Russian cage

[Mikael_m29]

I am thinking about getting a russian tortoise. How should I set up his cage I was thinking of having on one half half coco finer half play sand as my warm side and on the other side half cypress mulch half coco fiber as my cool humid side would this be good for a russian? And I will builds. Tortoise table how big should his cage be 3x3 or 3x2 can someone please tell me what I should do. And can some one give me some helpful tips on how to care like how to prevent pyramiding and some other things. Thanks!

 

[hunterk997]

Have you researched care on your selected species yet? You could use a sand mix, but there's really no point in it. It is dusty and is a real impaction risk. Also, you should not have a "cool humid side." You should have a warm humid side, and a dry cool side. Cool and humid can lead to an ill tortoise. If you are going to struggle with a warm humid side, you can create a "humid hide" on the warm side. You can find more information on those by searching for them in the google search bar at the top of the forum. The absolute minimum for a Russian tortoise is 4'x2'. Although, bigger than this is definitely better. But personally, if your tortoise is going to be four inches or larger, I would go bigger than 4'x2'. 3'x3' would be adequate for a small amount of time, though. Russian tortoises do not really pyramid unless they are in extremely inadequate conditions. So having a comfortable humidity range (40%-60% depending on age), proper temperatures, correct foods, and UV lighting/outside time will prevent pyramiding.
Russian care sheet: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-80698.html

 

[Mikael_m29]

Thanks a lot will do and what substrate should I have on my dry side?

 

[hunterk997]

You can have the same substrate through out. But if you really want two different ones, some good choices are; topsoil, coconut coir, and cypress mulch. I haven't used cypress mulch, but I have seen it being used by several other members.