Couple questions

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GmasterFJ

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I live in Hawaii and I recently got a russian tortoise. i've researched a lot about their care and husbandry. I had a few questions and hopefully you can help me.

1) My tortoise is in an outoor pen 8' by 3'. I have a large cuttlebone in the pen. Will the tortoise actually eat it when he needs calcium?
2) Is the cuttlebone enough calcium supplement for him? If not, do you have any suggestions as to wha i should get?
3) His substrate is just dirt. I know most suggest sand or mulch. Is the dirt satisfactory or is sand and mulch that much better for him?
4) i have a hibiscus plant, a sweet potatoe plant and a strawberry plant in the pen. Should I get prepared tort food like pelets?

thanks!
 

Crazy1

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Hi GmasterFJ, Welcome to the forum. How old is your Russian? Does it have a name?
1 ) He may. Some torts eat the cuttle bones some don't I would leave it in his pen that way if he needs more he has the choice.
2) I would however get some calcium carbonate-you can get it at a drug store- put it in a salt shaker and shake sparingly over his damp greens. Depending on his age may depend on how often you give him the calcium.
3) Dirt is fine but remember Russians are diggers, they like to dig down and they like to climb. So if you do not have something around his outdoor pen and he can dig out.....well I'm sure you will be spending lots of time looking for him.
4) Hibiscus is fine. Pull up the sweet potato the leaves are toxic they are a member of the nightshade family. Strawberry plants are fine. try planting perhaps some wandering jew or pic from the list here www.russiantortoise.com If you get a prepared pellet I would suggest Mazuri or Grassland Tortoise, I think it is by zoo med.
 

Yvonne G

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Hi GmasterFJ:

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to the forum!

Hawaii...wow! What a lucky person to live in such a place.

I don't add anything to my outside pens. The original dirt is just fine. If possible, build him a temp pen then plant lots of stuff in his main pen, giving it time to grow and establish before you put him back. If it were me, I would NOT plant grass. They will eat a little grass, but not much, and the grass quickly takes over the pen, causing you to have to mow or scissor it too often. They like broad-leaf weeds best. I'm sure you have plenty of those in Hawaii. I'll bet stuff grows "like weeds" there! You can find different kinds of "Mediterranean Mix" seeds or "Russian Seeds" at turtlestuff.com, carolinapetsupply.com and turtlecafe.com. However, you living in Hawaii might cause a shipping problem. I don't know the rules about shipping to HA.

Yvonne
 

Jacqui

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Hiiii and welcome! I agree with Yvonne. In my mind I see lots and lots of wonderful and colorful flowering plants for your tortoise! Would be interesting to go to a nursery there and see what plants really are available over there.

You listed the three plants and then asked about pelleted foods, just double checking, you are offering other green/weed stuff, correct?
 

GmasterFJ

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yeah. I'm trying to get dandelions and weeds like that but it is suprisingly difficult. even in Hawaii. Is the Sweet potatoe really harmful because he really likes it. I will immediately remove it if it is. BTW his name is Zak
 

Weloveourtortoise

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Welcome to the forum!! and congrats on having a RT-- Charlie is our pride and joy. please post pics once you get a chance.
 

tortoisenerd

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You can also feed lettuces such as spring mix until you get a "garden" established for him (look at russiantortoise.org for a great list of what to look for at the grocery store). You should have a relatively easy time getting greens to grow vs. most of us here. Ideally you'd plant at least a dozen different things for him to get lots of variety.
 

Millerlite

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If you are keeping them year round outdoors, throw some birdseed in the enclosure and let it grow out. all the russians i've owned loved to graze. I almost never fed mine, only like 2x a week just to know they are getting food. They actually ate so much of the grass and such, i had to build a 2nd enclosure and switch them to let the grass grow back. As for calcium, as adults and outdoors, i rarely if ever sprinkle calcium, a lot of the weeds outside have natural calcium, and adults don't need it as much as a growing baby, its your call though.
 

ChiKat

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I purchased TNT and a cuttlebone for my little tort; should I purchase calcium carbonate also or is the TNT supplement enough? Thanks!
 

tortoisenerd

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TNT has natural ground yummies, which themselves are high in calcium, but in my opinion you need a daily calcium carbonate supplement for a hatchling. I do not use the TNT daily but some do. Because it is all natural you are at nearly no risk of over supplementing it.

I have heard both yes and no on sweet potato leaves like you. I trust the members here more than anything (not all websites are reputable, although africantortoise.com typically is), so if Robyn says they are toxic I trust her. Also, if there is ever conflicting information I like to err on the cautious side. I believe as sweet potatoes are in the toxic nightshade family (which also includes tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplant) you should not feed the leaves.
 

treshell

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As I remember, you have to drive fast to miss being beating to death with mango. Zak is living in banana heaven. How do they do on all those orchids? This might be the time to hit the farmers market. Also the extension office. Maybe follow one of the children with those flowers. Oh, and fresh coconut milk. Even here in Wyoming we take our torts out to places we know haven't been sprayed just to give new things to keep their minds sharp. As to something to add to his outside bedding go to some of those really high coffee growers and see if your can get the fluff. Their are only a couple. You could also get the fluff from the coconut. Great to dig in. Great for the soil. The Big Island has the best. But do check. There really no tortoise on the island to copy habitat. Don't know why, they should do well.
 

Yvonne G

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Sweet potato, tomato, potato, egg plant, tobacco...these are all in the deadly nightshade family. The fruit of these plants is edible, however, the leaves are toxic. (Well, the leaves have a high concentration of alkaloids, which would be toxic)

Yvonne
 

Crazy1

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Pepper, I went to www.africantortoise.com and it stated sweet potato. (I wish they stated the potato itself not the leaves and stems but I did not see that).The sweet potato itself can be fed and hatchlings are often soaked in pureed sweet potato or baby food. The leaves and stems are the toxic part of the plant just as is the case of tomatoes. The fruit is fine (in moderation) but the leaves and stems are toxic. We can eat peaches but the leaves if made into a tea can and have killed a child.
Something else that needs to be taken into concideration is the size of the tortoise. A large 100+ lb Sulcata may not have the same effects if it ate one bite or one small leaf of a sweet potato plant that a hatchling would have. By rule of thumb if it is on a toxic or poison plant list I try and stay away from it.
Glad to hear you did not feed your sully any. :)
 
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