Hello, after some advice about my horsefield

Andy_Hal

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Aug 21, 2018
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Yorkshire
Hi all, I'm Andy from West Yorkshire in the UK.
I bought my horsefield tortoise last week and I have so many questions to ask, I've searched the internet and everything just contradicts each other, any advice is much appreciated.

1. Food
So, all it seems to like eating is dandelion leaves at the moment, I've tried it on spinach, thistle leaves, carrot shavings, but it doesn't seem interested. My question is, if I put something in (e.g a random weed i found) that it's not meant to eat will he eat it? Do i need to be careful what I put in its bowl? I'm still trying to find stuff other than dandelion leaves, although I have ordered a seed mix to grow my own.

I have found the tortoise table website, but I don't know the names of many plants and weeds.

2. Enclosure
I bought it from a pet shop, which I've recently discovered reading online is a no no. I bought it together with a vivarium, which I have also learnt isn't great. Although I have read articles which say vivs are better (I think they were just trying to sell their products). Is a vivarium, that bad? Will it be ok in their for a year or so? If it is so bad I will go and make a table for it as soon as possible.
It also came with pellets for a substrate, I have also bought some top soil today as I have heard they like to dig. I'm going to put some in tomorrow, should i put his cave on the soil side so he can dig down?

3. Hides
Should I put multiple hides in? I read somewhere to put it near the basking light, but most people say to put it on the cool side, should i put one on both sides and let it choose for itself?

4. Misting
Do I need to spray water in it's vivarium now and again to keep it humid?

5.
Is it ok to wake it up, or get it out of its cave?
I ask this, as sometimes it can take it ages to get up, but when I do it seems happy enough and goes on a wander around.

I've included some pictures with my post. The guy who sold it me told me it was hatched in 2016 but wasn't sure when. I have added a picture on a ten pound note for size comparison, hopefully he's at the right size.
I have no idea if it's a girl or boy but seem to keep calling it a him.

Thanks in advance!! Sorry for all the questions, I just don't want to get anything wrong.
 

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Maro2Bear

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Greetings there to you and your new Russian tort aka Horsefield in the UK..

First, take a read here - https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/b...or-other-herbivorous-tortoise-species.107734/

2. Read up on substrate...those pellets are not good at all.

3. Read the food bit, they will eat things that are bad or poisinous, so u can’t assume that they know right from wrong.

4. Hide - personslly i would ust put one hide in on the “non-basking” side

5. Humidity is good - misting is good and why u want to remove those pellets that will quickly mold and mildew up.

6. Wake Up. Sure, you can wake your tort up, give him a warm soak, fresh food and get him going for the day.

There are a lot of Russian keepers that will help you along the way.

Happy Torting Along.

Ps, given the relatively small size....seems hard to believe it was born in 2016.
 

Gillian M

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Hi Andy, and a very warm welcome to the forum.

Your tort is adorable! God bless.

I'll try to help you where I can.

1) Food: Please to not feed your tort anything sweet (to include carrots)

2) Enclosure: Kindly note that torts do not understand the concept of glass. Therefore, a tort would keep struggling to get out of a vivarium. I would advise you not to keep your tort in a vivarium at all. As for the enclosure: the larger, the better. These cute animals (despite their size), are used to roam around in the wild as they please.

3) Please do not allow your tort to roam around your house/flat.The floor is not clean,he/she could swallow something and, one could kick one's tort, God forbid, by mistake. Only pick him/her up when necessary.

4) Yes; please spray your tort's enclosure daily to keep it humid. And give your tort daily soaks in warm water so as to avoid dehydration and pyramiding.

5) Males have longer tails.

Read the "Beginners Mistake Thread" and keep asking questions when in need of help. (No need to apologize - we are here to help one another).
 

Andy_Hal

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Yorkshire
Thanks guys,
I'll get onto changing the substrate straight away!
I will keep trying other food to find something other than dandelion, I thought you could feed veg like carrots in small doses?
I'll start with the spraying too, I read somewhere else that it shouldn't be done as it may get too damp.

I also thought it looked on the small side to be born at that time. Giving it's size, how old do you think it could be?

Thanks for the nice comments!
 

Gillian M

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Thanks guys,
I'll get onto changing the substrate straight away!
I will keep trying other food to find something other than dandelion, I thought you could feed veg like carrots in small doses?
I'll start with the spraying too, I read somewhere else that it shouldn't be done as it may get too damp.

I also thought it looked on the small side to be born at that time. Giving it's size, how old do you think it could be?

Thanks for the nice comments!

Personally I know that enclosures have to be sprayed daily. I do so, as I live in Jordan where climate is extremely dry (desert climate).

One cannot tell the age of a tort unless one knows its "date of birth."
 

Minority2

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Vivariums are not entirely bad. They don't rot. They're great for humidity. Clean ups are simple. When placed in a location with little to no foot traffic the vivarium/glass tanks is fine. Tortoise will at times smash their faces into the glass because of their interest in the outside. Some people cover part of the outer glass with newspaper and other materials. Others don't see the need. The biggest reason why glass tanks are generally not recommended is because it cost several times more for a large, tortoise sized enclosure made of glass than it is from wood and or plastic.

Study the thread linked in this thread.

Feeding tortoises foods that they do not require will only cause them to crave it if they do enjoy it. You won't be doing that tortoise any favors. That will only be for your benefit. They don't need "treats".

Try not to disturb your tortoise unless it is absolutely necessary. Example: Soakings, feedings, outdoor enclosure time, and cleaning substrate are necessary.

I use two hides in a single tortoise enclosure. One near the basking spot and one near the opposite end.

Pour and mist water into the substrate and then mix it. Get a good thermostat/thermometer and hygrometer reader and keep experimenting on the amount of water needed until you have a good system in place.
 

Andy_Hal

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After reading up a bit more about vivariums, I have decided to keep it in it, at least for now. There was a great thread on here that shed some light on it. I don't think the glass should be much of a problem as it's too small to even look out at the moment.
I'm changing the substrate to soil and watering it a bit to get it nice and humid (I don't know where I read that dry was better).
I'm going to put a nice big pile in the corner and put a hide on top so he can burry down, and also a hide towards the warmer side.
I'll post some more pictures later.
 

LaLaP

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Welcome! I have a Russian tortoise too. I've only had him a few months so I've recently been through the process of figuring it out that you're going through... well I guess I'm still going through it also. This forum is the best and when you find conflicting info elsewhere you can feel assured that the info given by long time members here is the right stuff.
I felt pretty overwhelmed at first with the finding, identifying and feeding of weeds and plants. So my approach was to find a few things in my yard and try to identify them using the tortoise table. If you can't find it just post a picture here and ask. I was able to add variety little by little that way. And while it felt like a big chore at first now it feels like a treasure hunt to find a new weed for my tort. If you find something you are sure is good for him and he doesn't like it just chop it up and mix it with food he does like. You can trick him into getting interested by covering the pile with chopped bits of the food he likes.
My Tortoise, Diego, lives in an outside enclosure currently but the weather will change soon here in the northwest of the US so I am doing research on building his indoor enclosure. I'm finding that there are lots of lights that are actually bad for them and will cause problems. I don't mean to be alarmist but you might wanna check that you have a light that is healthy. You can post a picture of your setup and someone can tell you or you can check out the endless threads on lighting here.
Have fun getting to know your little guy! He is a cutie!
 

Gillian M

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After reading up a bit more about vivariums, I have decided to keep it in it, at least for now. There was a great thread on here that shed some light on it. I don't think the glass should be much of a problem as it's too small to even look out at the moment.
I'm changing the substrate to soil and watering it a bit to get it nice and humid (I don't know where I read that dry was better).
I'm going to put a nice big pile in the corner and put a hide on top so he can burry down, and also a hide towards the warmer side.
I'll post some more pictures later.
Look forward to seeing pics.
 

Andy_Hal

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Aug 21, 2018
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Location (City and/or State)
Yorkshire
Here are the pics of the new set up for his enclosure. When I was setting it up the soil I kept finding tiny bits of what looked like old wrap or something which I was a bit concerned about, may have to be another complete substrate change :rolleyes:
I just asked for top soil from a garden centre.
I'll also attach pics of the bulbs which I bought with the enclosure.
Any tips/constructive critism is welcome about the set up.
Also I heard putting a couple of worms in will help, is this a good idea?
Thanks guys! :tort::<3::<3:20180822_204517.jpg 20180822_204451.jpg 20180822_205158.jpg 20180822_205247.jpg 20180822_204517.jpg
 

Andy_Hal

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Messages
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Location (City and/or State)
Yorkshire
Welcome! I have a Russian tortoise too. I've only had him a few months so I've recently been through the process of figuring it out that you're going through... well I guess I'm still going through it also. This forum is the best and when you find conflicting info elsewhere you can feel assured that the info given by long time members here is the right stuff.
I felt pretty overwhelmed at first with the finding, identifying and feeding of weeds and plants. So my approach was to find a few things in my yard and try to identify them using the tortoise table. If you can't find it just post a picture here and ask. I was able to add variety little by little that way. And while it felt like a big chore at first now it feels like a treasure hunt to find a new weed for my tort. If you find something you are sure is good for him and he doesn't like it just chop it up and mix it with food he does like. You can trick him into getting interested by covering the pile with chopped bits of the food he likes.
My Tortoise, Diego, lives in an outside enclosure currently but the weather will change soon here in the northwest of the US so I am doing research on building his indoor enclosure. I'm finding that there are lots of lights that are actually bad for them and will cause problems. I don't mean to be alarmist but you might wanna check that you have a light that is healthy. You can post a picture of your setup and someone can tell you or you can check out the endless threads on lighting here.
Have fun getting to know your little guy! He is a cutie!

Are these lights any good?
 

Maro2Bear

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Greetings

I’ll let others chime in on your specific lights, but one thing (two really) that i would swap out are your water and food bowls.

Id make a trip to garden center, get a few terra cotta plant saucers, and swap out your bowls. Also, what is good is to sink the bowls level or down into the substrate so your torty can easily climb down INTO the saucer. Right now, your lil guy has to climb a mountain to go get up high into the bowls, it’s not natural to do this, and they have a hard plastron that doesnt bend.

Simple plant saucers work well - 8FA63F44-026E-46D8-A103-D429DB35BB1F.jpeg


Good luck - happy torting.
 

Andy_Hal

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Thanks, I'll look into getting some, I've sunk them both right down for the time being and put some little pebbles and rocks around to make it easier to get in and out.
 
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