Meet Tater

Hey guys! My daughter just “rescued” a testudo tortoise from Petsmart. I say rescued because although he wasn’t cheap and I usually despise buying pets from chain stores, this one did not look happy. There was no hide for him and he was stuck in tiny aquarium with another tortoise. I would’ve taken them both if I could. Anyway, here are some pictures of him and his indoor enclosure. He is about 4 inches wide, I have no idea how old he might be. We’re using a ZooMed 100 watt powersun mercury vapor bulb in a deep dome fixture. His substrate is 50/50 play sand and Eco Earth. When we put him in there he immediately buried himself. Is that normal? Im considering planting some live, edible plants but dont know what would be best. Any suggestions would be appreciated. We have a large yard and have big plans for building him an outdoor space soon.

Thanks!!

Welcome you have come to the right place. I am learning myself so don't have much info for you. Not sure with your species but watching posts here sand isn't advised. It can impact them. I use cypress chips and coconut coir. I am sure others will give you ideas. You can find your species and put key words in the search and read previous posts. You will notice the same members here with the best advice. Good luck with your new tort

Hello and Welcome. Sorry to say but the enclosure is too small and the substrate is bad. Minimum of a 4x8 for an adult Russian and no sand as it causes impaction.
Please read the Russian caresheet so he can have a proper enclosure and life with you

Welcome from one newbie to another. There are answers to everything here! And the people are all kind and want to help even when the same questions and the same mistakes seem to be on a never ending loop . They are passionate about the wellbeing of tortoises. Start with the Post Beginner Mistakes. It is fantastic and will save you so much heartache. And lastly...thank you so much for rescuing that poor sweet tort, he sure needed you. If I had lived in a glass bowl with no personal space the first thing I would do would be to bury myself too! {{{HUGS}}}

Congrats on the new tortoise, you did him a good deed by rescuing him from Petsmart.

What a great journey you are embarking on. Russians are awesome. They do love to dig and climb. Start looking into a larger enclosure. We just finished our outdoor one. Seeing that you are in Florida, you could probably have him outside year round with some added heat for basking in the winter. Here is ours. You can see Pepe in the top right corner. Definitely check out all the important info in the Russian section.

Hi, and welcome!

Your tortoise would be better served if you would set him up in a safe outdoor habitat. Russian tortoises really aren't meant to be indoor tortoises. He's going to stay dug in or else be digging at the corners and trying to climb the walls all the time in that bin.

Yes! We absolutely are building him a great outdoor enclosure. The one in the picture is only temporary. I’m kind of bummed about the substrate though. I did extensive research before we got him and they said a 50/50 play sand and eco earth was perfect for them.
What live plants would y’all recommend planting in his outdoor home?