New tortoise owner

[Obsessiveplantkeeper]

Hello! i just got a 20 year old tortoise from someone who couldn't care for him anymore. his name is cheese, he is a Russian tortoise(i think) and he has lived in a ten gallon tank his whole life. i really want to give him a good life, so any tips would be greatly appreciated.

here are what i am planning to do
-move him to my 25 gallon(currently houses hermit crabs but i can split them between two ten gallons)
-get him on a good diet and learn about safe/unsafe foods.
-make a large 'playpen" for outside during the day in summer so he can roam(i might also use this inside, but my dad says i cannot keep him in there permanently)
-make cheese happy!

I know that they need lots of space to roam, but i am kinda broke(and 15 years old so i have to ask my parents before buying stuff) and my dad is already concerned about my excessive plant collection and hermit crabs. I cannot give him the life he deserves right now, but im going to try to give him the best life i can.

 

[zovick]

Hello! i just got a 20 year old tortoise from someone who couldn't care for him anymore. his name is cheese, he is a Russian tortoise(i think) and he has lived in a ten gallon tank his whole life. i really want to give him a good life, so any tips would be greatly appreciated.

here are what i am planning to do
-move him to my 25 gallon(currently houses hermit crabs but i can split them between two ten gallons)
-get him on a good diet and learn about safe/unsafe foods.
-make a large 'playpen" for outside during the day in summer so he can roam(i might also use this inside, but my dad says i cannot keep him in there permanently)
-make cheese happy!

I know that they need lots of space to roam, but i am kinda broke(and 15 years old so i have to ask my parents before buying stuff) and my dad is already concerned about my excessive plant collection and hermit crabs. I cannot give him the life he deserves right now, but im going to try to give him the best life i can.

It would be good to post pictures of the tortoise so we can tell you what species it is and the proper care for that species (in case it isn't a Russian Tortoise).

 

[Obsessiveplantkeeper]

It would be good to post pictures of the tortoise so we can tell you what species it is and the proper care for that species (in case it isn't a Russian Tortoise).

hope this is a good enough picture

 

[Yvonne G]

This full grown Russian tortoise should not be kept in the house in an aquarium. If it's at all possible, he needs to be outside. If that's not possible, then a VERY large enclosure, at least 4' x 8', should be provided. Russian tortoises, though a small species, are hard wired to wander great distances looking for food. Keeping him in an aquarium would be like keeping an elephant in your bathroom.

 

[Obsessiveplantkeeper]

I understand that, but dont have a large space other than just crawling around my house(i let him crawl ariund my house most of the day when i can watch him) but during the summer i can leave him iutside in a playpen i used to use for my hamster. Its a hexagon with sides 2’ long and a cover, so i could leave him there in the day. At night he would have to go in the aquarium though. Because i have a dog and she… eats stuff… so i have to keep a close eye on her. Would this work? I could try to convince my dad to allow me to get a larger space for him at night, but it might not work.
Also how much and what foods should i feed him? I feed him watermelon and lettuce right now but idk about other things.

This isnt really connected to that, but are there any luve plants i could keep with him in his tank for now? I have tons of varieties but idk if they are safe

 

[KarenSoCal]

I understand that, but dont have a large space other than just crawling around my house(i let him crawl ariund my house most of the day when i can watch him) but during the summer i can leave him iutside in a playpen i used to use for my hamster. Its a hexagon with sides 2’ long and a cover, so i could leave him there in the day. At night he would have to go in the aquarium though. Because i have a dog and she… eats stuff… so i have to keep a close eye on her. Would this work? I could try to convince my dad to allow me to get a larger space for him at night, but it might not work.
Also how much and what foods should i feed him? I feed him watermelon and lettuce right now but idk about other things.

This isnt really connected to that, but are there any luve plants i could keep with him in his tank for now? I have tons of varieties but idk if they are safe

Allowing your tortoise to roam around your house is a disaster waiting to happen. Even if you just vacuumed and mopped, he will still manage to find bits of stuff hiding in the corners of rooms, or he might take a bite of carpet, or he might find a tiny screw that came out of something. Someone might step on him, or in an instant that your attention is drawn away, your dog may have grabbed him and ran, chewing all the way. I know it's very tempting to allow, but we have heard so many stories from heartbroken keepers...
It is very important that Cheese has a large enough enclosure. Torts must walk a lot in order to digest their food and keep their bowels moving. Constipation in tortoises can be a serious problem to try to fix, so prevention works much better.

The playpen you used for your hamster...what are the sides made of? A tortoise is a very different creature than a hamster. We've heard of people wanting to give their tortoise some "fresh air" so they put the tortoise outside in the sun in an aquarium. When they returned a short time later, the tortoise had died a horrible death, cooked alive. Also, Russian torts are known as the Houdinis of the tortoise world for a reason. They are escape artists, with one or two actually escaping by climbing a tree! Sulcatas have been known to move lawn furniture around so they can climb on it to get high enough to reach whatever they want, which occasionally is the fence of their enclosure. Never underestimate what a tortoise can do, partly because they have an abundance of perseverance...they never give up! Maybe your dad could help you with something like this...

How to make a cheap 8x8 foot outdoor enclosure

A lot of tortoise keepers struggle with finding ways to allow their tortoise the space that they so desperately need. Further, outdoor keeping allows for tortoises to bask in true sunlight, which there is no perfect alternative to, and really brings out their natural behaviors and personalities...

www.tortoiseforum.org

Your tortoise should not eat either lettuce or watermelon, so you need to scour your neighborhood for safe flowers and weeds for him to eat. You can also go to the grocery store and get him endive, bok choy, collard, mustard, and turnip greens, red and green leaf lettuce, radicchio, cactus pads, cilantro, and lots more. Not the turnips...just the greens. Read this carefully...it will give you good info on all aspects of caring for your Russian, including foods that are safe. A rule of thumb re' the amount to feed him is this...make a pile of good foods about the same size as he is. Feed him this amount every day for a few days. Then adjust the amount upward or downward according to how much he is eating. He should have all he wants of healthy food every day. Also, I have sent you a private message with a VERY long list of tort foods. I sent it privately so members don't have to go through it to read posts.

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

www.tortoiseforum.org

As for live plants, pothos, African violets, spider plants, prayer plants, Boston ferns, and any kind of bromeliad are all safe. What you must remember is though the plant may be safe, the chemicals that commercial growers use are not safe. If you have never used any chemical on your plant other than plain fertilizer with no additives in it, it is safe. Here's a post about plants.

"Plants for enclosure:
Pothos, Spider Plant, Boston Fern, Prayer Plant

Post on commercial plants:

I have spider plants and pothos in my enclosures. Boston fern, prayer plants, and any kind of bromeliad are also safe.

But if you buy plants at a store, you cannot put them right in because the growers use chemicals on them. The chemicals go into the leaves so they are unsafe for the tort to eat.

It's best if you start from seeds, or find a family member or friend with one that doesn't use bug or weed killer, or spray on fertilizer. Take cuttings from their plants.

If you buy a plant from a store, take it out of its pot and rinse all the dirt off the roots. Then repot it in clean new soil without additives in it. Then wait a year. Only then will it be safe."

To check if a plant is safe, you can try this site...

The Tortoise Table - Home

The Tortoise Table plant database and resource site for Tortoise owners

thetortoisetable.org.uk

I'm sorry this turned into an encyclopedia, but torts have a steep learning curve when you first start out. Once you've been doing it for a while, it all becomes 2nd nature and easy. But that takes time.

How to make a cheap 8x8 foot outdoor enclosure

A lot of tortoise keepers struggle with finding ways to allow their tortoise the space that they so desperately need. Further, outdoor keeping allows for tortoises to bask in true sunlight, which there is no perfect alternative to, and really brings out their natural behaviors and personalities...

www.tortoiseforum.org

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Free roaming indoors can't be made 100% safe. This thread lists the dangers of free roaming indoors. Some of them are such that at least I never thought of them before reading the thread!

Should My Tortoise Be Allowed To Roam around on the Floor of my Room?

Ascott said: To let a tort roam our habitats or not? Always a question that will offer up a bunch of opinions, stories of what happened to some, stories of how dumb it is and success stories....so if you see the trend here, it is that folks do alot of different things based on their own lives...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Agree with the others about the free roaming, I’d try and speak with your parents about building an appropriate enclosure, hopefully you might find these useful

This thread covers correct equipment(uvb, heating bulbs, lighting etc), sizing(you can get away with slightly smaller indoors if you can build a larger outdoor space when weather permits), appropriately maintaining the humidity, safe substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything, and a really handy diet link to check out!

Housing adult Russian and Hermans indoors

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information an example of an appropriate indoor set up for an older Herman/russian. As much as it’s encouraged to have tortoises in a safe outdoor enclosure, I understand being from the uk myself, that some climates make it difficult to...

tortoiseforum.org

This includes lots of inspiration for an adult set up both indoors and out! The indoor bit has some good ideas to tackle indoor space whilst still providing the needed roaming room! Check comments too, I’m always adding to it. Lots of examples on mounting correct lighting too

Enclosure inspiration

Howdy folks! Hope everyone is well! As you all know, I’m a big fan of making threads that cater more towards visual learners like myself, I’ve really been wanting to create a thread full of adult enclosure inspiration for a while now, I’ve managed to find some great references over time! I do...

tortoiseforum.org

Lastly, this one here is probably most important to go over and keep on hand, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs(explains a bit about coils), substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

Hope they help!

 

[Obsessiveplantkeeper]

you guys have been extremely helpful and patient with my ignorance, so i really appreciate that. I am working on building an outdoor space for him and use the hamster thing(made out of a smooth fabric w/ a top) for indoors. i did not realize how much i needed to change to give him a better life, so it might be awhile but hopefully i can make cheese happy.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Perhaps, you can keep Cheese outside full time (even at night) if you provide him a secure night shelter. During the coldest months you may allow him to brumate (hibernate).

@mark1 is from Ohio too. I hope he can share his thoughts on keeping tortoise in your climate.

 

[Obsessiveplantkeeper]

that sounds like a good idea, ill think about the options and hopefully make the right decision.

 

[Yvonne G]

I understand that, but dont have a large space other than just crawling around my house(i let him crawl ariund my house most of the day when i can watch him) but during the summer i can leave him iutside in a playpen i used to use for my hamster. Its a hexagon with sides 2’ long and a cover, so i could leave him there in the day. At night he would have to go in the aquarium though. Because i have a dog and she… eats stuff… so i have to keep a close eye on her. Would this work? I could try to convince my dad to allow me to get a larger space for him at night, but it might not work.
Also how much and what foods should i feed him? I feed him watermelon and lettuce right now but idk about other things.

This isnt really connected to that, but are there any luve plants i could keep with him in his tank for now? I have tons of varieties but idk if they are safe

A larger space at night isn't necessary. All they do at night is find a corner and sleep.

 

[Maggie3fan]

This will not be popular for the moderators, but...possibly the best thing you can do for the tortoise is to find him a better place to live and YOU are not it...Realize this is a live animal with specific needs of care, housing, lightening, food and space that YOU CAN NOT MEET. In my personal opinion, the best thing for that tortoise is to find a better home for him. You can find a rescue in Ohio, and possibly Mark can help you. I really don't want to sound mean or disrespectful towards you, but you don't seem like you can provide what that tortoise needs...keeping him in a 25 gallon aquarium would simply be more torture for him, not better.
TFO says they here for the tortoise..so it may be hard for you to think about...but rescue is all about making a better life for this little tort, if you really want that for him, think about finding a more experienced tort keeper or rescue for him. Are your parents into making a larger enclosure and paying for his food??? Please think about what is best for that live animal

 

[Obsessiveplantkeeper]

This will not be popular for the moderators, but...possibly the best thing you can do for the tortoise is to find him a better place to live and YOU are not it...Realize this is a live animal with specific needs of care, housing, lightening, food and space that YOU CAN NOT MEET. In my personal opinion, the best thing for that tortoise is to find a better home for him. You can find a rescue in Ohio, and possibly Mark can help you. I really don't want to sound mean or disrespectful towards you, but you don't seem like you can provide what that tortoise needs...keeping him in a 25 gallon aquarium would simply be more torture for him, not better.
TFO says they here for the tortoise..so it may be hard for you to think about...but rescue is all about making a better life for this little tort, if you really want that for him, think about finding a more experienced tort keeper or rescue for him. Are your parents into making a larger enclosure and paying for his food??? Please think about what is best for that live animal

i am hoping to try to meet his needs for a bit longer because my parents are starting to understand what they need and we are making an effort to give him what he needs. Before they did not beleive me, but i showed him this thread and multiple sites so they are allowing me to give him a larger space! We are making a 6x6 enclosure outside for him and are able to give him a large area inside as well. Thank you for looking out for him because i think your made them understand better. However if we cannot take care if him my dad says we have to give him back to his previous owner rather than a stranger, and before he lived in a ten gallon so he would have to return to that. I appreciate you being honest though, so hopefully i can give him a much better life. Also i will be paying for his new enclosure from what i have saved so far, but my parents pay for food.

 

[Maggie3fan]

i am hoping to try to meet his needs for a bit longer because my parents are starting to understand what they need and we are making an effort to give him what he needs. Before they did not beleive me, but i showed him this thread and multiple sites so they are allowing me to give him a larger space! We are making a 6x6 enclosure outside for him and are able to give him a large area inside as well. Thank you for looking out for him because i think your made them understand better. However if we cannot take care if him my dad says we have to give him back to his previous owner rather than a stranger, and before he lived in a ten gallon so he would have to return to that. I appreciate you being honest though, so hopefully i can give him a much better life. Also i will be paying for his new enclosure from what i have saved so far, but my parents pay for food.

If your parents are willing to help you, that is a great thing...but going back to his previous keeper would be horrible..., and if you end up not being able to keep him, finding a better home is what you should do...don't think a stranger is bad simply because you don't know them...that 'stranger' might love that tort to heck and back...that's just how some poorer keepers get their torts, by adoption...it's a good thing, not a bad one

 

[Obsessiveplantkeeper]

Im working on his outdoor area! Its 5x5 and is 12” tall. Excited to get it finished and hopefully get a happy tortoise

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Im working on his outdoor area! Its 5x5 and is 12” tall. Excited to get it finished and hopefully get a happy tortoise View attachment 391414

I personally would do a lip on the wall inwards at least in the corners to be on the safe side.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

I personally would do a lip on the wall inwards at least in the corners to be on the safe side.

Yes this is a very good shout! They’re great escape artists

Corner caps like this would be good

And a lip around the edge

 

[Obsessiveplantkeeper]

Alright, that wont be too hard to add on, thanks for letting me know before he escapes lol

 

[Obsessiveplantkeeper]

Almost finished! I am still going to add ledges on the corners but for now this is what i am at. Cheese is having fun, and he pushed around some of the ping pong balls, it was super cute.

Also, am i supposed to trim their nails? His nails are kind of long and i am worried they are too long. (I kinda want to paint them ngl but that probably wouldnt work)