Russian Tort

levitatingeleph

I got myself a Horsfield (Russian tort). I was told in the pet shop that it was 20 years old (4-5inches could this be right??)and was being fed iceberg lettuce!!(which is meant to be pretty bad for them.) It was being kept in a viv. I have had it for five days and all seems to be going ok but I would like info and advice from you guys about good and bad care for my tort.

I am keeping it in a Viv(I know I know, people hate them)But mine is not the usual type.3 of its sides are solid wood,with the front being glass, top and bottom are wood with a vent in the top. The front has two sliding glass panels which can be left open, half open or closed throughout the day meaning it is well ventilated. I use a heating mat on one side and also a natural sunlight lamp for UVB. The cooler side has a bark tunnel for shade, food dish, water dish,some flat stones etc. I use a mixture of bark and fine woodchip for bedding. The tank in General is about 4 foot x 2foot x 2 foot. I take Ned (hope hes a boy - its hard when you dont have a boy and a girl to compare) out into a similar sized pen with compost and woodchip mix as bedding so he can dig around a bit more. I also give him a bath, once or twice a week in shallow lukewarm water.

I feed Ned greens, kale, cabbage, various types of lettuce(except iceberg), parsley, grass, carrot,tiny amounts of fruit.When there are dandilions, daisies about i plan to feed him those and clover etc too. I haven't looked into calcium supplemts yet but I have been told they are quite important.Perhaps I will get a cuttlebone?

When it is warmer I have every intention of letting Ned exercise outside in an outdoor pen but for now its too cold!I'm new to all this but really want to look after my tort well.Any advice??Thanks!

levitatingeleph

Heres a pic of Ned by the way!!!As you can see his shells not in the best of shape...The shop i bought him from fed him iceberg lettuce mainly, dont hibernate him,and left his UV lamps on 24/7. Any ideas for getting him more healthy and getting his shell to look better??

lrushe

levitatingeleph wrote: »

I got myself a Horsfield (Russian tort). I was told in the pet shop that it was 20 years old (4-5inches could this be right??)and was being fed iceberg lettuce!!(which is meant to be pretty bad for them.) It was being kept in a viv. I have had it for five days and all seems to be going ok but I would like info and advice from you guys about good and bad care for my tort.

I am keeping it in a Viv(I know I know, people hate them)But mine is not the usual type.3 of its sides are solid wood,with the front being glass, top and bottom are wood with a vent in the top. The front has two sliding glass panels which can be left open, half open or closed throughout the day meaning it is well ventilated. I use a heating mat on one side and also a natural sunlight lamp for UVB. The cooler side has a bark tunnel for shade, food dish, water dish,some flat stones etc. I use a mixture of bark and fine woodchip for bedding. The tank in General is about 4 foot x 2foot x 2 foot. I take Ned (hope hes a boy - its hard when you dont have a boy and a girl to compare) out into a similar sized pen with compost and woodchip mix as bedding so he can dig around a bit more. I also give him a bath, once or twice a week in shallow lukewarm water.

I feed Ned greens, kale, cabbage, various types of lettuce(except iceberg), parsley, grass, carrot,tiny amounts of fruit.When there are dandilions, daisies about i plan to feed him those and clover etc too. I haven't looked into calcium supplemts yet but I have been told they are quite important.Perhaps I will get a cuttlebone?

When it is warmer I have every intention of letting Ned exercise outside in an outdoor pen but for now its too cold!I'm new to all this but really want to look after my tort well.Any advice??Thanks!

A male only reaches 4-5 inches so he could well be fully grown, if he is male he should hold his tail to one side and have a slight hook at the end. So long as his enclosure is not all glass it should be ok but I wouldn't advise having a lid on it as you will need good air flow, just make sure that there is nothing he can stand on and climb out as they are extremely good escape artists!! Ditch the heating mat, torts should only have heat from above, he will need a UVA and UVB bulb left on for 12 hours a day and no heat is needed at night even at this cold time of year, this mimics the desert conditions for which they are evolved to living in. Their enclosure should have a cool end and a warm end with a basking spot of 32C. He should be on a 50% coconut coir 50% sand substate which should be kept damp at all time and deep enough for him to bury himself in. You can use regular straw for his bedding. You've the right idea with the baths keep them up. Most of what you are feeding him is good but I would only give him carrot once a month and no fruit under any circumstances. Definately invest in a cuttlefish bone as he can not only use this to regulate his own calcuim intake but it will also wear down his beak. Good luck with your new guy, they make the best pets!

lrushe

levitatingeleph wrote: »

Heres a pic of Ned by the way!!!As you can see his shells not in the best of shape...The shop i bought him from fed him iceberg lettuce mainly, dont hibernate him,and left his UV lamps on 24/7. Any ideas for getting him more healthy and getting his shell to look better??

All in all his shell isn't too bad, some slight pyrimiding but as you say he hasn't been fed the best food, probably little or no calcuim and kept on dry substrate. Torts don't have to be hibernated, I don't hibernate mine and they especially shouldn't be hibernated for the first year you own them as they can have underlying problem which are hard to spot as torts don't generally show any symptoms unless really sick.

lrushe

Some pics of my guy and his enclosure

Nibbler 08.10.09.JPG

Nibbler Guarding his Food.jpg

Nibbler3.jpg

levitatingeleph

Thanks alot for the advice. Ive loads of questions....youll be so sick of them....I want to make sure hes looked after properly though.
So no heating mat eh!!!another gimic from the shop then!! I have the UV light so is it a basking lamp then instead of the mat that i need.
Do you leave food with yours all the time or just for a certain time length?I have a few rocks thrown in but hed never manage to climb out....he did move them round to suit himself though...
The enclosure is only one side glass which opens. the rest wood and vents on top. So the substate should always be damp?
His tail is to the side with and has a small hook so i may have named it well....the shop wern't even able to tell me that!
Do you think that with calcium supplements and cuttlebone and change of substate and diet his shell will improve?

lrushe

I feed my guy and leave it down for a half hour then take it up. While there is no real harm in having the rocks in with him there is no real need for them. There is two problems with glass , is that it causes the enclosure to heat up too much especially as you have a roof and secondly torts have no concept of glass so they can get nose rub from it. Your torts shell may never be perfect but doing right by him will go along way to improving it

levitatingeleph

I leave ned in dry substate of wood bark and small wood chipping in his viv but its not much fun for digging. I take him out for a while everyday and pt him into damp compost. He seems to enjoy this and burrows himself under it. This might sound like a sill question but when he is completely submerged under the compost can he suffocate. I generally dont leave him under it for long as im not sure but he makes no attempt himself to dig back out.Is it safe to leave him there or is digging in compost a bad idea?

lrushe

levitatingeleph wrote: »

I leave ned in dry substate of wood bark and small wood chipping in his viv but its not much fun for digging. I take him out for a while everyday and pt him into damp compost. He seems to enjoy this and burrows himself under it. This might sound like a sill question but when he is completely submerged under the compost can he suffocate. I generally dont leave him under it for long as im not sure but he makes no attempt himself to dig back out.Is it safe to leave him there or is digging in compost a bad idea?

The reason the substrate is kept damp is it keep the humidity right as the heat lamp evaporates the moisture in the substrate, this will help his skin say healthy and keep him hydrated. Dry substate can cause respiratory problems. 50% coconut coir and 50% reptile sand is best, steep the coir in a bucket of warm water until it breaks apart then add the sand, mix it up well and then put it in the enclosure. The sand will help hold the moisture and he will love digging in the coconut coir. The substrate should be completely soaked once a week and misted once a day as you will be surprised how quickly it will dry out with the basking lamp, this can't be done with bark and wood chips as they will start to rot and go green mouldy. The substrate should be deep enough for him to completely bury himself, my guy will bury himself all night and I have to go search for him in the morning if he hasn't already emerged. They are completely evolved to bury themselves so don't be worried about him suffocating. I wouldn't encourage letting them dig in compost just because of the possiblity of bacterial infections or cemicals in it, if you have substrate as I've mentioned he will be able to dig in it till his hearts content and believe me he will!!!

levitatingeleph

Cheers Irushe...
Will get that sorted straight away.Thanks mil!

lrushe

No probs, for more great tips follow the advise on this website, its the best around imo:
http://www.russiantortoise.org/care_sheet.htm