Hello! I've just joined.

[Steve_carter]

Hello. I have just joined this forum and it looks a great community to share & learn. We like in the UK and we have a Horsefield called Norbert. We've been told he's roughly 9months old. He lives in a tortoise table where he usually is getting up to mischief. He brings laughs and smiles when you are watching him. He had his first outdoor experience yesterday. After awhile he got used to the surroundings and enjoyed himself. Hope everyone has a great day!

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello Steve

 

[Gillian M]

Welcome to the forum!

What a cute tort, GOD bless. Does he have an enclosure? If so please post a pic of it. Give your little tort daily soaks in warm water to avoid dehydration as well as pyramiding, and make sure that he gets enough warmth and humidity.

 

[Speedy-1]

Hi and welcome Steve and Norbert !

 

[Steve_carter]

Thank you all. We bath him daily & I shall get some pictures of his enclosure Gillian. Many thanks for your reply.

 

[Gillian M]

Thank you all. We bath him daily & I shall get some pictures of his enclosure Gillian. Many thanks for your reply.

Great! I look forward to seeing them.

 

[KaitlinKeefe_]

hes very handsome! cant wait to see the enclosure

Welcome!

 

[BrianC]

Hi and welcome

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome!

 

[Steve_carter]

Hi all. Apologies on the delay in getting these to you. Here is Noberts enclosure. The table is 3ft X 2ft internally. He has lots of space to move around in. We have a hide in it too which he goes into sometimes & also try's to climb onto. Succeeds sometimes! Haha. He's a cheeky chap. Thinking of getting more features in it like rocks, fake plants to make his home more appealing? Any recommendations? He gets fresh water everyday and a variety of different foods to keep it varied. Also he has a bath daily also. He seems to only go to the loo when in his bath? Convenient for us & he seems happy & always up to mischief. We love him & his character. (Excuse my mess around his table... ) also attached is the cheeky chap out in the garden stretching his legs & exploring! ❤️

 

[Lyn W]

Hi Steve and welcome from Wales, Noburt is beautiful.
There is a good caresheet for Russians under species specific which will point you in the right direction for diet, temps humidity and substrate etc. If you follow that advise you should end up with a happy healthy tort. The Beginners Mistakes thread (link below) will also help you avoid problems encountered by others and the Enclosures thread is full of great ideas.

www.thetortoisetable.org.uk will help you find tort safe plants for food and enclosure, but if shop bought repot and allow time for any chemicals that may have been used in/on the plant to grow out, so cuttings from safe sources are best. Spider plants are a popular choice. Some people use artificial plants for tort to feel secure but real plants will help with humidity, but that is difficult to maintain with an open table. What bulbs are you using there?

I would change your torts water dish for a slightly larger, but shallow, terracotta plant saucer so he can self soak when he feel like it, if you sink it level with the substrate he will be able to access it easily keep an eye on him to make sure he can get out easily too.
there is lots to learn and this is the best place for up to date information so read, search and ask as many questions as you need someone will get back to you asap.

 

[JoesMum]

Hi Steve and Welcome from Kent

There are some changes you need to make for your tort.

I will initially refer you to some important guides on TFO. They're written by species experts working hard to correct the outdated information widely available on the Internet and in pet shops and, sadly, perpetuated by some breeders and vets too.

Please read these and ask any questions they raise.

Beginner Mistakes
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Russian Care
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

Baby Russian Care
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...or-other-herbivorous-tortoise-species.107734/

Your lighting has two problems:
- The basking bulb must point straight down vertically so that it is 35C directly underneath it. This is so your tort can raise its internal temperature to digest food.
- The UVB is the compact type that we see harming tort eyes time and again. I'll post a lighting summary that explains what is right.

The substrate looks very dry. To grow healthily your tort needs a warm humid environment- the care guides explain how to achieve this.

You have pet shop reptile food bowls. They are not suitable for torts as they're hard for a tort to use and, worse still, they're a tipping hazard. A terracotta plant saucer sunk into the substrate is a fantastic, cheap water bowl. Feed your tort off a piece of flat rock or slate which also helps with beak maintenance.

 

[Lyn W]

Just spotted a coiled bulb - these have been known to severely damage torts eyes, so that is something I wouldn't take the risk with.

 

[JoesMum]

Here's a lighting summary:

Your tort needs:

1. A basking lamp
This must hang vertically, not at an angle. Basking is essential to raise your tortoise's core temperature so it can digest food.

2. UVB light
Read the instructions for the source to see how close to the substrate it must be. UVB is essential so your tort can process dietary calcium and have healthy bones and shell.

Both 1 and 2 are available from the sun for those able to live outside.

UVB does not pass through glass or perspex(plexiglass) - light must be direct to be effective not through a window. Mesh screening can also interfere with UVB.

3. A minimum overnight temperature (see the care sheet for your species - unless your house is exceptionally cold you should be fine) and complete darkness at night to sleep.


Notes

(a) A Mercury Vapor Bulb (MVB) provides combined UVB and Basking. Alternatively you can use 2 bulbs: a tube UVB and a reflector bulb for basking (a household reflector - not low energy or halogen - from a hardware store will do the job; it's the wattage that counts)

(b) Ignore any references to UVA you may read - it's misleading marketing speak.

(c) Compact coil UVB harms tortoise eyes and must not be used.

(d) Basking and UVB should be on a timer so the light(s) are on for 12 hours a day. Temperature under the basking is regulated by its height above the substrate.

(e) Overnight, depending on your home, you may need additional heat. You get this from a CHE (Ceramic Heat Emitter) which must be on a thermostat.

(f) Torts have outstanding colour vision and love red and purple food. Coloured heat lamps colour tank decor and torts don't always apply intelligence to what they eat, resulting them in eating tank decor. Coloured bulbs should not be used.


Measurements

There are 4 important temperatures that you must know for an indoor enclosure.
- Directly under the basking lamp
- Warm side
- Cool side
- Overnight Minimum

You will need digital thermometers for accuracy.

A temperature gun thermometer (inexpensive from Amazon) measures temperature accurately in specific places like directly under the basking lamp.

A min/max thermometer so you know the min/max temperatures in your home by day and night.

You should also get a good digital probe hygrometer to measure humidity.

Thermometers and hygrometer that stick to the side of the enclosure tend to be less accurate.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hello, Steve and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum to you and Norbert.
Glad you've joined us and good advice has been given above.

 

[Steve_carter]

Many thanks for everyone's reply. Very much appreciated I have a temperature gun & all levels seem okay including night. I've never being a fan of the light setup (these came with him when we got him & was in a viv. We hated the viv so I built this table for him. With reference to the lights I got lost in the Internet with people's views, comments etc.

This said, In the UK everyone raves about this particular company for the bulbs. I've attached an image for feedback. It's an all in one basking & uvb. The only thing I'm struggling with is the watt bulbs. There is 80w, 100w and I believe a higher one. For him and his table would you suggest the 100w would be the best to get him or as he's small would the 80w be suitable?

This light will be hung vertical and it will have a lampshade to it also to control the light source down to him.

Again many thanks for the advise & welcoming.

 

[Steve_carter]

Now attached sorry!

 

[JoesMum]

That bulb is fine. It's a Mercury Vapour Bulb (MVB)

The wattage depends on how warm the room is and how closed in the enclosure is.

With a viv you risk turning it into an oven with too high a wattage.

For an open table as you control the temperature under the bulb by adjusting its height, a higher wattage bulb will simply be further from the substrate than a lower wattage one.

 

[Steve_carter]

Thanks JoesMum. I shall get him one tomorrow. The room is always at a standard room temperature roughly around 20dc. Sunlight comes through the window & he's at the opposite side to the window so gets the light/heat passing through making the room slightly hotter on occasions of good weather... (uk) I can measure the heat source correctly between a 80w & a 100w by adjusting the height of the light source no problems.

To measure it accurately how long from turning the light on till the use of a temperature gun to get a good reading. I assume the lamp gets hotter from just turning it on & would you suggest a slate or flat rock underneath the lamp too to contain some heat when the lights turn off? The lights are on a timer already so they are controlled. ❤️

 

[JoesMum]

Thanks JoesMum. I shall get him one tomorrow. The room is always at a standard room temperature roughly around 20dc. Sunlight comes through the window & he's at the opposite side to the window so gets the light/heat passing through making the room slightly hotter on occasions of good weather... (uk) I can measure the heat source correctly between a 80w & a 100w by adjusting the height of the light source no problems.

To measure it accurately how long from turning the light on till the use of a temperature gun to get a good reading. I assume the lamp gets hotter from just turning it on & would you suggest a slate or flat rock underneath the lamp too to contain some heat when the lights turn off? The lights are on a timer already so they are controlled. ❤️

If the UK weather is as horrible with you as it is with us in Kent today, your tort can be forgiven for deciding not to bother! It seems more like April than August!

I wouldn't worry about a rock underneath. It should be fine. Overnight the temperature should drop off and it get cooler. I doubt your house is particularly cold at night.

Use the slate/flat rock as a food plate... then it will help with beak maintenance.

Leave the lamp on for half an hour or so before zapping it with the temperature gun.