Russian tortoise suggestions

[Beetle_Rain]

I very unexpectedly was put into a situation where I needed to rescue a recovering Russian tortoise. He had a tough run in with shell rot and the owner didn’t want to take care of it anymore I suspect it was due to the enclosure he was kept in as it was pretty much fully enclosed and very tiny for a full grown adult. That being said along with continuing medicating him I built him a significantly larger enclosure out of a book case with a significant amount of ventilation and proper lighting. I also have a slate for him to bask and grind his nails on, a slate for him to eat from, a water dish he can lay in and a hide on his cool side. I will be adding a hide on the warm side as well but I haven’t found one big enough yet. Besides that hide does anyone have any ideas on adding more for enrichment or if I am missing anything please let me know as I am very attached to this old man already! It’s crazy that he is most likely older than me! I included a picture that really shows the scarring on his shell if anyone sees anything strange about that as well please let me know!!! Oh and his name is Mulligan!

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hello to you and Mulligan! Thanks for helping him out!

You can make him a hide just by digging under the slate (if substrate is deep enough such bunker/burrow should work).

You can add some enrichment by placing visual barriers - plant pots, walls, substrate hills.. So he could not see whole enclosure from a single point. Some plants like boston fern, pothos or tradescantia make a nice hide, when pot is placed on the wall and you let fronds/vines to go down. The best enrichment is an outdoor enclosure, though...

I would add an overhang lip along the perimeter - Russian tortoises are incredibly skilled climbers. With added decorations it's easy to miss a potential escape route...

You may also add an ambient LED light to his enclosure - neither UV tube nor basking lamp are bright enough.

 

[Tom]

I very unexpectedly was put into a situation where I needed to rescue a recovering Russian tortoise. He had a tough run in with shell rot and the owner didn’t want to take care of it anymore I suspect it was due to the enclosure he was kept in as it was pretty much fully enclosed and very tiny for a full grown adult. That being said along with continuing medicating him I built him a significantly larger enclosure out of a book case with a significant amount of ventilation and proper lighting. I also have a slate for him to bask and grind his nails on, a slate for him to eat from, a water dish he can lay in and a hide on his cool side. I will be adding a hide on the warm side as well but I haven’t found one big enough yet. Besides that hide does anyone have any ideas on adding more for enrichment or if I am missing anything please let me know as I am very attached to this old man already! It’s crazy that he is most likely older than me! I included a picture that really shows the scarring on his shell if anyone sees anything strange about that as well please let me know!!! Oh and his name is Mulligan!
View attachment 401391
View attachment 401393View attachment 401392

That is not shell rot. Shell rot happens on the plastron and its from overly wet and/or unsanitary conditions. What you have there is carapace damage. It looks to me like thermal burns from a spot lamp due to its location and appearance. What are you medicating it with?

I have a few suggestions:
1. Get rid of the soil. Soil should never be used as tortoise substrate because there is no way to know what is in it. It could be something toxic or dangerous. It's also messy when it is kept properly damp. Use coco coir, cypress mulch, or orchid bark.
2. Your substrate needs to be kept properly damp to keep the dust down and to help with humidity.
3. I would use a second terra cotta saucer for the food to help keep the food out of the substrate and the substrate out of the food.
4. Russians need a minimum of 4x8 feet indoors.
5. If you are going to feed grocery store greens, they need to be amended.
6. Remove the hay. Russians are not grass eaters so there is no reason to have hay in the enclosure. It makes a mess and it will mold if your substrate is kept properly damp.
7. The beam coming out of the heat lamp looks very narrow. That appears to be a spot lamp. You need a flood lamp. Check the temperature under the bulb by placing a digital thermometer on its back directly under the bulb and letting it bake for an hour or more. I raise or lower the fixture based on the temperature. Shoot for around 95 at tortoise shell height.

All of this and more is right here:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

Questions are welcome!