12 year Russian Tortoise owner, recently moved with some questions

Status
Not open for further replies.

icenine

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2012
Messages
29
Laurie, it's pretty possible because he hadn't eaten in a while and that's where he gets his water.. but he ate afterwards, not sure if it changed his eyes any though. I'll go turn the lamp on and see if he'll eat then do a soak now!
 

icenine

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2012
Messages
29
Thanks Luckys :)

I just did the soak which for a bit he seemed confused by, perhaps he was still sleepy though. Shortly after his initial confusion he did dip his mouth in which gave the impression he was drinking (was using a deep tub so I actually couldn't tell for sure). He didn't pee or poop, so after about 15 minutes I put him onto the patio to have a romp. He walked a little ways then took a massive pee and continued his romp. During the romp I took out most of the hamster bedding and added the other bag (8 liters or something?) of the soft dirt substrate because I found him so often in the dirt that I thought maybe he only stays in the dirt half most of the day. Covered most of the forest floor coco coir stuff and left a small expanse of the forest floor and bedding in case he has a preference. It's on the lamp side, so perhaps if there is a temperature difference he will sit on the coir to get his heat and light. Put some lettuce in which he was ignoring while on the patio and set him back down in the enclosure back inside. He pretty much made a cautious B-line for the lettuce and he's chomping away now.

Looks like steps in the right direction with his behavior, no? :p
 

LuckysGirl007

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2012
Messages
899
Location (City and/or State)
Surprise, AZ
Sounds like it! I think you had said the patio is all shaded? Perhaps he didn't eat outside because the concrete was cold? Good news he peed outside and not in his enclosure!
 

icenine

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2012
Messages
29
LuckysGirl007 said:
Sounds like it! I think you had said the patio is all shaded? Perhaps he didn't eat outside because the concrete was cold? Good news he peed outside and not in his enclosure!

Patio is all shaded all day, theres about a 1-foot perimeter around the concrete of dirt that isn't covered, but a tree does block sunlight. Not sure about his eating preference, it's possible it was temperature or just that he was too busy devising an escape route from the patio to be bothered with petty things such as eating :p
 

kanalomele

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Apr 2, 2012
Messages
1,526
Location (City and/or State)
East Bay area
You are doing nothing wrong, his enclosure is fine, and especially so if it is the best you can offer right now. I rescue far to many torts that lose their homes because their 7year old owner is bored with them. So I'm thrilled that you have him still, and especially that you are interested enough in doing better for him that you will come on here and ask reasonable, responsible questions. Supervised romps in outside would tickle his little heart. My inside babies go outside in a plastic container that I have planted with weeds, it keeps them in one area securely and let's them chomp to their hearts content. Perhaps that is what you could put on the patio, rather than the tort. A tub with weeds that you can put him in for his outside time. I like the security of knowing that they cannot wander off!
An MVB bulb is a single light source that offers BOTH kinds of UV that he needs. UVA and UVB. I regular bulb will only give him light and heat but none of the UV. Since he will be inside for most of the time I do recommend it. I also mentioned a CHE. That is a ceramic heat emitter and is useful when it starts to get colder, and he needs more heat than a MVB will provide.
 

icenine

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2012
Messages
29
Thanks a lot kanalomele for understanding the situation :) The patio is fenced with hard dirt and actually the bottoms have thin planks of wood stapled to the fence randomly, we suspect a previous tenant had a pet they kept outside that was capable of going under fences. The dirt is hard though, I could probably allow even an unsupervised outdoor romp, I think it'd take him an hour or two of very diligent digging to manage an escape.

Fortunately Davis doesn't get very cold; about as cold as it gets back in the Bay Area and the tortoise never seemed to have problems with the weather there (though as expected he would burrow and hide more when it gets cold or rainy).

Thanks for the info on the bulbs. How long do these last? What's a good brand for it? I'll probably make a trip down to Petco tomorrow actually, so any suggested shopping items for helping him thrive indoors would be really appreciated! Keep it on somewhat of a budget though; I'm not tight for cash, but you all know the broke college student routine. I don't take much fancy to the prospect of purchasing an $80 light bulb so the tortoise can have a better fake sun. I also intend to get the calcium/vitamin dust stuff for his food and perhaps a water bowl or plants? Shoot suggestions at me please ^_^;
 

lynnedit

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Feb 25, 2011
Messages
5,730
Location (City and/or State)
Southwest Washington
Look at the Zoo med Powersun 100w UV bulb on Amazon.com. If you have prime shipping it is under $40
There are different opinions on how long they last, but 12 months is reasonable.

These bulbs are more than fake sun, they are essential for your tort to grow properly and can also help them 'perk up' and remain active.

I also commend you for working so hard on your tort's comfort!
 

icenine

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2012
Messages
29

kanalomele

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Apr 2, 2012
Messages
1,526
Location (City and/or State)
East Bay area
I have no idea why some people get nervous about the water their torts soak in. They are going to poop in it, then you have to change it anyway. I use warm tap water.
 

icenine

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2012
Messages
29
kanalomele said:
I have no idea why some people get nervous about the water their torts soak in. They are going to poop in it, then you have to change it anyway. I use warm tap water.

Okay, cool :) I know fish are very sensitive to it but they live in it... I'd be very surprised if my hardy guy could withstand all that he can withstand and then falls ill to mildly chlorinated bath/tap water.. as long as people use it and see no adverse effects then I can rest easy.
 

srkarpen

Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Aug 21, 2012
Messages
76
Location (City and/or State)
Tucson, AZ
Just out of curiosity what is keeping you from making a larger outdoor home for him on your patio? It may be getting too cold and I don't know the area but you said it doesn't get too cold. Even a larger kiddie pool enclosure which a strong hardware mesh covering during the day when it's presumably warmer would be good for him. He'll still get the UV he needs even in the shade. As long as its warm enough is this feasible?

I'm glad you're doing everything you can for him now but I do think if you think outside the box a bit it will not be impossible to make things even better for him. Like you (basically) said, just because its good enough doesn't mean it's best.

I'm also in college. I'm in grad school living in an apartment and years of loans has put me on a tight budget so i know its hard but it's still possible to give him the absolute best.

Maybe someone already referred to this but russiantortoise.net has very easy simple and straight forward instructions/explanations and is quite helpful. That and taking the advice of the experts (which certainly doesn't include me) here will absolutely get your tortoise all the best.

Good luck with the move and school!
 

icenine

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2012
Messages
29
srkarpen said:
Just out of curiosity what is keeping you from making a larger outdoor home for him on your patio? It may be getting too cold and I don't know the area but you said it doesn't get too cold. Even a larger kiddie pool enclosure which a strong hardware mesh covering during the day when it's presumably warmer would be good for him. He'll still get the UV he needs even in the shade. As long as its warm enough is this feasible?

I'm glad you're doing everything you can for him now but I do think if you think outside the box a bit it will not be impossible to make things even better for him. Like you (basically) said, just because its good enough doesn't mean it's best.

I'm also in college. I'm in grad school living in an apartment and years of loans has put me on a tight budget so i know its hard but it's still possible to give him the absolute best.

Maybe someone already referred to this but russiantortoise.net has very easy simple and straight forward instructions/explanations and is quite helpful. That and taking the advice of the experts (which certainly doesn't include me) here will absolutely get your tortoise all the best.

Good luck with the move and school!

Thanks for the response!
He would get UV under the shade? There's the 2nd floor balcony over our patio and a tree where the balcony isn't overhead. It's not particularly cold except at night in the dead of winter it'd be too cold for a tort, but it is overcast/rainy for 4-6 months of the year.
The outdoor option is still feasible but if I can keep him indoors and take him out every so often and put him under a UV bulb, I'd rather that. All this tortoise stuff has made me reptile-obsessed again, I don't want to **** off my roommate by turning the entire patio into a tortoise pen and then coming home one day with a gecko or something :p

I'm certainly a bit skeptical that he'd get UV outdoors. I had him in the 38x19 bin outside and it messed up his appetite and I didn't see him moving much. Granted it's not the biggest romp space but still, he was definitely noticeably lazier the past 2 weeks on the patio than I ever remember him being. He slept a crapload today, but he at least enjoyed the soak, had an active patio romping and ate some lettuce before he retired for pretty much the rest of the day. Perhaps not abnormal though as in the past he does cease eating for a while then hibernate right around this time of year.
 

srkarpen

Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Aug 21, 2012
Messages
76
Location (City and/or State)
Tucson, AZ
I'm on the first floor in my apartment too. In the summer i get maybe 2-3 hours direct sunlight in the morning and the rest of the day is completely shaded so when i was making an outdoor enclosure (which i did in a kiddy pool, which still leaves space for a mini table and 2 chairs on the patio) i asked the same question about UV and shade. I was told he would still get all the UV he needs even in the shade. Sometimes I'm still a bit skeptic about it too but I trust it. He's been growing very well so i have no reason to believe there are any deficiencies. I'm sure someone can offer a better explanation but UV is light, just like light you can see, except you can't see it because the UV spectrum is out of our visible range. So, UV rays will bounce off objects just like visible light rays will. Think about how even in the shade things aren't completely black. As far as i understand more than enough UV will still get to him in the shade because those rays can also bounce off of things into shaded areas. This may or may not be right explanation but it fits what i've been told in the past.

I had my guy in a tub that seems to be comparably sized to what you have but i recently made a new one by combining two of the 'underbed' tote things from target. It ends up being about 3ftx3ft and honestly doesn't take up THAT much more room when it practically comes down to it. Again, I'm also in an apartment so i get your battle space. You could also think about vertical space, give him a ramp to climb up to a second level. This gives him more real estate without taking up any extra floor room.
 

icenine

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2012
Messages
29
The change in his behavior and appetite that I observed keeping him outside versus inside with just a fluorescent lamp, has been substantial enough that I can't help but question that he gets sufficient UV on the deck. But I'm very glad it works out for your torts! My guy is older than I am, based on shell lines we was pretty much definitely WC and was likely about 9-12 years old when I got him. Makes him about 21-23 years old, meaning I can't really measure his growth as he's been the exact same size as long as I've had him.

I'm about to get dressed and bike on over to Petco, the employees there are sort of dopey but hopefully I can get the few things I do need :p
 

icenine

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2012
Messages
29
2r2r8d5.jpg


ZooMed UVB ReptiSun, Heat basking bulb (not in right now), sample of ReptiCalcium with no D3 and tub of RepCal with D3.

Though right now he's immediately running away from any sort of light to burrow on the opposite end. Just like yesterday lol wake up for food then pee and sleep until tomorrow
 

icenine

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2012
Messages
29
Let the tortoise go for a somewhat supervised patio romp - the fallen leaves are crunchy so I can sit on the couch with a book or my laptop and hear him roaming :D Also most of the fence is covered up by stapled wood, there are a few subject spots I should cover before I leave him fully unattended, but if I'm not out to class too long during the day I can leave him romping the patio and bring him in at night or when I'll be gone more than a few hours. Also i lightly calcium dusted his lettuce this time :)

2wqquc5.jpg
 

lynnedit

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Feb 25, 2011
Messages
5,730
Location (City and/or State)
Southwest Washington
Even w/o direct light, they can get some UV in the shade. As long as you can secure it, that looks like a nice spot for him! Perhaps add a couple of hides and some tort friendly plants.

If you are not sure he gets much UV, then use the repticalwith D3, but a very light dusting about twice per week.

continue to soak him at least once per week in shallow warm water.

The Reptisun fluorescent tube light with a basking light for heat works very well!

the only other thing I can see is perhaps add some water and mix it into your substrate so it isn't too dry.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

New Posts

Top