Gettin into russians

[jareeed2]

Soo my highschool football coach and his 8 yearold son have lived with me in my basement that they rent out for the past 3 years now. They have taken on the passion i have with my redfoots and love helping me take care if them..
They seen russian tortoises at petco the other day and want some.. I guess
My coach is gonna buy 2 for his son for xmas!
Can anyone help me with what i will need to house 2 russians.. These one at petco are good size already.. Around 4-6 inches if say
Enclosure?
Lighting?
Temps?
Substarate?

Thanks!

 

[babylove6635]

russians are roammers so the more room for them the better. and they like to climb. i recomend the zoomed power sun 100 wt. lighting its two in one for basking and uvb light, temps 95ish to 100, and substrate i use Coconut coir(Bed-A-Beast type substrate) FREE Shipping USA from carolina pet supply and sand they say 50/50 with sand or less sand they love to burrow down too. i have mine about 4 in deep and my inclousure is 8 x 4 half is substrate and the other half is indoor outdoor carpet for easy cleaning where they eat. but keep in mind i have 5 russians. and lovin them. good luck with yours i hope i healped. oh and a vet check up would be a good idea.

 

[GBtortoises]

Check out this website for alot of good Russian tortoise care information:

www.russiantortoise.org

Also consider searching Craigslist and other sources for Russian tortoises before buying recently imported tortoises from Petco or PetSmart. There are often Russian tortoises advertised on CL from people who no longer want them or can care for them.

 

[jareeed2]

russians are roammers so the more room for them the better. and they like to climb. i recomend the zoomed power sun 100 wt. lighting its two in one for basking and uvb light, temps 95ish to 100, and substrate i use Coconut coir(Bed-A-Beast type substrate) FREE Shipping USA from carolina pet supply and sand they say 50/50 with sand or less sand they love to burrow down too. i have mine about 4 in deep and my inclousure is 8 x 4 half is substrate and the other half is indoor outdoor carpet for easy cleaning where they eat. but keep in mind i have 5 russians. and lovin them. good luck with yours i hope i healped. oh and a vet check up would be a good idea.

Soo for two how big you think my enclosure should be?

 

[babylove6635]

russians are roammers so the more room for them the better. and they like to climb. i recomend the zoomed power sun 100 wt. lighting its two in one for basking and uvb light, temps 95ish to 100, and substrate i use Coconut coir(Bed-A-Beast type substrate) FREE Shipping USA from carolina pet supply and sand they say 50/50 with sand or less sand they love to burrow down too. i have mine about 4 in deep and my inclousure is 8 x 4 half is substrate and the other half is indoor outdoor carpet for easy cleaning where they eat. but keep in mind i have 5 russians. and lovin them. good luck with yours i hope i healped. oh and a vet check up would be a good idea.

i personally wouldnt go less than 3 ft x 2 ft they have the under bed plastic containers that work really good but i think they are 2 ft x 4 ft and 6 or 8 in tall


Soo for two how big you think my enclosure should be?

 

[Talka]

Sheldon's my first tort, but I'll give this a go. For him (he's small, 4") I just got a $15 bookshelf from Wal-Mart ( http://www.walmart.com/ip/3-Shelf-Bookcase-Oak/10756455 ) and lay it on its back. That's enough room for Sheldon. I tossed out the shelves, lined the entire thing with sticky kitchen-type cabinet liner (I recommend 2+ layers, and 5 around the edges since they LOVE to dig into it and rip it), and got a mix of:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752444
and http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11147195

...and a 100 watt uva/uvb bulb clamped to the bookshelf. Temps go from 70 to 95 in the enclosure. Not sure if that's optimal, but he seems pretty happy and active.

Easiest thing to do, I think, is find a slightly larger bookshelf and do something similar. The setup takes 1-2 hours to build.

 

[Tom]

Tell them to buy just one. Pairs seldom work out. Russians can be very aggressive. If they want more than one tell them to set up a HUGE enclosure and get several, all the while watching for problems and being prepared to separate trouble makers.

And I agree with GB. They will likely have a much more enjoyable tortoise experience if they take the time to find a long term, well established captive or a captive bred one.

 

[jareeed2]

Even male and females will fight?

 

[dmmj]

A male will try and mate with a female 24/7, at least in my personal experience. For indoor enclosures I would recommend just one tortoise, it will more than likely be happier and healthier.

 

[jareeed2]

Ohh is that bad for them to mate constatly?

 

[Talka]

Ohh is that bad for them to mate constatly?

Well, while that would be ideal for young humans , torts don't see it that way. Usually one of the pair wants nothing to do with it. It's stressful for the female if she doesn't want it. And stress leads to health problems.

So... I'll echo what other people have said. Avoid couples, tell 'em to get just one.

 

[jareeed2]

Alrightyy will do.. One it is

 

[lynnedit]

That's a smart decision, because it will prevent the need to get two enclosures, which often happens!
They are solitary in the wild, so don't need 'friends', just a very nice human who will feed them.

 

[jareeed2]

I think i persuaded them to box turtles