I am looking to get a Russian tortoise and would like to make a 5 year plan before committing.

[Baklava]

Hello everyone! I hope you and all your tortoise friends are doing well. I asked a couple questions on reddit and was recommended to ask here as well. I plan on getting a Russian tortoise and I currently live in an apartment so it would be an indoor enclosure. I linked the enclosure I plan on getting at the end of the thread, but I am getting conflicting advice from the pet shops here and the internet. I talked to a local shop that specializes in reptiles and they even said the 120 gallon tank would be too big for a baby tortoise and even potentially as it gets older, however after researching on the internet I was told he would outgrow it within a couple years. The pet shop recommended to go for 75 gallons instead but i think that might be too small. If anyone has any recommendations for a larger indoor enclosure I can buy that would be easy to keep moisture and temperature that would be suitable for a couple years I would greatly appreciate it. I just want everything including enclosure upgrades for the next 5 years planned out before getting one. When my lease ends in <8 months I plan on moving to a bigger space so I would be able to change a lot of things around if need be. Money within reason isn't too big of an issue just space in my current place.

This is my current plan here: https://www.amazon.com/Reptile-Habitats-4x2x2-Gallon-Enclosure/dp/B0BQP7S859/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

Thank you all in advance for reading and hope you have a great weekend!

 

[Ink]

Welcome to the forum. An expert will be able to help you out.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello and welcome! Glad you’ve made your way here! You’ll get lots of conflicting information online, most of it outdated/incorrect advice, this forum has so many experienced members from around the globe, that have spent years perfecting their care, there’s truly no better place to get the right care information!

A baby will need housing in a closed chamber for roughly the first 3 years of their life(though it’s dependent on size and weight for them to be ready to be housed outdoors 24/7) Ignore any advice the pet shop is giving you about sizes, they have no clue how to house them properly, they know most people don’t have the space for the right sized enclosures, priority is selling them, so they’ll tell you anything you want to hear.

The size you’re looking at will probably last a year or a bit longer depending on their growth rate, they all differ. Tbh I’d save your money for the time you’d be able to use it and go with a grow tent style instead.

Hopefully this thread I created recently can help give you an idea on an effective starter set up

Housing young Russian/Herman

Hello there! In this thread, I’m going to include some information on an effective way to tackle a starter set up/a way you can build a bigger size once your baby is an adult. I know it looks a lot to go over, I like to make sure all bases are covered, I’m happy to break down any information...

tortoiseforum.org

And here’s a link to their care sheet! Any further questions, you can ask on my above thread, or on this current one

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Tom]

Hello everyone! I hope you and all your tortoise friends are doing well. I asked a couple questions on reddit and was recommended to ask here as well. I plan on getting a Russian tortoise and I currently live in an apartment so it would be an indoor enclosure. I linked the enclosure I plan on getting at the end of the thread, but I am getting conflicting advice from the pet shops here and the internet. I talked to a local shop that specializes in reptiles and they even said the 120 gallon tank would be too big for a baby tortoise and even potentially as it gets older, however after researching on the internet I was told he would outgrow it within a couple years. The pet shop recommended to go for 75 gallons instead but i think that might be too small. If anyone has any recommendations for a larger indoor enclosure I can buy that would be easy to keep moisture and temperature that would be suitable for a couple years I would greatly appreciate it. I just want everything including enclosure upgrades for the next 5 years planned out before getting one. When my lease ends in <8 months I plan on moving to a bigger space so I would be able to change a lot of things around if need be. Money within reason isn't too big of an issue just space in my current place.

This is my current plan here: https://www.amazon.com/Reptile-Habitats-4x2x2-Gallon-Enclosure/dp/B0BQP7S859/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

Thank you all in advance for reading and hope you have a great weekend!

Hello and welcome. Let's get started at the beginning. Most sources of tortoise care info are just plain wrong. We all learned the wrong stuff decades ago, and most people are still doing all the old wrong stuff. Pet stores are one of the worst sources of info, and reptile shops are not usually any better. They tell you all the wrong stuff and sell you all the wrong products. Here on TFO, a bunch of us have been experimenting and working together for many years to figure out what works best and why. You get the benefit of all that hard work without having to learn the hard way yourself.

That 4x2x2 is a great size to start a baby in, and eventually, within your five year span, you will need something around 4x8 feet for indoors.

The enclosure you linked has a screen top. I think that is fine for a Russian as long as you use damp substrate and have a humid hide. I would mount all the heating and lighting INSIDE the cage, and then try to cover most of the top to hold in heat and humidity. This will be MUCH more energy efficient and also create better, more stable conditions for a baby.

Read through this thread at least twice for a better understanding of what we are talking about:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

Questions are welcome.