New tortoise owner, accident on the first night really want to do everything right

[mangococonut]

Thanks so much! My temps have been stable for two nights and I was able to find a great home with my friend for one of the babies and they are both doing much better. My little guy was the picked on one who flipped and he's still extremely shy and pretty much sticking to his hide and sleeping a ton, but he seems to be eating better and came out of his hide for an hour or so yesterday. The little dominant one is doing great and the family that has him already had water turtles so they were very familiar with the lights, setup, etc. so I think we're settling down over here. Thank you so much for everyone's help - I really appreciate and this is a very kind and caring group.

 

[leigti]

I'm glad that you were able to make it work out. We don't see a ton of baby Russians on here so please keep us posted on how he's doing and progress. We need cute pictures daily you know.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Great news.
Thanks for keeping us informed.

 

[mangococonut]

Here are pics of him and the cage - please let me know if I need to make any changes. I keep his cage warm with the foil over the top and I keep it at the consistent temp with the che and the powersun in the day. The cage was only open because he came out and we gave him his evening soak in the warm bathroom and I forgot to close it when we were taking his pics. He likes to hide way back in the corner in the plastic hide. If it's warm and sunny at all tomorrow I'll take him outside to give him a break from the lights for just a bit, I setup the external tortoise house with the extra lamps and things I have. I already had stuck the different reading pet store gauges on his tank and my daughter likes reading them so I left them there. Better than her taking my pointer thermometer. Thanks so much!

ps - if anything doesn't look right please let me know.

 

[leigti]

It's looking good. How close to the substrate is that light in the bottom left corner? Is the light in the top right corner your power son? You might not need the petals in the water dish. Make sure the lip of the dish is at substrate level so he doesn't have to climb over it. One suggestion, you might look into getting larger ceramic fixtures for the Mercury vapor bulb and CHE. You can get 11 inch ones at Home Depot or the feed store. Just make sure they have a ceramic base. They are also much cheaper than the pet store ones. And the spread out that UVB and heat over a wider area rather than focus straight down. Just my opinion oh, and I'm sorry I called your tortoise a Russian tortoise earlier, I was having a brain fart. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Russians I have one. Thanks for sharing The pictures.

 

[mangococonut]

Haha - I thought I was even more confused and had the wrong tortoise. The light in the back left (if I'm looking at the pic) is the 100 watt che set on a thermostadt of 85, then back right is the 100w powersun. Both are 10" from above the substrate. The che sits above his humid hide and there's also the smallest size heat pad under and he tends to always stay and burrow back in that wet corner. I test the cage all the time with my gun and the temps are finally staying up and consistent.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

It's looking good. How close to the substrate is that light in the bottom left corner? Is the light in the top right corner your power son? You might not need the petals in the water dish. Make sure the lip of the dish is at substrate level so he doesn't have to climb over it. One suggestion, you might look into getting larger ceramic fixtures for the Mercury vapor bulb and CHE. You can get 11 inch ones at Home Depot or the feed store. Just make sure they have a ceramic base. They are also much cheaper than the pet store ones. And the spread out that UVB and heat over a wider area rather than focus straight down. Just my opinion oh, and I'm sorry I called your tortoise a Russian tortoise earlier, I was having a brain fart. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Russians I have one. Thanks for sharing The pictures.

LOL. A 'brain fart' ? Priceless.
And the little tortoise and enclosure are great, subject to the points mentioned above, particularly sinking the water bowl into the substrate.

 

[leigti]

I would suggest moving the power son to 12 inches above the top of your tortoises shell, possibly the same with the CHE. You don't want them to close. Yes, I found the temperature gun very helpful.

 

[mangococonut]

ok thank you so much

 

[pam]

Welcome

 

[teresaf]

Looks great...I would remove the rocks from the water dish. It stops the little guy from really getting in there to soak. What are the humidity levels? If you keep them high(they don't look it-no fogged glass) to combat pyramiding you have to keep him warm. 80 at least literally.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Good advice, Grandpa.
But does Mazuri make nice coffee?

My torts have their own coffee grinder , their own houses , and 2 of their own refrigerators . But I sneak my beer in one of the fridges ( but SH don't tell the torts )