Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi...
i just got two male russians so i'm a newbie too! They are the cutest things aren't they?? I have 2 RES's but this is my first experience with tortoises. I am QUITE obsessed with the shelled creatures

My boyfriend and i built a 4x4x2 foot box out of plywood and added in 9 bags of soil and 3 bags of sand (total of 510 pounds! ugh...there's no moving their cage, lol). Then we put in some live plants they can eat (wild rose, aloe, hibiscus, etc.) We set up a basking lamp and a UVB strip light over them. For hiding we have different types of moss and an over turned hollowed out log for them to hide in, plus obviously the plants and a foot of soil/sand all around. The humidity is at about 80 because the soil was so moist when we put it in there and the temp is about the same. Conditions sound ok? What are good ranges for temps and humidity?
The one thing i'm most concerned about at this point is the fact that they are both males. Is keeping them together going to be a problem if there is no female in there with them? I read that they can be aggresive to one another, but all examples of that that i read occured when there was a female there also.
Thanks!!
Walnut and her 2 yet to be named Torts

Two things:

1) You don't want the environment to be too humid. In time the soil will dry out, but be careful about the moss. It can retain moisture and might keep humidity up too high. My russians do very well outdoors here in the Midwest where humidity ranges 40-80%, so I wouldn't worry too much. Just don't spray down the moss much.

2) Russians can poop a lot, and it can be hard to seperate the poop from the sand & soil mix. In fact, the poop can look like a dirt clod! I know this from experience. I kept a russian hatchling indoors on a sand/soil mix and keeping it clean was hard! Check regularly and using regular soakings as a way to get the torts to poop in the water instead of the pen.

Good luck!