Extended Tortoise enclosure

[aangry_aardvark]

I have recently acquired a friends russian tortoise as they have gone to uni and were unable to take him. Being generally good with animals and having a particular interest in reptiles I agreed to look after Eric. However when I got him I felt a bit sorry for him as he lived in such a tiny little space. A couple of weeks ago i decided to extend his home a bit and this is the result. I added a second floor to his previous home with extra lighting and I also added some decor for him, such as rocks, logs, moss, cuttle fish and spider plants for him to use and explore. His favorite area is the ladder i made for him. he spends most of his day moving up and down it and often just basking on it.

Please let me know what you think. I am very new to tortoise care and intend on giving eric the bet conditions i can provide. I am under the impression that he had not been very well cared for previously, no calcium powder, incorrect food, poor substrate and humidity levels etc. In a way I am trying to get him back to full health at the moment. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Eric is eating but not a huge amount, maybe a couple of small leaves a day. Any thoughts on how to encourage him to eat more?

So far I think he is happy with his new home. I have definitely noticed an improvement in his mood since i have redesigned his home

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Aardy, and welcome to the Forum!!

I like what you've done to improve Eric's living space. I especially like the long wander along the wall, except that it's too dark.

I would like to see you change out that coiled bulb for a tube-type UVB bulb. The tube offers more UVB, and the coil might damage his eyes.

Also, it might be a good idea to put the screw in type lights into a reflector. You can buy a 10 or 12" dome reflector with a ceramic base at a home improvement store cheaper than at a pet store.

Eric is a pretty darned good lookin' Russian tortoise. Thanks for sharing your pictures with us.

 

[TortoiseWorld]

Correct me if I'm wrong but this looks unsafe, the edges at the top are high and he could fall from the top to the bottom accidentally; and shouldn't the stairs have a railing wall to prevent him from falling off, turning over and getting stuck under a hot light bulb???



Safety first ambiance second.

 

[aangry_aardvark]

Correct me if I'm wrong but this looks unsafe, the edges at the top are high and he could fall from the top to the bottom accidentally; and shouldn't the stairs have a railing wall to prevent him from falling off, turning over and getting stuck under a hot light bulb???



Safety first ambiance second.

Thank you for the advice,
I can if it is necessary build walls around the edges and stairs but Eric seems be quite aware of the edge and he seems to enjoy sitting at the top and looking out into the room or on the ladder looking down over the edge. He doesn't try and go over. I know there is the risk of him falling but it would be a shame to deny him the enjoyment he seems to get from the view! maybe i can make it so that i can add barriers for when i leave him unattended..

 

[aangry_aardvark]

Hi Aardy, and welcome to the Forum!!

I like what you've done to improve Eric's living space. I especially like the long wander along the wall, except that it's too dark.

I would like to see you change out that coiled bulb for a tube-type UVB bulb. The tube offers more UVB, and the coil might damage his eyes.

Also, it might be a good idea to put the screw in type lights into a reflector. You can buy a 10 or 12" dome reflector with a ceramic base at a home improvement store cheaper than at a pet store.

Eric is a pretty darned good lookin' Russian tortoise. Thanks for sharing your pictures with us.

Hi Yvonne,

Thanks!
I will look into replacing the coil bulb for him. I have a 100w full spectrum light on the top floor and was looking unsuccessfully for a lower wattage one for the bottom section as this is the cooler area of the table.

Cheers for the heads up about reflectors, I hadn't thought to get one of those. I will try ad source one over the weekend.

 

[ascott]

FANTASTIC....and I absolutely adore the name....simple and to the point....Eric, so fun....I only cringed at one thing....there appear to be little bite sized pebbles in the enclosure....these can prove fatal for tort tasting his way around....I would take em out...again, my opinion