Changed my mind smh...

[Summer2000]

SOOOO I have decided i am getting a russian instead of hermanni tort, forgive me! but anyone have a caresheet for these fellas? Im getting one in july so i want to do as much research as possible!! A few questions i have myself are; what is the best subtrate? What are some things i can put in the enclosure to decorate it? Will a tort sweater harm my tortoise, can it be helpful or is it just cute? Where can i get a bowl in canada that wont be a flipping hazard but has traction? Im scared to make mistakes... i am ordering in a mercury vapor bulb for july tomorrow, and also what do you use for borrows? I seen someone using clay flower pots! Anndd 1 more, can i put a shower curtain in to make shure the moisture in the subtrate doesnt rot the wood? Thanks in advance!

 

[JoesMum]

SOOOO I have decided i am getting a russian instead of hermanni tort, forgive me! but anyone have a caresheet for these fellas?

Russian Care sheet http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

Beginner Mistakes http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Im getting one in july so i want to do as much research as possible!! A few questions i have myself are; what is the best subtrate?

Orchid bark, probably followed by Coco Coir

What are some things i can put in the enclosure to decorate it?

Rocks and plants. A shelter

Will a tort sweater harm my tortoise, can it be helpful or is it just cute?

It's cute and completely useless. Potentially will get caught on enclosure and go moldy in the high humidity conditions a tort lives in. Not for general wear.

Where can i get a bowl in canada that wont be a flipping hazard but has traction? Im scared to make mistakes...

A terracotta plant saucer is the best water bowl. A piece of flat rock or tile is best for food.

i am ordering in a mercury vapor bulb for july tomorrow, and also what do you use for borrows? I seen someone using clay flower pots! Anndd 1 more, can i put a shower curtain in to make shure the moisture in the subtrate doesnt rot the wood? Thanks in advance!

Shower curtain makes a good liner for a tortoise table

 

[Summer2000]

I have a few questions

 

[JoesMum]

I answered several in your other thread. Please read the care sheets I posted then feel free to ask more

 

[Summer2000]

Omg im sorry i accidentally hit the arrow!! Let me finish lmao, i am getting a russian tort, and i was wondering what my schedule should be for giving him suppliment how many days a week for calcium and how many days for multi vitamin and where to get cuttle bone in canada? Thanks!

 

[Summer2000]

Thankyou! I havent got the notification! I couldnt find my old thread and had more questions i will try and look

 

[JoesMum]

Cuttlebone can be obtained from a pet store the world over. Look in the bird section as they're used with budgerigars and canaries

Calcium supplement or ground cuttlebone - a very small amount 3 times a week on food.

You shouldn't need any other supplement. Just Leave the cuttlebone in the enclosure

 

[Summer2000]

Thankyou x 1 million! I just found this thread again, had to dig in my email!

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

Cuttle bones you can buy at any pet store that sells things for birds or on the Internet.

I am not one to recommend regular supplements because the need is entirely dependent on the tortoise's diet. If you are providing the right diet, you don't need supplements. If you think there are some deficits, a tiny, tiny pinch of calcium or multi once or twice a week is all you need. It's easy to overdo supplements. Supplementation shouldn't be regimented in a vacuum. It depends on what food your tortoise eats.

 

[Summer2000]

Cuttle bones you can buy at any pet store that sells things for birds or on the Internet.

I am not one to recommend regular supplements because the need is entirely dependent on the tortoise's diet. If you are providing the right diet, you don't need supplements. If you think there are some deficits, a tiny, tiny pinch of calcium or multi once or twice a week is all you need. It's easy to overdo supplements. Supplementation shouldn't be regimented in a vacuum. It depends on what food your tortoise eats.

If i feed stuff suggested on the care sheets should i be okay?

 

[Summer2000]

Sorry i feel like im asking to many questions, bare with me im really excited, and im determined to do some awesome research

 

[JoesMum]

A Russian tort's diet is leafy greens.

They can't digest sugars so fruit, bell pepper and carrot should only be fed very occasionally.

Weeds, untainted by pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers, are the best.

Your tort needs variety, but that doesn't have to be a variety every day. It's OK to give variety over a couple of weeks.

You can check out the plants that grow round you for suitability on The Tortoise Table Plant database
http://thetortoisetable.org.uk/site/plant_database_14.asp


There is also a pdf identification booklet on that website and they have an android app

Supplementing with store bought greens is sometimes necessary. Check those out on The Tortoise Table too.

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

If i feed stuff suggested on the care sheets should i be okay?

It depends. It's all about diversity. If you feed just two items from the care sheet, no, your tortoise will likely be missing some things. If you feed 20, you're probably close. In the wild, tortoises graze on 100s of different plants so just feeding them lettuce from the grocery store isn't going to provide the diversity of nutrients they would eat in the wild. If you can provide a diversely planted garden of tortoise edibles outside for grazing - with a cuttlebone around - I wouldn't be too concerned about supplementing. Other people feel differently. I do regularly 'supplement' with a bit of processed tortoise chow (Mazuri) though.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Welcome!
Do not buy a compact florescent light bulb when you go light shopping.
(Some of them even have a tortoise on the box.)
They harm tortoises eyes and you can't always get a refund on lights.

 

[Tom]

If i feed stuff suggested on the care sheets should i be okay?

Depends on which care sheets.

If you are feeding mostly the right kinds of leaves, weeds, flowers and succulents, then no, you shouldn't generally need to supplement. If you have a growing baby, or an egg laying female, a little supplementation would be good even with a "perfect" diet. If you are feeding more of the typical grocery store greens, then supplementing two or threes times a week is a good idea.

 

[Summer2000]

Ill have to shop at the grocery store as all the stuff i ca n feed my tort stops growing in the end of spring. What would you suggest?

 

[JoesMum]

You should be able to find all the weeds you need from spring through to fall. It's late fall and the winter months that get difficult.

That list is only some of the things you can feed. Look at what you have growing round you and then check them out on the Tortoise Table link I gave you earlier

 

[Summer2000]

Theres not much weeds here that grow throughout the year besides horse tails and grass lol

 

[JoesMum]

Weeds and plants are seasonal. There are plenty of plants growing in summer, you just need to work out what they are.

Fuschias and garden roses make good food for example

 

[Tom]

Ill have to shop at the grocery store as all the stuff i ca n feed my tort stops growing in the end of spring. What would you suggest?

I grow a lot of my own stuff, and its very seasonal. In winter we get our rain and all the cold loving weeds sprout up. In late spring all the weeds dry up and die off, but by then all the mulberry trees, grape vines and spineless opuntia cactus pads are all back and in full swing. I also have several plots of Tyler's testudo seed mix growing and that alone makes the bulk of my food for them all spring and summer. Add in some fresh grown alfalfa, squash leaves and blooms, clover, lavatera leaves and flowers, hibiscus leaves and flowers and a whole bunch of other stuff, and feeding your tortoise once a day is easy.

Fall is the hardest time of year for me. All my plants slow down, the mulberries and grape vines drop their leaves, and everything is going dormant for the winter, but the rain hasn't arrived to bring the weeds yet. That's when I use more Mazuri, pumpkin, and occasionally grocery store food. Luckily, even the tropical tortoises slow down their appetites that tie of year, and the russians are all getting ready to hibernate, so I don't feed them anyway.

Here is just a starter list of things to feed:
Mulberry leaves
Grape vine leaves
Hibiscus leaves
African hibiscus leaves
Blue hibiscus leaves
Rose of Sharon leaves
Rose leaves
Geraniums
Gazanias
Lavatera
Pansies
Petunias
Hostas
Honeysuckle
Cape honeysuckle
Leaves and blooms from any squash plant, like pumpkin, cucumber, summer squash, etc...
Young spineless opuntia cactus pads

Weeds:
There are soooooooo many...
Dandelion
Mallow
Filaree
Smooth Sow thistle
Prickly Sow thistle
Milk thistle
Goat head weed
Cats ear
Nettles
Trefoil
Wild onion
Wild mustard
Wild Garlic
Clovers
Broadleaf plantain
Narrow leaf plantain
Chick weed
Hawksbit
Hensbit
Hawksbeard

Other good stuff:
"Testudo Seed Mix" from http://www.tortoisesupply.com/SeedMixes
Pasture mixes or other seeds from http://www.groworganic.com/seeds.html
Homegrown alfalfa
Mazuri Tortoise Chow
ZooMed Grassland Tortoise Food

If you must use grocery stores greens, favor endive and escarole, but use lots of variety too.