Tips for a Russian

[Flash100yard]

Hi, we just adopted our first Russian and I have a few questions...we have a large yard that is very secure and our plan was allow him to roam the yard during the day. He came with a large terrarium (where he was being exclusively kept by his previous owner). If he gets enough outside time does he still need to be exposed to his UV light in the terrarium? Our plan is to put him in the terrarium at night to keep him safe/warm/protected. We were planning to keep the terrarium outside during the summer months, would that be warm enough for him? We live in San Diego so our climate is pretty mild year round. He's our first Russian so any other helpful hints/tips are appreciated.

 

[JoesMum]

Hello and welcome to TFO

How big (straight carapace length) is your tort?
Where abouts in the world do you live?

If your tort can get outside for a few hours a week, every week, all year, indoor UVB is not necessary.

The key word in your post though is terrarium.

Few terrariums are big enough for anything other than a hatchling. Indoor space needs to be a minimum of 8'x4' as Russians are very active and need to walk, climb and dig.

Please read these which explain what your tort needs

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

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

 

[Gillian M]

A very warm welcome to the forum!

Please post pictures so as to enable us to help you more.

Good luck!

 

[Tom]

Hi, we just adopted our first Russian and I have a few questions...we have a large yard that is very secure and our plan was allow him to roam the yard during the day. He came with a large terrarium (where he was being exclusively kept by his previous owner). If he gets enough outside time does he still need to be exposed to his UV light in the terrarium? Our plan is to put him in the terrarium at night to keep him safe/warm/protected. We were planning to keep the terrarium outside during the summer months, would that be warm enough for him? We live in San Diego so our climate is pretty mild year round. He's our first Russian so any other helpful hints/tips are appreciated.

Hello and welcome.

Joe's Mum gave some great advice. I live north of you in Santa Clarita, but I know the SD climate well, so I thought I'd answer your questions in my own words.

1. I would not allow him to roam the whole yard. You will lose him. Contain him in a relative large area with an escape proof enclosure, hopefully with a lid. Make the walls 2' tall, cap the corners and have a lip inside to prevent him from climbing out. Something 10x15' is a good size for one russian.
2. He doesn't need indoor UV if he's getting regular sunshine, but he still needs a heat lamp and the correct temperature for indoor days.
3. Bringing him indoors into the terrarium every night is a good idea.
4. I would not keep the terrarium outdoors in summer. Its good to have a fully functional indoor and outdoor enclosure. Put him out on nice days. leave him in on cold clammy days. (June gloom anyone?)
5. Read those threads that Joe'sMum linked. All this and more is explained in there. Please feel free to ask lots of questions.

 

[Flash100yard]

Thank you so much Tom, that really helps! I must admit after really reading up on everything he needs I'm feeling a little overwhelmed! As a kid my family had tortoises so I felt like I was somewhat prepared for this and being that a Russian is considered a good "starter" tortoise I thought easy peasy! I just want to make sure he's in a good environment and receiving everything he needs. We adopted him from a lady who got a dog so she wasn't able to give him outside time anymore because the dog was being aggressive towards him. So she was keeping him in the terrarium inside. Which she knew wasn't the best for him which is why she chose to rehome him. My husband is working on building an outdoor enclosure as we speak so once he's done I'll take some pics for some feedback. Right now I'm sitting with him as he wanders a smaller part of our yard and he seems to be really happy!

 

[Tom]

Thank you so much Tom, that really helps! I must admit after really reading up on everything he needs I'm feeling a little overwhelmed! As a kid my family had tortoises so I felt like I was somewhat prepared for this and being that a Russian is considered a good "starter" tortoise I thought easy peasy! I just want to make sure he's in a good environment and receiving everything he needs. We adopted him from a lady who got a dog so she wasn't able to give him outside time anymore because the dog was being aggressive towards him. So she was keeping him in the terrarium inside. Which she knew wasn't the best for him which is why she chose to rehome him. My husband is working on building an outdoor enclosure as we speak so once he's done I'll take some pics for some feedback. Right now I'm sitting with him as he wanders a smaller part of our yard and he seems to be really happy!

All this info can seem overwhelming at first, but its really pretty easy once you get the initial set up done correctly. This is a community of very friendly people with lots of experience housing and caring for tortoises. We will help and support you along the way. Please feel free to ask all your questions, no matter how "silly" they might seem. Chances are good that other readers are wondering the same thing.

 

[Flash100yard]

 

[Flash100yard]

Here's our little guy "Flash" as he wanders a part of our yard while his outdoor enclosure is being built [emoji217][emoji172]

 

[Flash100yard]

I posted yesterday about our new Russian who we adopted from a lady who had him exclusively in a terrarium. We built an outdoor enclosure for him today so I'd like some feedback on how we did. I'm planning on doing a half buried terra cotta planter for him too. The little some structure that is in there now is what we got from the lady we adopted him from. The plants are cilantro, petunia and some other weed that I'm not sure the name of. We have two sides and the top on one side has hinged chicken wire and the other side has a solid top. There's a passage way for him to get from one side to the other.

 

[Carol S]

Welcome to the Forum. Flash is very handsome.

 

[Tom]

Its really a bummer when you work hard on something and then someone comes along and tears it apart. Its a bummer, but it needs to be done in order to help the tortoise and help the person learn. So while I applaud your efforts, you've got a few problems.

1. Its too small. Russians need a lot more room than that. 4x8 indoors and at least double that outside.
2. The sides are too tall in relation to the size. The only sun you'll get down there is mid day sun when its too hot and they want out of the sun. If the whole enclosure were 15x15', then that wall height would be fine because there would be sun in the middle or on one side all day.
3. Particle board is no good for tortoise enclosures. When it gets wet, it will disintegrate and your tortoise will be able to literally push through it. You will need to use sprinklers and lots of water to keep plants growing in there, and to keep your tortoise cool in summer.
4. Those bulb plants are toxic lilies. You tortoise should not have access to those.
5. Is that Zoomed Grassland food in the bowl? I've never seen a tortoise that would eat it plain and dry like that. Does yours?

I hate smashing people's dreams to pieces, but the info needs to be conveyed, so you don't have to learn these things the hard way at the tortoises expense. All of this is intended only to be helpful, and save you problems down the road.

 

[Flash100yard]

Thank you Tom for all your feedback! We are still learning so your feedback is really helpful. We take pet ownership very seriously so honest feedback is appreciated because we know it makes us more skilled and in turn our tortoise will be happy and healthy.
A few questions about your feedback:
We are planning to allow "Flash" a lot of supervised outdoor time while we are home. We have a smaller area of our yard where it would be easy to supervise him and it's safe and secure. So while we are home and outside we will keep him free roaming. Does that change your concern about the depth level of the enclosure we made? And the material? I'm envisioning his enclosures (the one we made and the terrarium he came to us with) as being the places we use to keep him at night or at times when we aren't home. Just so you have an idea of who we are and what our lifestyle is like...I am a stay at home mom to three little kids and we have many other pets (chickens, baby chicks, rabbits, duck, guinea pigs, insect farm). We homeschool and a huge part of our day is spent caring for and interacting with our animals. We are rarely away from our home and animals for more than a few hours at a time. We allow all our other animals to free roam the larger part of the yard while we are home and supervising. With a similar set up as I was describing for the tortoise...coops/cages/enclosures for night time and when we are away but otherwise free roaming the yard. Any more advice knowing our lifestyle a little more?
And just FYI, we pulled out the toxic plants immediately so they are no longer in there. Thanks for letting me know!

 

[Flash100yard]

Maybe something more like this??