New Tort! Need some help please! =)

[TobesterTort]

Hello everyone! I just got my first Russian tort on Wednesday! I got him from a family friend who moved and didn't have room for him anymore. I renamed him Toby (but I like to call him "The Tobe-ster) and he's at least five years old because that's how long she's had him for, he is believed to be between 5-10 years though. I am totally new to this so I need help! Here are some questions I have:

1. Right now he's in a TEMPORARY small aquarium. This is changing, I promise. Last night my boyfriend and I went out and got a 64 quart rubbermaid. I know fifty gallons is recommended, but do you think the 64 quart would work (I believe it amounts to 16 gallons)? We compared it with the fifty gallon in the store and the bottom was only a little bit longer/wider, but most of the difference came from the height of the two containers. It can easily be returned if this won't do. (Please don't yell at me if I made a big no no by buying it. That's why I'm asking =)

2. His lamps: The previous owner used a day lamp that had the following specifications. Does anyone know if this is okay for him to use?
Exo Terra
Sun Glo
120 v 50 Hz
75 W.

They also used a red light on him at night, but I've heard mixed views as to this being necessary or not.

And can I turn his light off at night?

3. Home Depot was closed last night so I had to buy his substrate at Petco instead of the sand and the other material which I do not remember the name of at the moment. I bought this coconut mix stuff (very descriptive, I know) that said it was good for many different reptiles. Is this substrate good enough until I get to home depot?

4. Weirdest question, probably, but how often do torts poop? Lol. The first two days I've had him he pooped twice a day and made a huge mess in his enclosure. However, he hasn't pooped since. Was his original pooping due to nerves? I don't know if this is something to be concerned about or not.

5. Maybe another weird question: is there any chance a heat light can melt the rubbermaid? I am a college student and still live at home so my parents were concerned about his, and unfortunately I have to (mostly) abide by their rules. So if there is a chance the rubbermaid could melt, I'd have to get the proper size aquarium tank for him.

6. So, with just the lamp, is that enough to heat him? Is there anything else I need for making sure he has the proper temps in his enclosure?

Thank you all for your help. I need to get him in his proper habitat ASAP so I need all the info I can get! And I'll try to post pictures as soon as I can! THANKS EVERYONE!=)

 

[katesgoey]

Congratulations and welcome to the forum! It sounds like you've already done some research and you're asking good questions You'll find alot of information at www.russiantortoise.org and here on this forum. I don't keep Russians, so I'll leave some of your questions to experienced keepers. As far as tort poop goes - they don't always poop every day, and yes, when they do it can be alot - even for a Russian. You can assure your parents that the lamp won't melt the rubbermaid as long as you have it in the appropriate fixture, usually a ceramic heat lamp fixture and affixed with the appropriate clamp or stand. They usually come with a grip on them (you'll see photos here and on the russiantortoise site). I think the tub you got him will work for now - how long, wide and deep is it? How big is your tortoise? You measure him by laying a measuring tape on the floor next to a wall, then place him on it and measure from the head of his shell to the tail of it. Russians are very good at escaping so the thing about the enclosure is to make sure it is deep enough as well as long and wide for space. You can learn more at the site I gave you about his lighting and temps, etc. Again, welcome to the forum

 

[Yvonne G]

1. What you are looking for in a container for an indoor tortoise is something with a large floor space, not something with tall sides. Your little Russian needs lots of exercise and he gets it by walking around his habitat. If he's walking around the perimeter of a small habitat he's not going to get as much exercise as he would if he had a large habitat. You would put the food opposite where he sleeps, so he has to walk a great distance to get to it. (And we would (hopefully) never yell at you!!)


2. I can't help you with the day light, as I have no experience with them. But for nighttime, if your house doesn't get down below 68 at night, then you don't need the red light at night. But if he gets too cold at night it might trigger his hibernating response, so if your house is cold at night, you will need either a black light or a red light.

3. Lots of keepers use the combination of eco-earth/sand. I would rather use cypress mulch or orchid bark. But, if you've bought eco-earth, coconut coir, Bed-a-Beast, that's just fine. And mix it with the sand.

4. Each tortoise is different. Yours was probably stressed and that's why he pooped more than just once in a day. Also, it could be he's not had the correct diet, causing him to poop more. Usually Russians will poop once a day, but twice a day isn't something to worry about.

5. Your light isn't going to melt the container unless it comes into contact with it. Just be sure it is hanging where the bulb doesn't touch the plastic and you'll be fine. Or, if its a clamp light, make sure the clamp faces the bulb away from the plastic.

6. If you can't keep his enclosure warm enough (in the 70's at one end, but in the 80's at the other end, with 90+ directly under the light) then you might consider buyind a CHE (ceramic heat emitter). They sell for around $25 and screw into a light receptacle, but don't put out light, only heat. Also, you can cover or partially cover the habitat to keep the heat inside.

Looking forward to pictures! And be thinking about an outside enclosure for when the weather is better.

Yvonne

 

[TobesterTort]

Oh, and one other question. Since I will be keeping him in a rubbermaid container of sorts, I would like to put covering over it. What kind of screens can I use? Oh, and they did have an "under-the-bed" type container at walmart yesterday, but it looked to shallow and I thought he could get out really easily but it had so much room for him to walk around. Is there anyway to use one of those but put something over it so my tort can't escape. That would be awful! lol

 

[Yvonne G]

I believe they come with a lid. You can just cut out the center portion so that the lid only covers the edges where he can climb up, and not escape.

Yvonne

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Welcome to the forum. I just have one comment, I keep Sulcata and other species of chelonia and I must say that Russians put out bigger poop for their size then any other species I've seen.

 

[TobesterTort]

Here's a picture of him eating. The newspaper is only temporary, not to worry!

 

[Yvonne G]

After seeing the Tobster's picture, I'm thinking he is full grown. A wild caught tortoise that was full grown when your friend bought him 5 or 6 years ago. An estimate would be closer to 25 or 30 years of age, and I THINK he's a boy, but would have to see his tail to be sure.

Yvonne

 

[TobesterTort]

Wow that's amazing! I can't believe there's a possibility that he's that old! That's older than me (I'm 20)! What clues make you think that? Is there anyway I can tell for sure? If I bring him to the vet, will they know? Thank you for sharing this with me!

 

[Sudhira]

Just for fun, check out the "Ikea Enclosure" post by Kadaan. Tobester looks like a doll, congrats!

 

[Yvonne G]

This is basically what a captive bred and very young Russian tortoise looks like:

http://tortoiseforum.org/thread-8936.html?highlight=trevor

If you will notice the new growth on Trevor is very light colored, while there is only a very small band of new growth on Tobstertort and mostly his carapace is darker and rougher-looking.

Yvonne