Russian Tortoise

[Jessie]

I figured you all would like to see some picutes of my baby Shakespeare and learn a little about how i care for him so you can help me out.
He is, from my guess, 5 years old with a huge personality. He loves to say hello to me every time i walk into my room. It seems as though he awaits my arrival. I give him one bath a week and after baths, once he is dry, i put lotion on as much of him as he allows. Although im begining to think he hates the lotion because he "jumps" forword every time i rub it on his shell. I live in northern mn and have a dessert uvb bulb and a basking bulb in his habitat. For substrate i am using Zoo meds forest floor 100% cyprus mulch. I would love to switch to coconut coir but i am allergic and ho-pe that the "forrest floor" is substancial. I have his lights on for 8-9 hours a day and they are on a preset timer. Im a new mom and often freak out about nothing so hopefully you can help me out. Thanks!

I hope to learn how to upload properly later so i can get some questions answered.

 

[ascott]

Welcome to the Forum Forum and what a handsome tort..

If it were me I would leave the daytime lights on for 10-12 hours
I would also change your substrate to a mix of organic soil, clean yard dirt so that your tortoise can behave like one by digging into dirt and hiding in the substrate.
If it were me I would not apply any lotions to a tortoise...remember this is my opinion and you can stick around and see what replies the others can offer....

 

[dmmj]

Welcome
What type of "lotion" do you use?

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome!

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Great little tort you have there. Definitely a male. It's okay if instead of coco coir you're using cypress mulch, because it can retain moisture, too. You can use orchid bark as well, or mix it in with the cypress mulch.

As for applying lotion, that shouldn't be necessary if the humidity is right. However, if you do use it, I would use VitaShell for tortoise, rather than a human lotion. There has been debate here and elsewhere as to whether VitaShell is good for tortoises or not. I happen to side with those who think it's probably not very good, because it clogs pores. Maybe a couple uses would be good if your tortoise's skin is particularly dry, but in the long run, humidity is what it needs, not extra oils.

Finally, judging by the photos, it looks like you are giving him a bath in a human bath tub. I would advise against that for two reasons:

1) Your tortoise could be exposed to detergents that people use when they're bathing (soaps, shampoos, and conditioners). Although probably not dangerous, they could still sting his eyes. However, if he swallows some detergent-laden water, that could be more serious. Small amounts could give him indigestion, but large amounts could make him very ill. So, it's better if he's not exposed to these chemicals, just in case.

2) Reptiles harbor a different community of bacteria than humans do. Although most of these are harmless, bacteria from a tortoise's skin or gut might proliferate in a wet environment like a bathtub and make you sick. That probably wouldn't happen, and the healthier the turtle, the less likely that would be. But just to be safe, though, it's probably best not to bathe him where you bathe.

Best to keep tortoise things with the tortoise, and human things with the humans. Just get a medium-sized Tupperware container and bathe him only with warm water, no soap. Your schedule of bathing him once a week is good (that's what I do), but I would just do it in a separate plastic bin instead.

 

[tortuga_please]

Welcome!

 

[wellington]

WELCOME

 

[pam]

Welcome

 

[slowpoke]

I figured you all would like to see some picutes of my baby Shakespeare and learn a little about how i care for him so you can help me out.
He is, from my guess, 5 years old with a huge personality. He loves to say hello to me every time i walk into my room. It seems as though he awaits my arrival. I give him one bath a week and after baths, once he is dry, i put lotion on as much of him as he allows. Although im begining to think he hates the lotion because he "jumps" forword every time i rub it on his shell. I live in northern mn and have a dessert uvb bulb and a basking bulb in his habitat. For substrate i am using Zoo meds forest floor 100% cyprus mulch. I would love to switch to coconut coir but i am allergic and ho-pe that the "forrest floor" is substancial. I have his lights on for 8-9 hours a day and they are on a preset timer. Im a new mom and often freak out about nothing so hopefully you can help me out. Thanks!

I hope to learn how to upload properly later so i can get some questions answered.

Welcome .. cypress mulch is fine i use it but i mix in coco coir with it to make it more dirt like ... i would have the lights running like it is summer time 13-14 hours , what kind of dessert uvb bulb are you using , if it is the compact ones i would stop using it and get the tube kind the compact ones can do some damage to their eyes make them go blind and kill them ... and as the lotion goes what do you mean by lotion... if its the vitashell that stuff can cause all kinds of problems with growth of the shell ... when i got sassy the person used that on her i did some research and found out it was bad , took me a week to get that stuff off her ... as far as baths i use a rubber made tub and i soak mine 2 times a week ... but to each its own, some say once a week some say every other day

 

[Utah Lynn]

Welcome. He is a good looking guy.

 

[Jessie]

Thank u everybody. I am indeed bathing him in warm water in a tubberware container. Also I am using the vita shell lotion. If u have any websites against or for vita shell lotion I would love to check them out.

 

[slowpoke]

Where is tom on this one he did a test for a few months with some of his sulcatas i believe with vitashell , here is the link for his testing on the vitashell , http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-VitaShell--27085#axzz1m5PAjb78 , im reading it all again i think its over 8 pages long with replies and all

 

[FinnTort]

Wow. He's in a really good shape! I mean the shell, the beak and the nails. Perfect little Russian boy!

 

[lynnedit]

Have you seen this web site for information on diet, etc.?
http://russiantortoise.org/russiantortoisediet.htm

A lot of people here use Cypress mulch. You could use it alone, or if you can't tolerate the Coir, you could try clean/pesticide free garden soil, or organic topsoil mixed up with the Cypress mulch or in a separate part.

Most of us don't use the Vita shell, even though it is designed for torts. They seem to do just as well w/o it.

Nice looking guy!

 

[gopherhockey03]

Where do you live in northern Minnesota?