a few questions about my new Russian

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

He's been so much better!! It's lovely to see-- he's actually waking himself up every morning, getting under his lamp, and sitting in his water bowl between soaks (he's never ever done this before!). So much more active!!
And since the weather has been so lovely where I live in the last few days, I've been able to get him outside in the sun whenever he's getting a bit hyper. He's loving a run around and exploring the outside world! And he's always absolutely knackered after that, so I get a bit of peace
I think he's naturally a very active tortoise, who just hasn't had the chance or health to really be himself. It's so rewarding to see him start to improve.

Do you think his loud breathing is just him being a bit.. out of shape? Seeing as he's running around more than he's ever been able to before. Trying to keep the humidity up to eliminate that as a possibility

Only thing is, he's still refusing to eat out of his water bowl, and I don't want him to get hungry since he's moving so much more these days. Is there anything I can do for this, or does he just need more time?!

Aw this is brilliant news!
The breathing could possibly be him moving around more, I’d definitely keep an eye, but if he doesn’t appear to be showing any worrying symptoms like gasping, his eyes are clear of anything suspicious like bubbling, his nostrils are clear and he’s staying active with a good appetite, I wouldn’t be too concerned personallyit might even be a good idea to start weekly weighing, usually one of the first worrying signs would be a drastic drop in weight week to week, so its always handy to check

When you say eat out of his water bowl was that a typo? Do you mean his new food dish? It could very well be because it’s new still, does he eat from your hand/off the grass? He’s still got an appetite?

Great, thanks, I'll look for this when I next switch his substrate over! Am I right in saying every 3 weeks is what I should be aiming for?

cool! If he’s no longer bothering with the bark you might be ok sticking with it, but maybe you’ll prefer the other stuff, all comes down to personal preference and what he seems to enjoy too

For his humidity he only needs 30-50 so as long as you’re just making sure your substrate doesn’t feel too dry/dusty that’s all good, maybe aim for the lower side of humidity for now to monitor that breathing, as long as that doesn’t dry your substrate too much, the coir more than anything

No. You need to change substrate every year or even a few years (depending on amount of outdoors time and waste he makes). But daily spot cleaning is obligatory.

I absolutely agree a deep clean once a year in the right sized environment is what to aim for, like the 8x4but because he’s currently in quite a small set up, until he’s moved I think he’ll need a deep clean more often than that, with any luck though your new set up will already be sorted before needing to do that anyway

 

[Cathie G]

Great, thanks, I'll look for this when I next switch his substrate over! Am I right in saying every 3 weeks is what I should be aiming for?

Well no. The good news is once you get it set up the right way. You don't have to change the substrate very often. The orchid bark can even be washed. Just spot clean in the meantime. Because you have a little Russian. Every 3 weeks is way too much.

 

[tortilla-the-tortoise]

Hahaha where had I got every 3 weeks from?! Sorry for that.
He seems to be super happy these days, I’ve never seen him move so quickly outside! He’s insanely fast, actually. Sometimes his legs don’t seem to touch the floor…
He’s also eating out of his bowl now, and absolutely devouring everything I put in! Is there such a thing as overfeeding, or should I top up his bowl every time he’s finished it?

In other news, I’ve been contacted through the university with an offer for rehoming. I’m sorting everything out at the minute, but it’s looking likely he’s going to be rehomed with someone who can give him really great care. I wish he could stay with me, but I don’t really have space in my house for a big enough enclosure, so it’s probably best he goes to a proper home. I’ll be so sad to see him go But… there are tortoises in my future, definitely!
I’ll keep you all up to date with his rehoming, but I can’t thank you enough for the changes you’ve made to this little guy’s life. He is visibly so much happier, and there is genuinely more light in his eyes these days. From me and Tortilla (whose days as a class pet are over!!), THANK YOU

 

[Cathie G]

Hahaha where had I got every 3 weeks from?! Sorry for that.
He seems to be super happy these days, I’ve never seen him move so quickly outside! He’s insanely fast, actually. Sometimes his legs don’t seem to touch the floor…
He’s also eating out of his bowl now, and absolutely devouring everything I put in! Is there such a thing as overfeeding, or should I top up his bowl every time he’s finished it?

In other news, I’ve been contacted through the university with an offer for rehoming. I’m sorting everything out at the minute, but it’s looking likely he’s going to be rehomed with someone who can give him really great care. I wish he could stay with me, but I don’t really have space in my house for a big enough enclosure, so it’s probably best he goes to a proper home. I’ll be so sad to see him go But… there are tortoises in my future, definitely!
I’ll keep you all up to date with his rehoming, but I can’t thank you enough for the changes you’ve made to this little guy’s life. He is visibly so much happier, and there is genuinely more light in his eyes these days. From me and Tortilla (whose days as a class pet are over!!), THANK YOU

If my tortoise doesn't have food available when he's hungry I'm mad at myself. So I always keep some available. If I'm going to keep him as a pet the least I can do is make his conditions tortoise paradise. Just because tortoises go without in the wild doesn't make it the right way. Mother nature is a head at times.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hahaha where had I got every 3 weeks from?! Sorry for that.
He seems to be super happy these days, I’ve never seen him move so quickly outside! He’s insanely fast, actually. Sometimes his legs don’t seem to touch the floor…
He’s also eating out of his bowl now, and absolutely devouring everything I put in! Is there such a thing as overfeeding, or should I top up his bowl every time he’s finished it?

In other news, I’ve been contacted through the university with an offer for rehoming. I’m sorting everything out at the minute, but it’s looking likely he’s going to be rehomed with someone who can give him really great care. I wish he could stay with me, but I don’t really have space in my house for a big enough enclosure, so it’s probably best he goes to a proper home. I’ll be so sad to see him go But… there are tortoises in my future, definitely!
I’ll keep you all up to date with his rehoming, but I can’t thank you enough for the changes you’ve made to this little guy’s life. He is visibly so much happier, and there is genuinely more light in his eyes these days. From me and Tortilla (whose days as a class pet are over!!), THANK YOU

Aw I’m SO glad he’s doing better! General rule of thumb is to feed a shell sized portion, but if he polishes it off, it’s ok to add a bit more for him to graze on
That’s also good about the rehome! he definitely needs a permanent place to start thriving now, so I’m glad he’ll no longer be on the constant move, hopefully the right home can be found for him, might even be worth passing on this forum to his new owner if you can! That way we can hopefully stay in the loop on how he does

We can only hope the university and college is going to start phasing this cruel tradition out
You’re so welcomehope to see you stick around on the forum! You’ve clearly got the love and devotion to house one of these amazing little guys in the future

 

[Cathie G]

Aw I’m SO glad he’s doing better! General rule of thumb is to feed a shell sized portion, but if he polishes it off, it’s ok to add a bit more for him to graze on
That’s also good about the rehome! he definitely needs a permanent place to start thriving now, so I’m glad he’ll no longer be on the constant move, hopefully the right home can be found for him, might even be worth passing on this forum to his new owner if you can! That way we can hopefully stay in the loop on how he does

We can only hope the university and college is going to start phasing this cruel tradition out
You’re so welcomehope to see you stick around on the forum! You’ve clearly got the love and devotion to house one of these amazing little guys in the future

Happy birthday

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Happy birthday

Thank you!!