Need info please :)

[sportychick]

Hi, We just got our turtle yesterday. not sure how old but he does fit in the palm on my 4 yr old son.
Just wanted to know how much to feed him and how often to soak him.
Also we are using coco coir as the substrate, it is messy but he seems to do well on it. Is it safe if he eats a little bit of it? he always takes his food off the dish to eat it.
He does not like to do into the water so i find soaking him helps alot as he gets active and also eats after...
Another thing i have read, i have him in an aquarium tank so its clear glass... i read that i should cover the sides near bottom so he can not see out.. is this best to do so ??
Any help and info will be greatly appreciated. Thank you
P.s dont know if its a he/she... just that its a RT

 

[sportychick]

hope this helps here is a photo of the little guy.... as you can see I put something today around the bottom glass so he can't see out!
[/align]

 

[sportychick]

http://i1268.photobucket.com/albums/jj569/sportychick27/IMG_20120430_105009.jpg

http://i1268.photobucket.com/albums/jj569/sportychick27/IMG_20120430_104946-1.jpg

http://i1268.photobucket.com/albums/jj569/sportychick27/IMG_20120430_093411.jpg

here are a few photos hope this helps... my RT loves to sleep alot.. is that caused from age? hes really tiny... if anyone has a guess on age it would be great.. thanks...

 

[dmarcus]

Hello and welcome to the forum...

 

[JoesMum]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

Can I start by suggesting you read through Tom's Beginner Mistakes thread as this will explain an awful lot to you.

To be healthy, your tort needs light (including UVB), food, water, heat and shelter.

Tom covers much, but these are my points:

Light - Your tort needs light that imitates a bright summer day to be active. This means it should be on for 12-14 hours and then go dark (night time). Use a timer if you can as it's easier. A basking lamp provides a localised 'hot spot'. This temperature should be 35C/95F - basking is essential for food digestion. Your tort also needs UVB light. Without UVB your tort can absorb the calcium it needs for healthy bone and shell growth. An MVB lamp provides both basking and UVB.

Natural UVB outdoors from the sun is best, but you need to make sure your enclosure is escape proof as Russians are climbers!

Heat - You need to get a digital min/max thermometer and measure the temperatures in 4 important places. these are: 1. Warm end, 2. Cool end, 3. Under the basking lamp and 4. the overnight minimum. Please could you do this and let us know what they are? If it gets too hot or too cold your tort will be inactive.

Water - Your tort must have access to water. While he is small, a daily soak will ensure he takes enough water on board. In addition, you should have water in the enclosure - sunk into the substrate so he can get in and out easily. You should also dampen the substrate in your enclosure to ensure the atmosphere is not too dry. Torts need humidity for healthy growth.

My soaking tips are:
1. Soak first thing before your tort has warmed up properly to reduce escape attempts.
2. Use a high sided bowl or box so your tort can't see out
3. Use enough warm (not hot) water to just come over your tort's plastron (undershell). Get the temperature right and your not-warmed-up tort is more likely to lounge and absorb the heat.
4. Soak for a good 20 minutes. Don't worry if you don't see him drink; torts can absorb water through the skin. The length of soak is important.
5. Your tort may wee and/or poop in the water - it's more likely to concern you than him. You can change the water if it's truly disgusting. Don't worry if your tort eats his poop; it's said to improve gut flora!
6. Feed straight after the soak. Joe is always hungriest straight after his.

Settling In - Every new tort takes time to settle in. get into a routine so he knows what to expect and when. A good start to the day is lights on, heat on, soak, feed.

Resist the temptation to stand over your tort watching all the time. the little guy needs to learn to trust you and become brave enough to get on with life

Company - Your tort is a species which is naturally solitary in the wild. It will be impossible to tell whether it is a he or a she for a few years yet... age 5 is usually the minimum for any degree of accuracy!

They do not get lonely and are quite happy without company. As your tort gets a bigger it will become more and more jealous of both food and territory (regardless of whether its a boy or a girl) and will defend vigorously - blood is frequently drawn in RT fights. A pair just does not work living together. Groups of 3 or more can work together in a very large outdoor enclosure where there is plenty of space and cover to avoid trouble.

In any case a newcomer must live entirely separately in quarantine for a good 6 months. If you cannot accommodate torts separately on a permanent basis... don't feel tempted to get another in future.

Accomodation - Your viv will be fine for the time being with the addition of some shelter, stones to help him tip himself the right way up (Russians climb a lot), and maybe some plants. However, your tort will outgrow it quite rapidly and you need to be planning for a tortoise table (as large as possible) for the future.

 

[wellington]

Hello and WELCOME. Just want to correct you a little. Just incase someone told you this as some bad info. He is a tortoise not a turtle.

 

[sportychick]

He has a shelter as the rock has a opening for him to go into thats where he disappeared to last.night went in dug and slept all night..thanks for the tips. I do soak him and I do leave water in his tnk. He loves to sleep but when he is awake he's walking around eating and is alert to things around him.
Does anyone know an approximate age for a rt that fits in a 4yr wilds palm?

 

[sportychick]

Hello and WELCOME. Just want to correct you a little. Just incase someone told you this as some bad info. He is a tortoise not a turtle.

Rofl yes sorry my own error. But thank you I do know that its a Russian tortoise

 

[sportychick]

I can give u two temperatures now. Cool end is 78.2 and the warmer/basking lamp is 89.5 but as I said he's very tiny so I'm thinking he's really young if so can that explain his sleeping alot, less active then a bigger/older tortoise

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi sportychick:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

What would you like us to call you?

...and may we know appx. where in the world you are?

Your little baby needs to have a warmer area. Directly under the light (what kind of light?) should be 100F degrees, fading down to about 80 on the warm end and room temperature (about 75F) on the cool end.

Babies sleep a lot, but from your picture it does look like your baby's eyes are a little "squinty." Do you soak the baby at all?

 

[sportychick]

Is it a bad thing if they are squinty? Yes I soak my baby two times a day. I just got him 24 hr's ago so I'm not sure how often to do so. His eyes are not always "squinty" I think he gets the substrabe in them so when he's soaked he tend to be wider eyed

---

http://i1268.photobucket.com/albums/jj569/sportychick27/IMG_20120430_143715.jpg

http://i1268.photobucket.com/albums/jj569/sportychick27/IMG_20120430_151218.jpg

I don't think he likes to sit in water tho he stays away from the water in his tank. He also tends to go into his shelter and dig and stay there

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome!

 

[sportychick]

Thanks for the welcome so today I gave my tort a soak and as always he went to the bathroom. From what I read he's going normal. His feces is normal; looking dark lol and I was worried about his urate cuz it was white and at there bottom but I read if it looks like cottage cheese it means he's well hydrated

---

Also I think he's pretty active. He came out of his hide at 8am its.now 11 and he has been eating,walking and she sitting under the light for heat... what do you guys think? Lol

 

[JoesMum]

White urates are entirely normal. Just to warn you, colour variation in wee depends on diet and the wee can colour the urates... so don't panic if they go green or yellow!

If you get gritty urates, they show dehydration. Normal urates are more the texture of raw egg white.

 

[sportychick]

So he's dehydrated? Its not like raw egg white its more like a cottage cheese texture on the bottom on Tue water but I soak him 3 times a day for 15-20 mins so I'm confused lol.... is his urate good or bad
in colour and texture? As I said its white but doesn't look like the raw egg white :S

 

[JoesMum]

Sorry, I should have said Cottage Cheese is OK too... it's the gritty urates that indicate dehydration

 

[sportychick]

Phew rofl thank you for your reply and help. I am working on getting it more clear. We bought him from an expo and he traveled so I think he didn't get a lot of water or soaked so hopefully: it will clear soon

 

[sportychick]

So far today I didn't soak my tort.I soaked him twice yesterday will see how it goes today and hopefully he goes to his own dish today on his own