Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just bought 2 -what seem to be baby russian tortoises-one is about 2 1/2 inches the other is about 3 1/2 inches-the girl i bought them from said they were about 1 year old-she had them for 6 months and couldnt give them the attention they needed. They are is a 55 gallon rubbermaid container-I feel like this is too big for them because they are sooo tiny. They are shedding around their nrcks is this normal-any other advice is appreciated-I was told to give them alittle extra calcium in their diet since they are so little. Im not sure how to moderate the temp in this container-Right now there is the Repti bark as substrate-is it ok if I do 1/3 of the container with hay? -any advice is appreciated-

I am not a expert here are some here who know SO much more than I do but I can tell you a little bit till they pop on...the peeling around the neck is normal if you give the torts a nice soak with baby warm water it will come off on its own eventully .I do think a 55 gallon is a bit big but if it is all you have it will be ok I have my russian baby I got last night in a rubbermaid container that would prob be about the same as a 20 gallon fish tank I personally dont like the bark because I am so scared it will get eaten which can cause the tort to be imapacted I use bed a beast which is coconut fibers (looks like dirt) I am feeding my baby a mix of romaine, dandilion greens endive, and radiccio greens with some cuttlebone scraped onto the top for calcium it is scary when you first bring them home as ya wanna do all that is right for them this is a good site there are ppl here that know thier torts and are awsome at helping ...you will do fine

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~~*Erica*~~
1 puppy-cocoa
1 cat-Livvie
1 chinchilla-Lilo
3 Russian tortoises-baby,Calvin$Hobbs
1 Home's hingeback-Elephant
5 lil monkeys Jake,Matt,Amber rose,Zach,Kaitlin Grace
oh yeah and my husband Dave :0)
and too many fish aquariums to count

Good info at www.russiantortoise.net

Ed Pirog (EJ) has a book out on Russians that is very helpful.

55 gallon rubbermaid is just fine. Out in the wild they would have the great outdoors.

Use an incandescent bulb in a dome lamp for heat. You can get them at the hardware store like Home Depot. Just clamp it on the side and point it down onto one half of the tub. To regulate temps, just move the lamp up and down or use different size bulbs. You want a hot spot of about 95F, and the other end of the tub will be 70-80ish. At night all the lights go off and temps down in the 60s are fine. The tort will dig into the substrate at night. A little extra lighting (during the day) from a full spectrum fluorescent is good, too. You don't really need the expensive UV bulb (in my opinion), just something to brighten up the enclosure.

Be sure to sprinkle a little calcium/d3 powder (Repcal powder is good) on the food every other meal.

Substrate: topsoil (from the store with no chemicals or pearlite, etc.) and sand, or soil and coco fiber, or coco fiber, etc. NO corncob, pine shavings, cedar.

While any flourescent light will provide good background lighting, a good UVB bulb (reptisun 5.0) is essential for proper calcium metabolism and to prevent metabolic bone disease. It should be appox. 12" from the animal. You should have it on 8-12 hours a day. And keep up on the calcium powder. Good luck,

Steve