Hello!

[Shannon8525]

Hello! I am very excited i to say i have finally gotten my Russian Tortoise. I just want to make sure i am making her a very good new home ( no name yet, any suggestions ). I have attached a picture of the tank. On the left is uvb mercury light bulb and on the right is the reptile heat light, a mix of calcium sand and coconut fiber on the flooring a shallow water dish a food dish and a hide log. Ive had her for 2 days now but she has not eaten. Is this normal ?she looks healthy clear eyes and very alert to her surounding.

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome to the forum, Shannon!!

I'm sorry to say, after all your hard work, that sand isn't a good medium to use for tortoise substrate. It is irritating to the skin and eyes, and when it gets stuck to the wet food and the tortoise eats it, it causes impaction that leads either to surgery or death.

The habitat looks like a nice, large area for him to explore, and the hiding place and climbing area are good. I would change out those type dishes for a piece of slate or flat piece of cement for the food, and a plant saucer for the water. The kind you have are really manufactured for lizards and snakes. Since tortoises can't bend due to their hard shell, they sometimes over balance when climbing out of that type bowl and sometimes end up on their back in the water.

A better thermometer would be one of those infra-red point-and-shoot things. The circular one you have really only measures the temperature right in front of it. You need to know the temperature all over the floor of the habitat.

I'm sorry to have been so negative about your habitat. It really does look like you've put a lot of effort into making it a good place for your new tortoise to live. We have a couple good care sheets for Russian tortoises that are pinned at the top of our Russian section.

 

[Shannon8525]

Thank you for your input, i dont find it negative but helpful this is why I wanted to join a group i want to make sure her tank as good as i can get it. The sand is just @ the bottom of the tank under the coconut fibers mixture i was hopei g it would help hold some heat in the tank. I will be sure to get a better feed slate. Thank you again

 

[Yvonne G]

He should start eating in a few days. Being plunked down into a new territory usually always causes them to stop eating until they become more familiar with their new surroundings. Also, if he's not warm enough he won't eat. They need to be able to warm up their inner core to at least 85F degrees or the food won't digest. That's where a point and shoot laser thermometer comes in handy. You can double check the whole habitat is warm enough for him.