Hello and Help Please!

RascalMama

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Hi all! My name is Laurie from the Bronx, NY and I'm a mom of 5. This weekend my sister just brought my children home a tortoise from the summer camp she worked at. I already call the 5 kids I have Rascals, so why not add another critter to the mix? Lol. The tortoise is super cute but The more I read, the more concerned I am that he wasn't being cared for appropriately!

He was brought to us in a glass fish tank (about 12x24 inches) with a very fine layer of substrate, a log to hide in, a bowl for water and what appears to be an infrared heat lamb. We have no idea what type of tortoise he is and really want to make sure he's properly cared for. Since his arrival yesterday I ran out and got some powdered reptivites, new substrate and a tank liner to cover some of the clear glass. I soaked him for 30 mins and we've feed him spring mix and kale. I'm not sure where to go from here. I'm afraid this space is waaaaay too small but we're in an apartment and somewhat limited on how much space we can allocate to an enclosure.

We want to give him a better life than he's been living! Any advice would be so appreciated!

Thanks!
 

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Minority2

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Study the care sheet. Pay close attention to lighting, enclosure size, and dietary needs.

1. Substrate/soil level is low. Your adult Russian needs at least 5-8 inches so they can burrow themselves and regulate their body temperatures.
2. Water dishes should allow tortoises to crawl into. They should always have an option to soak themselves if needed. Plant saucers are especially effective and highly recommended.
3. Feeding dishes in the form of a piece of slate or hard tile is highly recommended because they're useful for maintaining a tortoise's nails and beak length; keeping them at a relatively safe level.
4. Lighting fixtures. How many do you have? Is that red heat bulb the only one you're currently using?

Additional question: Do you happen to know if the summer camp where you sister works also happens to house their other tortoises in similar conditions?
 

TammyJ

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Hi and welcome! You came to the right place for help. Just follow the advice given and it will have the best chance of a healthy life with you.
 

Maro2Bear

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Greetings.

Given that you are in an apartment....with not a whole lot of extra space I’m guessing, TRY to get as large of an enclosure that you can. Not a larger aquarium....but a nice large Rubbermade type container from HomeDepot or WalMart. There are all kinds of sales going on, but your Russian needs a lot more space to crawl about. I’m thinking 4 x 8 is out of the question....but go big!
 

RascalMama

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Study the care sheet. Pay close attention to lighting, enclosure size, and dietary needs.

1. Substrate/soil level is low. Your adult Russian needs at least 5-8 inches so they can burrow themselves and regulate their body temperatures.
2. Water dishes should allow tortoises to crawl into. They should always have an option to soak themselves if needed. Plant saucers are especially effective and highly recommended.
3. Feeding dishes in the form of a piece of slate or hard tile is highly recommended because they're useful for maintaining a tortoise's nails and beak length; keeping them at a relatively safe level.
4. Lighting fixtures. How many do you have? Is that red heat bulb the only one you're currently using?

Additional question: Do you happen to know if the summer camp where you sister works also happens to house their other tortoises in similar conditions?

Thanks for the detailed response!

When he arrived we could see the bottom of the tank through the substrate so I thought about an inch would be ok but I'll definitely add more.

I'm realizing that we need a much larger enclosure and plan on going shopping tomorrow to try and figure out what we can do for our friend Tuck. He is very lethargic today. Working on finding an Vet that takes exotics in our area that's reasonable.

I think that the lamp that they sent with him is totally inadequate. I knew nothing about Tortoises before this so I assumed it was fine but I think it's just giving off heat and not UVA/UVB. A new bulb is also on our list. I have some basic thermometers in the tank but it seems like the basking side is only getting up to 80 and the cool side is about 70 which isn't hot enough based on what I read.

I feel so bad for this little guy. He was housed in a kindergarten class and was handled a lot but I assume that his set up at the camp was what they sent home with my sister (she can't verify. He wasn't in her classroom). He was the only tortoise. We were supposed to send him back next summer but there is nooooooo way I'm going to put him through that. Hoping we can get him happy, healthy, and perky soon.
 

RascalMama

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Greetings.

Given that you are in an apartment....with not a whole lot of extra space I’m guessing, TRY to get as large of an enclosure that you can. Not a larger aquarium....but a nice large Rubbermade type container from HomeDepot or WalMart. There are all kinds of sales going on, but your Russian needs a lot more space to crawl about. I’m thinking 4 x 8 is out of the question....but go big!

I may only be able to realistically do half of that initially. My hope is to get him a starter enclosure up and running by tomorrow night that's around 2x 4 and then expand after I do some serious rearranging and brainstorming once the kids go back to school in Sept.
 

TechnoCheese

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I may only be able to realistically do half of that initially. My hope is to get him a starter enclosure up and running by tomorrow night that's around 2x 4 and then expand after I do some serious rearranging and brainstorming once the kids go back to school in Sept.

If you know for sure that you can’t fit an 8x4 enclosure in your house, maybe consider making a 4x4 double decker or something similar :)
 

Minority2

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Thanks for the detailed response!

When he arrived we could see the bottom of the tank through the substrate so I thought about an inch would be ok but I'll definitely add more.

I'm realizing that we need a much larger enclosure and plan on going shopping tomorrow to try and figure out what we can do for our friend Tuck. He is very lethargic today. Working on finding an Vet that takes exotics in our area that's reasonable.

I think that the lamp that they sent with him is totally inadequate. I knew nothing about Tortoises before this so I assumed it was fine but I think it's just giving off heat and not UVA/UVB. A new bulb is also on our list. I have some basic thermometers in the tank but it seems like the basking side is only getting up to 80 and the cool side is about 70 which isn't hot enough based on what I read.

I feel so bad for this little guy. He was housed in a kindergarten class and was handled a lot but I assume that his set up at the camp was what they sent home with my sister (she can't verify. He wasn't in her classroom). He was the only tortoise. We were supposed to send him back next summer but there is nooooooo way I'm going to put him through that. Hoping we can get him happy, healthy, and perky soon.

Take my advice; use two light fixtures instead of one. MVB type light bulbs, often associated with single fixture setups, give off heat and uvb. They are expensive, they do not last long, they do not cover enough area, and the wattage count is often higher than a two fixture setup.

1x 10.5 inch basking light fixture ( 40-60 watt incandescent light bulb/cheap) pointed directly straight down. That spot should be about 95-105F.
1x uvb strip florescent light/tube fixture. 2-4 ft. t5 are cheap and use about 20-25 watts and will last at least a year (some may last 2-3) before needing replacements. (Reptisun 5.0/10.0 uvb lights are $20-30 per tube I believe. Buy extra so you have some nearby when one goes out)
- You can find these types of fixtures in any brick and mortar hardware store. Amazon works as well. Avoid generic, overpriced, pet-branded fixtures.

There's a reason why tortoises rarely ever live that long in classrooms. They're often replaced because the pet industry doesn't properly educate buyers. They priority is to sell.

Tortoises only care about finding food, finding optimal temperatures aid in digestion after eating said food, and sleeping. That's all they do. That's why many tortoise keepers suggest minimal handling. Look all you want, don't disturb them unless it is absolutely necessary.

I may only be able to realistically do half of that initially. My hope is to get him a starter enclosure up and running by tomorrow night that's around 2x 4 and then expand after I do some serious rearranging and brainstorming once the kids go back to school in Sept.

Don't waste your money on hastily bought enclosures. You're only going to spend more money on another enclosure in the future. Playing catch up is not a good way to spend wisely. Focus on rearranging your furniture so you can at least have 5-6 L x 2.5-3 W feet of dedicated space for your adult tortoise.

That's about the size of a long dresser. Many people find used bookcases and refit them to become enclosures because they're about that size.
 

RascalMama

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If you know for sure that you can’t fit an 8x4 enclosure in your house, maybe consider making a 4x4 double decker or something similar :)

I am really excited about the idea of a double decker! My kids would love that. If you know of any resources, please point me in the right direction. How high would the "walls" on the bottom half have to be?
 

Minority2

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I am really excited about the idea of a double decker! My kids would love that. If you know of any resources, please point me in the right direction. How high would the "walls" on the bottom half have to be?

1.5-2 ft is a good enclosure height for adult Russians. You want your light fixtures to be at least 12 inches away from your tortoise.

Two story enclosures are simply two sufficiently sized tables connecting together by a set of connecting ramps. This type of setup will require double the amount of light fixtures than your average setup. Both tables need to be large enough so that the heat is able to spread out, effectively creating a wide range of temperature zones.

I've never built a two story enclosure myself. I always thought a tortoise would just stay in one particularly area because they're such repetitive creatures.
 

TechnoCheese

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vladimir

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My indoor enclosure isn't fully two stories, but I elevated the night box to gain additional square footage. I have a sulcata though, so just the night box alone is 4' x 4'.

He loves it. Every night he goes up his ramp and puts himself to bed in his box [emoji16]


You can see my setup here: https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/163087/

I went from having what I thought was a crazy idea to actually pulling it off [emoji16]

You might even be able to do a 3 story enclosure for even more space! [emoji6]
 

TammyJ

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Sticking a big, ugly, possibly really dumb pin in here.

May the tortoise perhaps fall down to the lower floor and land on his back and can't right himself? And die? Or does this depend on the design of the double decker home?
 

vladimir

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Sticking a big, ugly, possibly really dumb pin in here.

May the tortoise perhaps fall down to the lower floor and land on his back and can't right himself? And die? Or does this depend on the design of the double decker home?

good, secure guard rails would be essential, but you bring up a good point @TammyJ
 

Gillian M

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Greetings.

Given that you are in an apartment....with not a whole lot of extra space I’m guessing, TRY to get as large of an enclosure that you can. Not a larger aquarium....but a nice large Rubbermade type container from HomeDepot or WalMart. There are all kinds of sales going on, but your Russian needs a lot more space to crawl about. I’m thinking 4 x 8 is out of the question....but go big!
Space is a serious issue with pets, when one lives in a flat.
 

RascalMama

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Mini Update: got Tuck a propper UVA/UVB bulb and a second lamp as well as some slate to bask on and a terra-cotta saucer to soak in. He seemed to perk up a bit with the light but didn't eat well. Working on getting the space and materials together to get his home started.

Thank you all so much for your help! I'll follow up when I've made some more progress!
 

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