Need advice on set up and tortoise

[Augustus1508]

Hello!

Finally gotten round to figuring out how to post threads etc. I have a recently turned 1 year old Greek tortoise (spur thighed), and I just want to make sure every little thing is ok for him!

Im going to post pictures of the calcium etc I use, as well as the food I give him and his full enclosure with substrate information and temperature details!

Calcium powders
-nurtobal every other day
- komodo advanced nutri cal
For water - reptoboost every day, then every other day for soaks

Substrate I use
- Komodo tortoise eco terrain (natural substrate) - which apparently is OK for the tortoise.

My dimming thermostat is set to 33 degrees Celsius/92 Fahrenheit

His warm side enclosure temps are between 30-33degrees Celsius and humidity varies between 60-70%. Cool side varies around the 25 degrees celsius mark.

His current diet is romaine lettuce/littlegem, watercress, occasional fruits such as strawbs, tomato's and bell peppers, he has tortoise dry formula pro rep strawberry scent every morning (a pinch of it) which is then sprinkled with water. I have tried him with freshly pressed tortoise food but he hasn't yet to take a liking to it other than the dandelions .

He has daily soaks ranging from 20 minutes upwards and I clean him with a soft toothbrush. He also roams on the bed before and after bath to get his exercise - garden isn't yet safe for him.

I'll also post pictures of my baby Augustus below!

 

[Augustus1508]

Forgot to add he's currently in a 4ft vivarium, me and my partner are trying to sort something bigger out for him!

 

[COmtnLady]

For the first two or three years a young tortoise needs high humidity and constant warm temps. Minimum of 84% and 84F/24-32C. You'll need a top on your enclosure to keep the heat and humidity inside.




Welcome to The Tortoise Forum!

You found the place that has the best info!

So many sources elsewhere repeat the old info that only had one-size-fits-all, marginally acceptable, outcomes. The expert members here have discovered much better ways, through hands-on experiences and controlled studies over the last thirty or forty years.

For your own peace of mind don't listen to the "advice" given by other sources (like: pet shops, social media sites, people at reptile shows, official sources - eg: many government and university links, many of the YouTube videos, lots of the care books you can borrow from a library or buy, and even most veterinarians). They're still using old info that doesn't work as well. Settle in here instead.

Everyone will do their best to help you help your tortoise have the most optimal and healthy life possible.

Read the info in the links offered. All those head-exploding details will show you how to help your tortoise thrive.


And, ask questions.



Hint:
Run it by the other members before you buy new equipment or whatever - their expertise will save you a lot of time, stress, money, and damage to your tortoise.





Have you had a chance to read through this yet?

Info For New People. Please Read This First.​

Welcome aboard!




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[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello! I’m so glad you’ve made your way here! This place truly has the best most up to date care advice.

First up, I’d definitely recommend switching your substrate, those mixes contain far too much sand which poses its own risks in captivity, not only that but when trying to create the moisture you need, you end up with a very muddy consistency that’ll stick to everything.

Make sure directly under the basking bulb is reaching 36-37c, only under the bulb, that’s the basking temperature, your other readings sound ok, but that said you need to place your monitoring much lower at tortoise level, you won’t be getting accurate ground readings with them placed that high.

Next up, refrain from feeding any fruits, even as a treat, these guys simply cannot process the sugars properly, same goes for the bell peppers, leafy greens and weeds all the way! He’ll need more variety adding than just the lettuce, you might like to try some of this stuff! It’s great for upping variety, soak each cube in water until it’s a mushy grassy texture and add it on top of fresh feeds


Daily soaks are fantastic at this age, I wouldn’t recommend letting him roam the bed though, it’s best he doesn’t free roam outside of a safe enclosure.

Hopefully you’ll find this link helpful, I know it says Herman and Russians, but care is very similar.
I made this thread based on the forums care information and added visual aids, it covers correct equipment(uvb, heating bulbs, lighting etc), correct levels, importance of a closed chamber for younger tortoises(only way to maintain the humidity you need, the viv is a great choice!), appropriately maintaining the humidity, safe substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything, and a really handy diet link to check out! This goes over a greenhouse style set up, but a viv is an even better choice, I’ll add some more ideas below for closed chambers should you ever need them

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

These are some different closed chamber options, vivs are the best choice

Visual inspiration

Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...

tortoiseforum.org

Lastly, this one here is good to go over and keep on hand, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

I really hope they help! Please feel free to ask any further questions, welcome to the forum

 

[Augustus1508]

Hello! I’m so glad you’ve made your way here! This place truly has the best most up to date care advice.

First up, I’d definitely recommend switching your substrate, those mixes contain far too much sand which poses its own risks in captivity, not only that but when trying to create the moisture you need, you end up with a very muddy consistency that’ll stick to everything.

Make sure directly under the basking bulb is reaching 36-37c, only under the bulb, that’s the basking temperature, your other readings sound ok, but that said you need to place your monitoring much lower at tortoise level, you won’t be getting accurate ground readings with them placed that high.

Next up, refrain from feeding any fruits, even as a treat, these guys simply cannot process the sugars properly, same goes for the bell peppers, leafy greens and weeds all the way! He’ll need more variety adding than just the lettuce, you might like to try some of this stuff! It’s great for upping variety, soak each cube in water until it’s a mushy grassy texture and add it on top of fresh feeds
View attachment 394199

Daily soaks are fantastic at this age, I wouldn’t recommend letting him roam the bed though, it’s best he doesn’t free roam outside of a safe enclosure.

Hopefully you’ll find this link helpful, I know it says Herman and Russians, but care is very similar.
I made this thread based on the forums care information and added visual aids, it covers correct equipment(uvb, heating bulbs, lighting etc), correct levels, importance of a closed chamber for younger tortoises(only way to maintain the humidity you need, the viv is a great choice!), appropriately maintaining the humidity, safe substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything, and a really handy diet link to check out! This goes over a greenhouse style set up, but a viv is an even better choice, I’ll add some more ideas below for closed chambers should you ever need them

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

These are some different closed chamber options, vivs are the best choice

Visual inspiration

Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...

tortoiseforum.org

Lastly, this one here is good to go over and keep on hand, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

I really hope they help! Please feel free to ask any further questions, welcome to the forum

Thank you so much! What substrate would you recommend? Would it be helpful if I link the one I got to make sure its ok?

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Thank you so much! What substrate would you recommend? Would it be helpful if I link the one I got to make sure it’s ok?

No problem! Unfortunately any kind of terrain mix for tortoises or reptisoils just aren’t the best choice, they’re always mixed with sand and a horrible consistency, I’d recommend damp coco coir or reptile orchid bark, some create a damp coir base with the bark on top