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Hood River, OR
Hello! My name is Mirza, we are currently living in Hood River , OR. We finally got our new little friend this past Sunday for my daughter Melina, which is a Russian tortoise she named Mikey. She had been begging us for a pet and she asked for a tortoise, she has been asking for the past 4 years. We were waiting for her to grow out of wanting a pet so we told her to wait and do her research to see what she wanted and the proper care for it and what we were going to need. She never grew out of it so here we are now. We got Mikey at a pet store in Wilsonville, OR. He has been with us for almost 6 days and we are in love with him. But I do have a few questions. First of all the substrate, I hate cypress mulch. He loves to burrow and when he come out he can't stop blinking his little eyes because it's poking his eyes. So I was told to get reptibark but that seems a little too rough and are you supposed to wet it? We also bought a powersun bulb but it dries out the substrate really fast, is that ok? We have one of those zoo med wooden homes for him but I think we will have to build him something a bit bigger soon because he doesn't seem to have too much room to roam. I have seen a lot of habitats where people place fake plants in there but do the tortoises not try to eat it? Mikeh tries to eat everything, he is a great eater it makes me happy to see him eat. Well that is all for now. Thank you for letting us join and I love all the info you guys have.
 

JoesMum

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Hello! My name is Mirza, we are currently living in Hood River , OR. We finally got our new little friend this past Sunday for my daughter Melina, which is a Russian tortoise she named Mikey. She had been begging us for a pet and she asked for a tortoise, she has been asking for the past 4 years. We were waiting for her to grow out of wanting a pet so we told her to wait and do her research to see what she wanted and the proper care for it and what we were going to need. She never grew out of it so here we are now. We got Mikey at a pet store in Wilsonville, OR. He has been with us for almost 6 days and we are in love with him. But I do have a few questions.
Hello and welcome to TFO
First of all the substrate, I hate cypress mulch. He loves to burrow and when he come out he can't stop blinking his little eyes because it's poking his eyes. So I was told to get reptibark but that seems a little too rough and are you supposed to wet it?
Substrate should be evenly damp to raise the humidity. Rusdians live digging and spend much of their time in burrows in the wild. Take all the decor out, tip water in from a jug and mix thoroughly with your hands... repeat until all the substrate is damp, but not wet. You wil have to repeat this exercise every few weeks as it dries out.

We also bought a powersun bulb but it dries out the substrate really fast, is that ok?
It is important to lnow the temperatures in the enclosure: warm side, cool side, directly under the basking lamp and overnight minimum. You need a good digital thermometer for accuracy - a temperature gun type costs about $15 from
Amazin or hardware stores and is best. It must be 95-100F under the basking lamp.
We have one of those zoo med wooden homes for him but I think we will have to build him something a bit bigger soon because he doesn't seem to have too much room to roam.
Russians are very active and need 4'x8' minimum floor area

I have seen a lot of habitats where people place fake plants in there but do the tortoises not try to eat it? Mikeh tries to eat everything, he is a great eater it makes me happy to see him eat. Well that is all for now. Thank you for letting us join and I love all the info you guys have.
Sometimes they do... they're not very bright. If you use live plants, sink the pot into the substrate rather than transplanting. The plant will live longer.

I recommend you read the TFO care guides if you haven't already

They're written by species experts working hard to correct the outdated information widely available on the internet and from pet stores and, sadly, from some breeders and vets too.

Beginner Mistakes
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Russian Tortoise Care
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
 

JoesMum

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@Yvonne G has a guide somewhere to help people. It is easier to post photos from the app... Only the Android app is working at the moment, so if you have an iphone or ipad that isn't very helpful :(
 
Joined
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Location (City and/or State)
Hood River, OR
@Yvonne G has a guide somewhere to help people. It is easier to post photos from the app... Only the Android app is working at the moment, so if you have an iphone or ipad that isn't very helpful :(
It says 'this forum has disabled media sharing ' when I try to add a picture. I did download the app and I have an android so I don't know what I'm doing wrong.
 

JoesMum

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It says 'this forum has disabled media sharing ' when I try to add a picture. I did download the app and I have an android so I don't know what I'm doing wrong.
Ah. Come to think of it, I read the other day the Android app wasn't working for photo uploads. :(

You could do it through the internet browser by going to htttp://tortoiseforum.org and logging in there.
 

JoesMum

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That substrate is far to dry. You would probably do better with something more earth-like such as coco coir or fine grade orchid bark (get it from a garden centre - it is way cheaper than the pet store equivalents). This will hold the moisture properly.

Use a piece of flat rock or slate, or even the wrong side of ceramic wall tile, as a food plate. It will help to keep the beak in shape by abrading it as your tort eats
 
Joined
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Messages
45
Location (City and/or State)
Hood River, OR
That substrate is far to dry. You would probably do better with something more earth-like such as coco coir or fine grade orchid bark (get it from a garden centre - it is way cheaper than the pet store equivalents). This will hold the moisture properly.

Use a piece of flat rock or slate, or even the wrong side of ceramic wall tile, as a food plate. It will help to keep the beak in shape by abrading it as your tort eats
Thank you.[emoji4] I am going to be changing his substrate out today. I got him some of those plant saucers or whatever you call them and he gets on that now to eat. He does have a food dish in the picture but it was way too small and he pulls the food off of it.
 
Joined
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Location (City and/or State)
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This is him outside enjoying the last bits of sun. I really wish we would have gotten him in the summer to enjoy some more sun with him.
 

RosemaryDW

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Adorable.

You do need to swap out the ZooMed house asap. If you can return it and get your money back, use the money to buy a cheap bookcase, take out the shelves and turn it on its side, then line it with a shower curtain.

That plant he’s eating in your yard is plantain, by the way. Very good for him.
 
Joined
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Location (City and/or State)
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Adorable.

You do need to swap out the ZooMed house asap. If you can return it and get your money back, use the money to buy a cheap bookcase, take out the shelves and turn it on its side, then line it with a shower curtain.

That plant he’s eating in your yard is plantain, by the way. Very good for him.
Really that's called plantain? But it's not the leaves of a plantain tree because I know what those look like personally, unless I read that name wrong. And thank you. We are trying to see how we make him a new one pretty soon. I have been really happy today because I'm finding a lot of good food for him and it's all very close to me and easy for me to find. [emoji5]
 
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Yes, they have the same names but are totally different plants.
Oh that's good to know because I know where to get plantain tree leaves and I was actually going to try to get some because we use them to make our tamales and I've heard of people feeding their RTs plantain. I do have a question about cactus, I've heard some people feed them cactus but there are so many different kinds and I'm wondering if it's what we know as "nopales".
 

RosemaryDW

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Oh that's good to know because I know where to get plantain tree leaves and I was actually going to try to get some because we use them to make our tamales and I've heard of people feeding their RTs plantain. I do have a question about cactus, I've heard some people feed them cactus but there are so many different kinds and I'm wondering if it's what we know as "nopales".

They can eat quite a few kinds but most people are feeding exactly nopales—it’s spineless opuntia cactus. Get one very small pad. Very small!

I’d totally give plantain tree leaves a try, if I had them on hand.

Are you shopping at some kind of hispanic grocery store? You can try some dried hibiscus and rose flowers—those are in the herb section. Also chamomile and mullein. My tortoise isn’t a huge fan but for .69 cents it’s worth a shot.
 
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Hood River, OR
Really? Wow that is great to know because we have a very nice little Mexican store and they do have a lot of things I can give Mikey. I am also beginning to think I need to become a Gardner lol [emoji16]. And about the cactus pads, it is best to only give small amounts?
 

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