So glad I found these forums, and so glad someone sent me to the tortoise starter threat. Following the guide, here are some notes and some questions about our new testudo (Russian identified, thanks to the welcome thread!).
Indoor/Outdoor – We live in San Antonio – I think the climate is good for him out doors, we will likely try to get him out more often. We bring him out once a week for an hour and keep a good eye on him while he roams around a dried out concrete enclosed pond that has mulch and soil on the bottom. We are careful not to have anything that looks like food in there so he doesn’t accidently digest the unapproved floor.
Adjustment – it seems like we probably shouldn’t let him roam around in the mulch and native soil even for a little while? I’ll have to build him something new; luckily we have a lot of space for San Antonio.
Finding stuff we need – Ok, I guess we did this part wrong. We listened to Pet Co complete. Got him in a 1-1/2 x 3 foot enclosure that was left over from our late bearded dragon. I guess this will be ok size for him for now, I think he is about 4 inches or so. I’ll dig around here for a resource on enclosure size for tortoise size. The substrate in his normal enclosure is a standard tortoise substrate they recommended, as it “could hold the humidity better.” But it looks like it moves too much under him as he walks around, and he is really active. He’s got a ramped water bowl that I’ve seen frowned upon in a number of threads.
Food – we’ve been feeding him a variety of greens from the grocery store. His favorite is broccoli. I see the grocery store greens is also frowned upon. I’ll have to figure out which grasses and plants around here are safe for him; should I research by each possible plant, or is there just a few to stay away from? He gets fed once or twice a day. He LOVES to eat. I’m always worried about over or under feeding him because he likes to eat so much.
Heating and lighting: We did a get a fresh new UV bulb. His Hot side basking spot seems to sit around 95 degrees. We have his lights on a 12 hour timer. No heat source at night and our house stays comfortable. Finally this seems to be something we’ve gotten right?
Humidity - We spray his enclosure occasionally, and dampened the substrate a little before putting him in. Humidity seems to be staying around 55, which also think is right after reading this. Is it right for his size though?
The enclosure – yes it’s a glass enclosure. And at 1-1/2 x 3 feet, he obviously won’t be able to stay here forever. I’ll do a lot of research on here and build him something cool and healthy. But how long will his current situation be adequate for him? Upon reading more, it seems he may already have grown to big for 1-1/2’ x 3’?
Substrate – will have to go to fine grade orchid bark, hopefully this weekend. I’ve got the pet store recommended tortoise substrate right now.
Water dish – see above; I actually thought this was a really good water bowl for him but apparently I was wrong. Seemed easy to get in and out of if he wanted to.
Soaking – while I have NO idea how old mine is, its not a hatchling. However, we’ve only been soaking him once a week, and this seems to little based on the write up. While great advice is in this soaking section, it’s a little more subjective than other parts of the guide. Is there a more precise soaking by size and climate write up somewhere?
Supplements – he has some supplements the pet store recommended, but I think we aren’t doing enough. Twice a week right now, on grocery store food.
The far left light isn't on from the picture. Do I need to move this thread to a different section?
Indoor/Outdoor – We live in San Antonio – I think the climate is good for him out doors, we will likely try to get him out more often. We bring him out once a week for an hour and keep a good eye on him while he roams around a dried out concrete enclosed pond that has mulch and soil on the bottom. We are careful not to have anything that looks like food in there so he doesn’t accidently digest the unapproved floor.
Adjustment – it seems like we probably shouldn’t let him roam around in the mulch and native soil even for a little while? I’ll have to build him something new; luckily we have a lot of space for San Antonio.
Finding stuff we need – Ok, I guess we did this part wrong. We listened to Pet Co complete. Got him in a 1-1/2 x 3 foot enclosure that was left over from our late bearded dragon. I guess this will be ok size for him for now, I think he is about 4 inches or so. I’ll dig around here for a resource on enclosure size for tortoise size. The substrate in his normal enclosure is a standard tortoise substrate they recommended, as it “could hold the humidity better.” But it looks like it moves too much under him as he walks around, and he is really active. He’s got a ramped water bowl that I’ve seen frowned upon in a number of threads.
Food – we’ve been feeding him a variety of greens from the grocery store. His favorite is broccoli. I see the grocery store greens is also frowned upon. I’ll have to figure out which grasses and plants around here are safe for him; should I research by each possible plant, or is there just a few to stay away from? He gets fed once or twice a day. He LOVES to eat. I’m always worried about over or under feeding him because he likes to eat so much.
Heating and lighting: We did a get a fresh new UV bulb. His Hot side basking spot seems to sit around 95 degrees. We have his lights on a 12 hour timer. No heat source at night and our house stays comfortable. Finally this seems to be something we’ve gotten right?
Humidity - We spray his enclosure occasionally, and dampened the substrate a little before putting him in. Humidity seems to be staying around 55, which also think is right after reading this. Is it right for his size though?
The enclosure – yes it’s a glass enclosure. And at 1-1/2 x 3 feet, he obviously won’t be able to stay here forever. I’ll do a lot of research on here and build him something cool and healthy. But how long will his current situation be adequate for him? Upon reading more, it seems he may already have grown to big for 1-1/2’ x 3’?
Substrate – will have to go to fine grade orchid bark, hopefully this weekend. I’ve got the pet store recommended tortoise substrate right now.
Water dish – see above; I actually thought this was a really good water bowl for him but apparently I was wrong. Seemed easy to get in and out of if he wanted to.
Soaking – while I have NO idea how old mine is, its not a hatchling. However, we’ve only been soaking him once a week, and this seems to little based on the write up. While great advice is in this soaking section, it’s a little more subjective than other parts of the guide. Is there a more precise soaking by size and climate write up somewhere?
Supplements – he has some supplements the pet store recommended, but I think we aren’t doing enough. Twice a week right now, on grocery store food.
The far left light isn't on from the picture. Do I need to move this thread to a different section?