New to russians!

[rosie4posie]

I am new to tortoise keeping and I am getting a Russian. I have done a lot of research and feel i am mostly prepared.

I know they need to burrow but what substrate is best in your opinion and why?

I've seen that somewhere around 70% humidity is good. Is that about right?

Any tips would be welcome for a soon to be tortoise momma!

 

[Akronic]

70% humidity is high for Russians, that's more for Redfoots. 50% or less humidity is more ideal. I use coco coir bricks that expand in hot water.

 

[Arizona Sulcata]

Humidity and substrate will depend on the age/size of your tortoise. So how big is he/she?

 

[tyrs4u]

Don't forget personality and whether or not the love the substrate... ... Uber humid great for yearlings Birth to 16 months give or take. My kids love the CoCo Coir. Lilith my female RT loves it hot/Humid/muddyish, Tweak the lad loves the same substrate but dryer. He's a traditional RT so i had straw in there as well and some cypress so he has better leverage... they love to burrow my female likes it muddy so it's cool on her back and Tweak likes it completely dry on his back for some reason... So I always make sure they have about 3 1/2 inches (substrate) so they can bury themselves however they are pretty big.. So two to three is 'average' i sometimes go four in certain areas to see if they prefer that much more...

 

[rosie4posie]

I believe the tortoise I'm adopting is about two years old. And male if that makes a difference thanks for the info.

 

[Jacob]

Coco coir works great, they can borrow themselves in it if they feel a need to as well, and holds humidity at any temperature
Congrtas.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

I keep my Russians on moist coco coir. Their ambient humidity is usually in the neighborhood of 10-30%, but they can burrow down into the coco coir if they want a more humid microclimate.

 

[JoeImhof]

Coco Coir with a small amount of sand mixed in. Works great for me. Good luck!

 

[clare n]

I added a little straw to Phillips enclosure, but I found the week that it was in there he just burrowed and stayed there, ate loads less and was pretty inactive- its probably just him, he is a strange one, do you think it was instinct telling him hibernation time, it was winter here? I took it away and he picked up instantly the same day

 

[rosie4posie]

Got the coconut stuff. It's called Eco earth and it was from petco. It came in a brick and then you soak it in water. Now my humidity is up to somewhere around 55%. Too high for a Russian? It's airing out for now but there is a good chance I am getting him on Saturday so I will need to figure this out by then.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Got the coconut stuff. It's called Eco earth and it was from petco. It came in a brick and then you soak it in water. Now my humidity is up to somewhere around 55%. Too high for a Russian? It's airing out for now but there is a good chance I am getting him on Saturday so I will need to figure this out by then.

No no, that's fine. Eco Earth is a good brand of coco coir. While coco coir is moist, it can raise the relative humidity above 50%, and Russian tortoises don't mind that; if anything, they appreciate it, because that's the level of humidity they feel when they burrow down beneath the substrate (if not higher).

As long as the substrate is just moist, without being wet, then they'll feel comfortable in it. You can turn it over with your hand or a trowel to get rid of some excess moisture if you need to.

 

[rosie4posie]

Yay I was worried that would be too high.

 

[lynnedit]

Way to prepare ahead of time!

 

[goochestortoise]

My tortoises have trouble burrowing in cypress bark so I would avoid that