Hey all! I've been lurking here for a while, and I've just got a few more questions to ask. I've been doing some research for quite some time now, and I think I'm ready to buy my first tortoise. I've decided on a Russian tortoise, as I've heard they're good for beginners. Anyways, here's my questions: What are your opinions/experience on the UV Heat bulbs? As in, one bulb for UVA/UVB and heat, instead of a full-spectrum fluorescent with UVB AND an incancescent spot for basking? I know they're expensive, but I've heard good things about them. Opinions? What brand calcium + D3 do you use? I've heard that Minerall and Rep-Cal are good. Opinions? Are multi-vitamins recommended in addition to calcium with D3? What brand multi-vitamin do you recommend? And how many dustings per week? How long should I soak my tortoise for, and how often? Is hibernation necessary? Is my tortoise going to need a companion? I don't want a depressed tortoise. Should I get a male or a female? I was leaning towards a male since they stay smaller, and he/she will be living inside for the most part. Is there behavioral differences between the two? I know males will be aggressive towards each other, so if I decided later on that I want another one, a male might not be a good choice right now. Can tortoises be sexed at a young age? If I bought a "male" now would it still be a male in a few years? (Had this problem with my bunny... she was a she until she went to the vet, and then I learned that she was actually a he!) The pet stores in my area don't carry tortoises. Has anyone had success with an online breeder/pet store? Any recommendations? I was hoping for a baby. Are there any rules or regulations for owning/buying a tortoise in the US? Last one: Do tortoises/their living spaces smell? Since he/she will be a mostly indoor pet, I don't want a stinky little friend. Thanks a bunch!
1) I personally have 2 uva/uvb bulbs over his basking spot, and that is enough to bring the temp up to specs throughout his whole table. That is all i found nessicary. 2) I use Rep-cal. but from what ive read, miner all and rep-cal are both good. 3) As long as he/she is fed a proper diet, multi-vitamins are not needed. i throw in a whole prey food once a month for added benefit. i use calcium w/ d3 every friday, and i feed a pinky every 4th friday. 4) Soak your tortoise for 1/2 hour 1-3 times a week, as you see needed. always have a soaking dish in his/her enclosure that he/she can climb in and out of as needed. 5)hibernation isnt nessacary, but it is recomended for the tortoise's health. usually new keepers skip the first year of hibernation. 6) tortoises are solitary animals, they rarely see other torts in the wild, so it is not nessacary for your tort, a companion would be for your enjoyment. 7) other then males fighting, there is no real big behavitorial differences. 8) It is very hard, if not impossible to sex a tort at a young age. there is always a chance of you getting a girl, and it being a boy 5 years down the road. 9) A friend of mine is selling CBB russians. He thought he had 2 females, that proved to be a little off lol. I'm not sure as to what you are looking to spend, but they will be a bit more pricey than you will see in a pet store, due to them being CBB. If you are interested, you can email me at emopunksucksnuts@hotmail.com, and i try to talk him down a bit. 10) the only FEDERAL regulations are: they can only be sold under 4" for educational/scientific purposes. (and) gopher torts and dessert torts are illegal to keep due to their endangered status. As far as the first rule goes, that is very very very rarely enforced, i bought my tort at 2". 11) my torts enclosure doesnt stink, even a bit. i spot clean every day, and clean out his whole tort table once a month or so. Change the water every day.
ps. the torts dan ( my friend with the russians) have been raised to 4". hes a bit more paranoid than me, lol nick
For a UVB bulb, you should really check out http://reptileuv.com, they have some really good bulbs there for excellent prices, and they also have some that output both heat and UVB, so you'd only need one bulb (or two, depending ont he size of your enclosure and the wattage you select). Rep-Cal is a very good supplement to give, you should also look into getting some salad topper from www.cricketfood.com, it's a great multivitamin! The owner there, Ronnie Buck, would be more than happy to answer any questions you have about it. Multivitamins certainly won't hurt, and I would not recommend feeding pinkies to your tortoise. Russians are strictly herbivores doing best on a variety of greens, flowers, and veggies. Their bodies' digestive systems are not designed to break down and process any kind of meat product. The same goes for an insectivore like a leopard gecko eating fruits and veggies, their bodies just can't do it! Other than that, trogdortheburninator pretty much covered everything else... good luck!
Thanks to both of you for the great information! I went ahead and ordered an "Active UV Heat" 100w flood bulb... I'll let you all know how it works out. Until it gets in, I'm just hanging tight-- I want to make sure the temperatures etc. are all set before I order a tortoise. I also purchased Rep-Cal calcium + D3 supplement, and I'll look into the multivitamin Eirecorcaigh recommended. Thanks again!
Eirecorcaigh, i agree, a herbivorous tort, such as a russian, should not be fed a pinky. I on the other hand, have a red-foot. red foots are omnivorous, and are suggested to eat meat at least once a month. they suggest dog food, but since that is made for dogs (not torts) i feed whole food prey. nick
Well, red-foots are primarily herbivorous, but are classified as ominivores, in the wild they like to eat carrion. I would be a little wary about feeding any type of chelonian dog/cat food or pinky mice however. I have two box turtles and a red-foot at home (all omnivores), and once a week they get given some animal protein. I usually feed crickets and worms. Who was the one who originally suggested to you to feed your tort pinkies?
i cant remember who told me...but i dont understand how it could be a problem. Do you see something wrong with feeding pinkies? My tort seems more than healthy, and he LOVES his monthly pinky. how could it be unhealthy? thanks nick
Just because they do so in the wild, doesn't mean they should I just imagine that digesting the bones of a pinkie mouse would be a little difficult for them to digest... for a snake, no problem. But then again, they are strictly carnivores and are built completely differently than (to quote Family Guy) "Nature's D Student" How do you offer it? Whole? Or do you do stuff to it before offering? My little boy Klaus seems quite content on this crickets and worms he gets every so often (he loves his superworms!), so I guess the concept of feeding pinkies to torts is just very new. Now, a superworm does have a bit of chitin in its outer shell which makes it a little harder to digest than a soft bodied worm, so there is a very slim impaction risk, but I think that the pinkie digesting would be harder for them, no?
I dont do anything special to it...i just take the smallest pinky i can grab from my breeding mice, and drop it in. he LOVES them. he seemed uninterested, and in fact quite irritated with crickets....but he goes to town on a pinky. i dont really need to do anything to the mouse, he crushes it quite nicely while eating it. it takes him about 3 minutes to eat the whole thing. He crushes its weak bones with his beak, then swallows. so far, he seems quite healthy...and over the weekend, i checked with my vet, she said as long as he doesnt seem to have trouble with it going down, it wont be a problem. thanks for the concern :-D nick
Red foots can recieve occasional animal protein through carion and invertebrates (insects). Insects should be more commonly offered if the tort will take them. Pinkies shouldn't be a problem nutrient-wise, they don't have enough protein in them to be dangerous unless they are being fed more than once a month. If you offer pinkies don't offer any insects until the next month. Alternating protein sources is best. They don't eat the exact same things in the wild every day. So switching from crickets to pinkies to worms would be ideal. Pinkies should be fairy easy to digest for a tort also, since their bones are still undeveloped and in many areas are mostly still cartilage. When it comes to protein, moderation is best.
