on him, being outside is the best thing you can do for him...

 

[slowpoke]

Thank you everyone!

I remodeled his bedroom today. I took out the majority of the alfalfa pellets(90%) and some of the sand (30%- it's outdoor play sand BTW) and added in a nice top layer of organic top soil (cheaper then the Coir at the pet store). I re-arranged his basking rock/hidey hole so it's not one in the same. Since he likes to climb I've propped the large rock up and put other smaller rocks around. Then in the corner on the other side I put lots of nice top soil and dried leaves from outside. I can't say I am too pleased with it's overall "look" right now, but it will do until I can get my 2nd container (which we have totally been planning on) and my combo UVA/UVB bulb.
I'm sad to think that putting him outside may be having a negative effect on him :-( I put him out at 9:30am and brought him in (protesting quite a bit) around 2pm. He was NOT happy to have me bringing him inside. He trucked all over the backyard today and apparently enjoyed himself so much that he didn't seem to want to come back in . He tried to burrow a little and was disturbing my "ghetto" thermometer so we took it out, and I covered him with dry leaves. He's probably pretty tuckered out.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and help with Comrad

I don't know how being outside would be having a negative effect on him, being outside is the best thing you can do for him...

yea in the spring and summer and fall not at temps of 45 and 50 ... thats waaayyy to cold ... thats why i said wait for it to be in the 60's thats a comfy temp for them. i wasnt saying never let him out side just not when its cold and 45 is cold in las vegas

 

[Comrad Turtles "grandma"]

Thank you everyone

Okay, so even though he thoroughly seemed to enjoy being outside today I shouldn't let him unless the temp creeps up to 60+ degrees??? (Which it has been doing this winter quite often - and it's projected to be 61 – 65 as the high Thur-Sat).

@ Captain Awesome - great food ideas. A little different then what I have seen elsewhere (radish tops, squash, artichoke and grape leaves). Do you make sure they are organic??? I bought him Organic Baby Spring Mix and Kale (not organic) today to mix with his spinach and green leaf lettuce. Wondering how much the non-organic will affect him negatively.

 

[dmmj]

I grow my own, so no pesticides, and only vermiform compost for fertilizer.

 

[lynnedit]

Thank you everyone

Okay, so even though he thoroughly seemed to enjoy being outside today I shouldn't let him unless the temp creeps up to 60+ degrees??? (Which it has been doing this winter quite often - and it's projected to be 61 – 65 as the high Thur-Sat).

@ Captain Awesome - great food ideas. A little different then what I have seen elsewhere (radish tops, squash, artichoke and grape leaves). Do you make sure they are organic??? I bought him Organic Baby Spring Mix and Kale (not organic) today to mix with his spinach and green leaf lettuce. Wondering how much the non-organic will affect him negatively.

Being outside is wonderful for them (you have had a lot of advice, I think one comment involved being careful letting him walk around the house, but outside is a different story).
They are escape artists and they can burrow and fill in the hole so you can't tell. So while being outside is great, being careful not to 'lose' him is key. So that is why some build outdoor enclosures. Regarding the temp: if it is sunny, even tho the ambient/air temps might be 50, basking areas on a rock or gravel could be much warmer, say 75F. So go by that too. We want you to be able to take him outside as long as he is safe and you can find him! As you say, he really enjoys it, and that is the ultimate UV.
Your rearrangements sound very good. Topsoil is great. Holds moisture a bit better. You can stir the remaining bit of playsand right in with it.
Good work, keep us posted with new pics, which we love.