New to tortoises please help!!

[richskara]

Hi, me and my girlfriend purchased a Horsfield Tortoise at the weekend, after some serious deliberation and not a whimisical decision. He is about 3-4 years old.

I bought a reasonably large rabbit cage as I opted against a vivarium as not heard great stuff.

It is approx 3.5ft x 1.5/2 ft, the bottom is dark grren plastic and is about 7 inches in height.

I have a 100W spot lamp and a UVB strip light, I also use a substrate called tortoise life which is a mixture of non fertilised soil and sand. I also put him some hay in there as the girl who sold me him said they like hay.

I also have a good size water dish in there and a plastic tray for food, I have been feeding him dandelions, dark lettuce leaves (not iceberg) and pansies, parsley, that kind of thing.

For the first day he kind of sat in the hay and didn't come out, I didn't have the lights working as I had left the cable ties at my dads and had purchased the wrong bulb. The next day rectified this and he spent some time basking under the light but still a fair bit of time under the hay.

We are now on the 3rd/4th day and all he seems to be doing is burrowing into one of the corners (i know horsefields like to burrow) but he just constantly keeps on trying to dig through the plastic. We have let him have a toddle round our flat a few times (with us keeping a watchful eye on him) and he always heads straight for the black book case and tries 'digging' his way through the wall/book case.

I am getting a bit worried

I have bathed him twice, he doesn't seem too keen on this and appears to get a bit stroppy.

I am just worried he is unhappy an frustrated. ANy help / advice would be greatfully appreciated, I will try to post some pictures.

---

Say hello to Ted

This is his home

And this is the corner he is fond of digging in

 

[maggi]

hya,i have 4 horsefield tortoises,and i know that i have had to come to this site for answers,but i have to say dont panic,they do dig and hide a lot,but he will soon come around,mine eat romaine lettuce and garden weeds,i also use dry foods from petshop which has all the vitamins in,and sprinkle calcium powder on their food,good luck

 

[richskara]

Thanks I guess I am just overly worried as he is new to us.

I use the calcium sprinkler, I am also going to get some more substrate this weekend so he can burrow more and also get some logs and rocks in there as well so he can hide.

I am just worried at his constant digging into the plastic, he doesn't seem to realise he isn't going to get through.

I also think the temperature might be a bit cold for him, especially on the side where there is no light.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi richskara:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

May we know your name and where you are?

Your new little Russian tortoise looks like a captive bred tortoise (as opposed to a wild caught tortoise). Because you have brought him to a new environment, he may be a little scared and need some time to get used to your routine. Give him some time. And in the meantime, read all you can about what kind of care the Russian tortoise requires. There are many different ways to provide the proper care, you have to choose which way works for you.

 

[richskara]

Sorry my names Rich and I am from the UK (West Yorkshire).

I thought he was getting used to it as he was starting to bask etc, now he just seems intent on trying to dig through the plastic, I have been home from work three hours and it's all i have heard since i got in scrape scrape scrape

 

[dmmj]

Welcome
Russians are stubborn, so he may just be digging thinking he can dig down further. Also mine don't like to soak, in fact they hate it. Give him some time, once he warms up to you he probably won't leave you alone after that.

 

[richskara]

Thanks guys, hopefully it is just him getting used to his environment.

Also after bathing him what is the best way of dying him, his skin looks very delicate and i am scared of hurting him

 

[dmmj]

I would just put him under his basking lamp, or you could just use a towel, and blot him dry no rubbing or anything like that.

 

[qwertyshaz]

hi. I have 2 hermanns but my mum has a horsefield who i look after quite often and he is a nightmare for digging climbing and spends most of his time trying to climb any wall he comes across. I've been told the horsfields are great escape artists. When he is in garden lawn he can bury through hard mud to make quite a hole. I don't think its because he is not happy, it's just what horsefields seem to enjoy doing!!

 

[cemmons12]

welcome to the forum and as stated above, read all you can on the care of your tort. Be sure to keep the temps in the right range. I didn't do that when I first got my sully Cooper and he got sick so I learned the hard way.

 

[tyler0912]

I own a redfoot tortoise and at first he was like that with me all you could ever see was the top of his shell as he buried hiself in moss.....but now every time i walk into the room he climbs and pushes things over to get to me for food when he eventually finds im not going to feed him he gets frustrated and goes back to sleep ive had my tortoise about 2 1/2 years now if you look at my signature below it gives you the idea of how open and outgoing he is! WELCOME BTW!

 

[richskara]

thanks guys appreciate the help.

my dad is coming over tomorrow and fetching me some more substrate so going to give him a good few inches to be burrowing in and some stones and stuff for him to hide under/behind.

also going to get a thermometer to see what temperature the cage is.

thanks again guys

 

[Missy82]

I have a russian tort and he also loves digging. I know the weather in uk isnt 2 good but I try to get koopa out everyday to roam the garden and he loves this. Russians do like climbing and digging and need alot of space to play. I also keep cuttle fish in his indoor enclosure for calcium it also keeps his beak trim. Koopa loves soaks but thats what hes used to.
Russian torts are really sociable and give him time 2 settle into his new home and u will see his character grow.
Congrats on ur new tort and im sure he will b well looked after.
P.s I keep koopa on 50/50 and he loves it but I think its personal preferance some people dont like using play sand atall.

 

[tyler0912]

sounds good hel' get use to you dont get worried!

 

[Lilithlee]

My Russian LOVES to dig!!! So don't worry about that. I've had my about two weeks, and for the first four to five days he tried to clime out of his cage, but he starting to setting down. I don't know about your, but my is a racking- ball, every night I have to pick up his cage after he pushing all his stuff out of his way. Give it time, you'll soon see his/her personality.

 

[Laura]

no outdoor time? real sun is the best..
just wait until he gets comfortable and starts pacing and trying to escape.. it will drive you nuts! but its what they do..
mine is outside..he comes running when i show up with food. they are great little guys.
any chance you can make him a bigger enclosure? not sure how much room you have in your flat..
look up bookcase enclsoures.. they work great and arent to $$ to do. your rabbit one can be used to put him outside in the sun. he cant escape with a cover on it!
be careful allowing him to wander your floors. its cold on the floor.. he might find things he shouldnt eat, and until he gts settled, it might stress him a bit.

 

[richskara]

Hey guys thanks for the comments. He seems happier I put more substrate in and a big hollowed out log for him to hide away and varying his diet a bit more.

I'm going to start taking him to my folks when I get chance so he can have time in there garden.

I'm still a nervous wreck with him and now concerned about pyramiding. The girl from the place I bought him seemed very knowledgeable and had her own tortoises. She said he had a lumpy shell but they were healthy lumps and not unhealthy. Now I'm not too sure. I'll try and get a picture up but I'm on phone so might not work. The angle and shadow of sun makes it look worse. I chose him I've the smooth shells as he had character just worried now.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Rich:

There's nothing to worry about. Yes, your Russian is showing signs of pyramiding, but no, its not life threatening. It just means he wasn't raised with the right kind of light, diet and humidity. But now that he has a new home, you can correct all that. As soon as you're able, get him set up outside where he can graze on the weeds and plants, and get some real sunshine.

 

[tyler0912]

I also live in the In the north west i know how you feel with the weather but when it is nice my tort is straight outside

 

[arby2774]

Roger used to do that until I started putting hay in the cool side of the enclosure. It seems that he just didn't feel like he was buried deep enough I guess.