russian tortoises question

[russian tortoise boy]

ok im new in this forum and i just bought a russian tortoise from a friend for $30 and i want to know about :
The lighting and heating. currently right now i have a bulb 20 watts and i think it doesn't really give heat to my russian tortoise.

Do i need to put sand in her house?

what does she eats? i currently give her iceberg lettuce she likes it, what food gives her more calcium or makes her more healthy

how big her house should be?

what stuff should i put in her house especially what in the ground, im planning to put sand on her house, what hiding place should i give her besides the log thingy

and please tell me if she is adult or what age she is?

here is the video of her for better answer : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYStStlxKD8

thank you!!!

 

[jwhite]

Hi welcome to the forum you will learn lots from the people here.

First for lighting you are right 20w not even close to being enough. A good choice is the 100w powersun. They are kind of pricey, but work really well. If you are short the funds look for a basking bulb at your pet store.

Another thing you will need is a good thermometer so you know what the temps in the enclosure are. You are going to want the heat to be 90-95 under the light and about 70-75 on the cool side.

I wouldn't use sand. Coco coir is a much better option. The sand can cause impactions.

If you go to russiantortoise.org they have a really good list of foods that your russian should get. Iceberg lettuce is not one of them, it really has no nutritional value.

How big should her house be? It should be as big as you can make it, but for one tortoise I would say 3x3 or 4x4 something like that.

The log thingy is fine as long as she fits in it. I make my hides and they are usually about twice the size of the tortoise. This gives them room to move around inside it.

Age is a really tough guess. Do you know when she was bought from the store and how long your friend had her you can usually had 3-5 years to that and you will have pretty good guess.

 

[GBtortoises]

Check out this site:

www.russiantortoise.org