New baby Russian tortoise

[HustonM]

Hi, I just received my Russian hatchling from Carol S this morning and I couldn't be more pleased with what I received! He/she is alert, has good weight and very healthy looking. After a 15min soak he/she basked for a bit to warmed up, pooped then started exploring.

After checking out the new enclosure he/she ate some greens then nap time.

I built my turtle table to fit inside our closet so it ended up being 6' long by 22" wide with 13" tall sides.
I have a mix of coco coir and organic soil / mulch without any fertilizer for my substrate, a couple potted sedge plants. I also created a small hill in the middle of the enclosure to create a little topography.

On the hot side I am using a 4" 45* pvc elbow with damp sphagnum moss for a humid hide ( it is siliconed to the side of the enclosure so it cant move ). I also have a large piece of cork bark with damp sphagnum moss underneath for a little cooler hide ( 5 - 8 degrees cooler ). I purchased a couple large tiles, one for feeding on and the other I broke up for basking on.

I need to add another hide on the cool side, thinking of another cork bark sheet or half tube.
I have a ceramic heat emitter as my heat source connected to my HerpStat 4 thermostat set to 100* and gradually cools down to 80* at night ( the temp probe is siliconed to the piece of tile bellow the heat lamp. For UVB I have a 48" T5 fixture with an Arcadia Desert 12% UVB bulb. A 6" terracotta saucer for water a dish. I would appreciate any pointers or constructive criticism on my setup. Thanks

 

[TechnoCheese]

Super cute! I would just recommend using a basking light(flood bulb or regular bulb shape, no spot bulbs or colored bulbs) instead of a CHE, and getting a few more hides. Other than that, looks great!

 

[SweetGreekTorts]

Cute tort! And nice enclosure!

 

[Carol S]

Fantastic looking enclosure; great job.

 

[Etania Cheng]

Your tort is looking great! He/she looks just like my Bean when she first came home! Pretty much almost exactly because Bean was marked with a green spot also. I was wondering if you knew the parent’s name for your little guy, Bean’s parents were Mean Girl and Boris.

 

[T Smart]

Looks great! I remember when my Russian was that size. So cute!

 

[RosemaryDW]

I lovw the way you buried your hide down. I think they prefer things are low as possible.

 

[Viola B]

Very nice habitat. I must say what a beautiful tortoise. I also got my little one from Carol S. and it is doing very well. I sure am enjoying the little one. When I figure out how to unload a picture, I will.

 

[jUMPSu1t]

I can’t say the same, getting my first tortoise when she was 6yo, but he looks wonderful!

 

[Yvonne G]

I love it! And Carol S is one of the best to buy a baby Russian from! The only caution I have is the hill. I know you have a lip on the vertical wall next to the hill, making it hard for the baby to climb over the wall, but I'd still be careful of that spot, making sure he can't grab hold of the horizontal bit and pull himself over.