Russian

[babyappleboo]

I got my Russian from a girl from school for free with the bucket exct. He is in sand. He has water bowls and a heat lamp. I feed him a cauliflower, greens, and grass and dandelions when its warm. I feel he is sad. Please give me some info about his habbitat and Food. I want to keep him happy and alive.

 

[GBtortoises]

Check out www.russiantortoise.org. There, along with this site you will find plenty of good care information.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi babyappleboo, and welcome to the Forum!!

GBTortoises gave you a good place to start. Be sure to read the info on that link.

I think you've been very inventive making it so you can find your tortoise outside, but an even better idea is to build him a permanent structure outside. A solid fence he can't climb, a hiding place, a waterer and maybe some plants. then you can put him outside in good weather and not have to worry about losing him. Steppe (russian) tortoises do quite well outside. Then when the weather turns cold, he can hibernate. Its a win-win!

 

[furandscales]

Trips outside or changing up the cage with rocks makes it more exciting for tortoises!

 

[mainey34]

http://www.russiantortoise.org/
Try this for a care sheet

 

[lynnedit]

Excellent link provided. Check it out!

Start by getting rid of the sand and replacing with untreated garden soil, fine orchid bark, Coir. Make sure it is at least 4" deep so he can burrow.
Vary his diet more: in the winter use Spring mix as a base, and add a different green each week from the russiantortoise web site list.

Make sure he has a warm basking area of 95F and a cool side of 70F. don't use heat or light at all at night.

Keep reading!

 

[TortoiseRN]

Well you'd be mad too if a giant taped a homemade flag to your back, took pictures of you, then posted those pictures on the Internet for the whole world see.