# New pond liner Russian Tortoise habitat!



## Chifte (Feb 5, 2011)

I've only had this little bugger about a week and he's already moved into a larger and more suitable enclosure. I was telling a buddy of mine and his father about my RT and tortoises in general, long story short his father went out to the shed and came back with this 60ish gallon pond liner he has had for about 10 years.

I had instantly thought it would be a major improvement, he now has about 10" of burrowing pleasure, it's only slightly longer and slightly wider than the under bed storage.

Before,







After,

















His proper ramped water dish should be here any day now and it will be complete! I would like to get fancy and add these good looking vine fish tank plants to it, but I fear he'll nibble on them.


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## RianSeeking (Feb 5, 2011)

Oh, hey! I really like that!


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## CtTortoiseMom (Feb 5, 2011)

Great job!! Very cool idea.


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## Kristina (Feb 5, 2011)

Fantastic!


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## Torty Mom (Feb 5, 2011)

Looking good!


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## jensgotfaith (Feb 5, 2011)

Sweet burrow!!!


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## tortoisenerd (Feb 6, 2011)

Nice! In addition to the water dish I'd add some fake plants (great hides that don't take up much floor space, and they break up the space nicely), and a slate tile for food (wears down the beak & nails and easier than a bowl). How are your temps? You might want the bulb more in the middle to bump up your gradient, or else you have quite a bit of area at room temp at the other end. It will also help temps if you pick the enclosure up off the floor with a table or something (heat rises).


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## solaress (Feb 6, 2011)

tortoisenerd said:


> Nice! In addition to the water dish I'd add some fake plants (great hides that don't take up much floor space, and they break up the space nicely), and a slate tile for food (wears down the beak & nails and easier than a bowl). How are your temps? You might want the bulb more in the middle to bump up your gradient, or else you have quite a bit of area at room temp at the other end. It will also help temps if you pick the enclosure up off the floor with a table or something (heat rises).



I defiintely like this! I think this is what I'm going to eventually do. 
Great pics!
solaress


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## Chifte (Feb 7, 2011)

tortoisenerd said:


> Nice! In addition to the water dish I'd add some fake plants (great hides that don't take up much floor space, and they break up the space nicely), and a slate tile for food (wears down the beak & nails and easier than a bowl). How are your temps? You might want the bulb more in the middle to bump up your gradient, or else you have quite a bit of area at room temp at the other end. It will also help temps if you pick the enclosure up off the floor with a table or something (heat rises).



I'm nervous to add plants, last thing I want is a tortoise with some plastic in it's belly. 

I'm not sure where to get a piece of slate that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, in the summer I see pieces of slate at lawn and garden stores and 2 home depots and 1 lowes the only thing they offer right now is slate tile which I can't buy individually.






Night temps float 70-72. My day temps are good according to Russiantortoise.net, except my night temps don't dip into the 60s like the website suggests, my house is always pinged at 70 and I've no control over heating.


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## Yvonne G (Feb 7, 2011)

Hi Eric:

Oh man...after all your hard work on the duct tape! 

Well, the new digs are just great! How nice of him to give you that pond. It works out fine.

You could stand for the temp to be up to 100 or a few degrees more under the light. Can you put it a little closer down?

You'll just have to save the under-the-bed storage tub for some baby tortoises. Yup...I see tortoises in your future!


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## tortoisenerd (Feb 7, 2011)

I still stand with my suggestion to move the lamp to the middle...then you'll have more area in the 80s than the 70s. 70 is great for night. You won't ever need to worry about night heat then. At 70 you are still getting a night time heat drop from the day. My local Lowe's an Home Depot sell single slate tiles for under $2 next to the boxes. I'd ask someone working there if you can buy just one (if they don't have an individual price noted). Ceramic or any other type of tile is cool...slate just looks the most natural. Yes, and I think 95-100 is good for basking. Observe and see where your tort spends most of its time vs. what the gradient is. I will guess the tort won't choose the cooler side much except to hide, and thats only because the only hide is there. Let that show you what you should do. I think we can take some of our best enclosure cues from our torts...ie. where to place things and what temp to make it.

I know lots of people (including myself) which safely use plastic plants. Like substrate, you would hope a small piece bitten off would pass through. But, you can usually see (as with any new cage furnishing addition) right away if your tort thinks its food...my little guy runs over and takes one test "bite" (not actually biting anything off) and then realizes its not food. I will observe my tort with any new enclosure change to make sure its safe (ie. I only make changes on weekends when I'm home). It would be odd for a tort to ignore it for awhile and then all of a sudden try to eat it. There are certain types more suited for hides, such as those with medium length stems and larger overhanging leaves (but ones you can make more of an umbrella out of, not easy for the tort to climb on and either flip over or get out of the enclosure). I shop at Michael's craft store with their 40-50% off one item coupons from the internet or newspaper. Its your call with what you are comfortable with...kinda like no matter what someone says on here about how great radiant heating is, its not something I'm comfortable with.

Either way, I'd recommend having a hide right next to the basking spot, a moderate spot, and a cool spot, with either the moderate or cold spot next to the food. That way you encourage your tort to bask and eat, as they feel more comfortable with a hide nearby. I suggest plants as they don't take up as much space as a box hide, but cardboard boxes, plastic containers, flower pots, etc, all make great hides, and don't have to be expensive. Timothy hay or orchard grass piled up also makes a great hide and something for them to play in (although it makes a huge mess). I like to use that near the basking spot as my tort still gets quite a bit of heat through it vs. a box hide. I don't like the half logs or stuff that can be climbed (non-vertical or non-slippery sides), as my tort loves to fall from them!


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## Chifte (Feb 7, 2011)

tortoisenerd said:


> I still stand with my suggestion to move the lamp to the middle...then you'll have more area in the 80s than the 70s. 70 is great for night. You won't ever need to worry about night heat then. At 70 you are still getting a night time heat drop from the day. My local Lowe's an Home Depot sell single slate tiles for under $2 next to the boxes. I'd ask someone working there if you can buy just one (if they don't have an individual price noted). Ceramic or any other type of tile is cool...slate just looks the most natural. Yes, and I think 95-100 is good for basking. Observe and see where your tort spends most of its time vs. what the gradient is. I will guess the tort won't choose the cooler side much except to hide, and thats only because the only hide is there. Let that show you what you should do. I think we can take some of our best enclosure cues from our torts...ie. where to place things and what temp to make it.
> 
> I know lots of people (including myself) which safely use plastic plants. Like substrate, you would hope a small piece bitten off would pass through. But, you can usually see (as with any new cage furnishing addition) right away if your tort thinks its food...my little guy runs over and takes one test "bite" (not actually biting anything off) and then realizes its not food. I will observe my tort with any new enclosure change to make sure its safe (ie. I only make changes on weekends when I'm home). It would be odd for a tort to ignore it for awhile and then all of a sudden try to eat it. There are certain types more suited for hides, such as those with medium length stems and larger overhanging leaves (but ones you can make more of an umbrella out of, not easy for the tort to climb on and either flip over or get out of the enclosure). I shop at Michael's craft store with their 40-50% off one item coupons from the internet or newspaper. Its your call with what you are comfortable with...kinda like no matter what someone says on here about how great radiant heating is, its not something I'm comfortable with.
> 
> Either way, I'd recommend having a hide right next to the basking spot, a moderate spot, and a cool spot, with either the moderate or cold spot next to the food. That way you encourage your tort to bask and eat, as they feel more comfortable with a hide nearby. I suggest plants as they don't take up as much space as a box hide, but cardboard boxes, plastic containers, flower pots, etc, all make great hides, and don't have to be expensive. Timothy hay or orchard grass piled up also makes a great hide and something for them to play in (although it makes a huge mess). I like to use that near the basking spot as my tort still gets quite a bit of heat through it vs. a box hide. I don't like the half logs or stuff that can be climbed (non-vertical or non-slippery sides), as my tort loves to fall from them!



I've been trying to concoct a way to have 2 or 3 hides while maximizing walking space, a little bit of climbing, and not cramped food and water areas.

I tried what you said about putting the lamp in the middle. The cool burrow on the far left is still in the 70's because it's so low, the moderate(far right) is 81 and I lowered the lamp about 3/4 of an inch which raised the basking temp to 97.2. I told my tortoise I'm not messing with his home anymore, I think I got this right now and I think it's going to work quite well. His moderate hide is a little different which I hope he'll use, I envisioned a large exposed root with a vine rapped around it and I made it real. S


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## MaggieL (Feb 7, 2011)

It looks much nicer for the little guy! I think you are doing a great job working to find the best accommodations for your RT!


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## tortoisenerd (Feb 9, 2011)

Cool! Just check that the tort can't climb on that and get out...can't see from the angle. I think every once in awhile its good to move stuff around and add new things so the tort doesn't get bored, but yeah, I agree for a new tort you want them to settle in. Good luck!


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