#9 in Reptile terrariums
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Reddit mentions of Zoo Med Wood Tortoise House
Sentiment score: 3
Reddit mentions: 4
We found 4 Reddit mentions of Zoo Med Wood Tortoise House. Here are the top ones.
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- Wood siding provides privacy, so your tortoise feels safe and secure
- Place outside in garden so your tortoise can bask in natural sunlight
- Weatherproof sleeping area offers shelter and a safe retreat for your pet tortoise
Features:
Specs:
| Color | Golds & Yellows |
| Height | 13 Inches |
| Length | 37 Inches |
| Number of items | 1 |
| Size | 36"l x 24"w x 12"h |
| Weight | 19 Pounds |
| Width | 25 Inches |
Sounds like she's bored. A 50-gallon tank, believe it or not, is painfully small for a fully grown Russian tortoise. A 50-gallon tank is only about 3x1.5 feet. Even a tortoise house is 3x2, and are available and Petsmart and Petco. There's also these sexy things, though I don't really like the glass front for a tortoise.
Alternatively, you could go buy some wood and build her a tortoise table yourself. If she's active with clear eyes and a dry nose, and is eating and pooping, she's probably healthy. Take the money you'd give to a vet and upgrade her enclosure.
First off, congrats on the tort!
Secondly, warning! Wall of text incoming!
Tank size:
That depends on how large she is. For the average female Russian's (I'm estimating about 7 or 8 inches in length), you should give her about a 3 by 4 feet tank. I have heard of people keeping their smaller torts (i.e. Russian, Hermann's, and Greeks) in the Zoo Med Tortoise House most of the time, but really, it's too small for the tort full time. These people take their torts out of the tank a bunch of the time to roam around the room.
If you have an aquarium tank right now, the caution is that tortoises sometimes will decide to go through the glass and not understand that that's a bad idea because they can see through it. In this scenario, you can wrap the outside of the tank in some paper. It doesn't need to be decorative as long as the tort can't see out.
My follow up question to you is: whereabouts do you live? This will determine if you will require an indoor habitat or if an outdoor one will be sufficient. Outdoor tanks should also be fairly large, as tortoises really like to wander around. If you choose to keep your tort outdoors, make sure that it's caged up really well so that predators cannot get in.
That being said, there are some great care sheets around. One of the ones I used when I first got started was this: http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Care-Sheets/Russian-Tortoise/ Be sure to play close attention to the temperature gradient that she needs. You'll need some thermometers. One of the temp guns would be highly recommended so you can spot check all over the tank. You could also go to your local hardware store and get a laser temp gun, which will probably be better than this for a bunch more money, but you don't need one better than this, really.
For a low budget tank, I've seen a lot of DIY tutortials around. One of the most common is to get an old Ikea bookshelf, lay it on its back, take the shelves out, and stick a solid tarp down in it so that it's waterproof. Then put soil, forest bark, moss, etc in for the flooring and put your tort in that. The trouble with this is that you really have to make sure that it's safe for your tort down on the floor. I have cats in the house, and while they're cute and loving, they're also assholes when it comes to other animals, so I have to have an actual table up higher with a lid so my cats can't get in.
Water dish:
Anything that's large enough for her to sit in comfortably is good. Make sure that it's not too deep (the water should never be deeper that chin-level), and that it's not too small for her to bathe in. She will want to climb around in it and move around a bit as well. She will drink from it if she needs hydration, and also just sit there if she's too hot. Make sure that this water is clean daily so that she doesn't drink from her own urine/poop water. Also make sure that she's able to climb in and out of the dish by herself. They make special water dishes for this. BUT, as you're trying to budget down, you can actually just use whatever you have around that fits the requirements. I'm using a small terracotta plate for planting pots that I found at my local dollar store because my tortoise is still just a baby.
White discharge is called urates. All reptiles do this; it's nothing to worry about at all, unless it's grainy like sand (signs of dehydration), or solid. It should have the rough consistency of toothpaste. Mine's look more like egg-whites floating in water.
Food:
The spring mix should be fine. Tortoises will eat roughly their shell size in salad in a day. Having a good mix will make sure her internal flora is healthier. Absolutely no spinach should be fed. Where I live, I can't get a lot of good weeds, so I feed a lot of kale, parsley, romaine lettuce, dandelion leaves, etc. I keep a list of "staples", and a list of "occasional supplements" that I rotate through on a weekly basis. If you're lucky enough to live in an area where you can go for walks and pick up a bunch of greens from from wilds, it will be cheaper for you. This website has the best plant database that I've come across so far and will be able to help you in identifying what's safe and what's not.
I supplement every meal I give my tort with Repashy's Superveggie to make sure that she/he is getting all the nutrients that she/he needs. (I have no idea if my tort is male or female right now because she/he is still way too young; maybe in a year or two I'll be able to sex him/her.)
I also have a calcium bone for him/her to nom on whenever he/she wants on the side. It also helps them file down the beak. I have an Exo Terra Sepia Bone for him/her. I just cut off about 1/3rd of a piece to put in the tank (again, because my tort is just a baby).
For special treats, I like to give my tort a singular raspberry, or whatever fruit I have around. So far, she/he's shown a love for raspberries, and cherries, and not so much love for strawberries. To encourage my tort use the calcium bone, I sometimes rub the raspberry all over the calcium bone to make it tastier. Sometimes, I will break off a little piece and sprinkle it into the salad for the day as well.
How much to feed:
Tortoises are not stupid animals, and won't really overeat unless you're feeding all the wrong foods. Assuming you have a high fiber diet, your tort will stop eating when she's done. Again, generally you feed about their shell size amounts of salad in a day. If she eats more or less, that might tell you how she feels about what you're feeding her. Some people will say that the 15-20 minute limit is what you should do, but there's really not a lot of evidence that that's the rule. I've heard it about 50/50 depending on the keeper's style.
Finally, here are some signs that will tell you your tortoise isn't happy/general stress signs:
If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask! This sub is sadly quieter than I'd like, so I thought I'd offer some help with what limited experience I currently have.
Good luck!
[Edit: formatting and such]
Update: thanks for the advice.
He is eating dandelion greens right now. After he has time to sit around and relax for a few hours I plan to change his substrate, reorganize his hutch a bit (water in shaded area rather than under his heat lamp) and give him a soak. I am looking into getting a hutch that is larger, but it is a tough space issue for me in my apartment. A DIY hutch sounds like a very stressful project to me and I prefer to just buy. He is currently in this one: Zoo Med Wood Tortoise House https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00167S5EY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_K4mDzbAK5E7Y6
I could potentially expand it with a second one, but that is expensive and I do not have the space for it....
This is the only one I can find on Amazon lol check on Craigslist too though, sometimes they have hidden jams.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00167S5EY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_cB..zb7NZN64V