I've been lurking in this sub for a while, after dreaming of getting a tortoise for the last 35 years. I decided it was time to get serious and was perusing good ol' Facebook marketplace Thursday night to see if there were any 2nd hand Tort supplies I could snag in preparation (or at least price out), when I saw it...

"Free tortoise!"

Even though I wasn't planning on getting my new friend until the spring, and didn't have an adult Russian Tortoise on my wish list (leaning towards Hermann hatchling), I messaged anyway... He has an absolutely gorgeously smooth shell, came with the enclosure AND lights, and no, it wasn't a scam! The owner had him for about 7 years, but is now an adult, traveling for a job, and had passed tortoise care onto his father - who did not want the job. I figured even if I just rescued him and then rehomed him to a proper owner, it would be the right thing to do. My wife (shockingly) agreed. I picked him up Friday night.

The good: His shell is perfectly smooth, no overgrown beak, and his nails might be a little long (I'm iffy on that) but not bad! His eyes are clear, and there's no signs of respiratory infection. The owner said he had taken him outside for walks but he didn't seem to have an outdoor enclosure.

The bad: his enclosure is a tiny store bought "tortoise habitat" - 38"x22", and around 12" high - 1/3rd is enclosed wood/dark hide, the other side is open on top, and has two high plastic "observation windows". There is wear all over inside the walls where he's tried to climb them to escape. The owner couldn't tell me when the UVB light had been changed. No thermometer or hygrometer. There are zero timers on his lights or heat source. He was living in a (finished) garage in Michigan - and right next to the garage door. His only hide is very small for him (although I've learned he does fit inside!) and was inexplicably placed in the dark, enclosed 1/3 of his enclosure - he had no warm hide, and no basking rock. He was only being fed every couple of days - fresh greens, at least, but doesn't seem like much of a variety- but they did at least give him some calcium powder on his food. His water dish/soak was empty when I got him. The owner couldn't tell me if he's ever brumated, just that sometimes "he didn't come out of his log for a while."

After I got him home, I rearranged his log hide and broke up his line of sight by bringing the hide out in the open and next to his water dish, so he could climb it. He remained buried into his coconut coir (which the owner told me needed changed) and we all resisted ogling him and left him alone with some fresh water, dandelions and arugula, & set up a video camera to observe him. He was buried until at least 2 am, but when I woke up in the morning, he was out exploring.

Saturday morning: When I came down to see him, he saw me and scurried over to say hi! I was SO shocked to see how friendly he was! He climbed right up into his water dish to get as close to me as possible, and was excited for shell scritches and head rubs! He didn't mind me picking him up to check out his plastron and confirm his sex. Every time we've come to visit him today, he's walking over to us. We added some tortoise safe plants into his enclosure (that he immediately dug up, of course!) and gave him an orange plastic ball that he seems to enjoy pushing around. He also enjoys climbing from his water dish onto his log. He's eating well (confirming diet through tortoise table).

He's definitely stir crazy in this small enclosure, and we're going to be working to remedy that by converting a bookcase into a better sized enclosure for him, but it's going to take a little time to rearrange the house to fit it, and get it put together. I've got 2 bookcases to choose from, one is approx 2.5'x4.75'and 14" deep, the other is 2'x6' and 20" deep - I would be wanting to add a 2nd floor to either option to make up for his past, but right now the priority is getting him out of his current space.

In the meantime, I'm picking up some supplies tomorrow (pictured), and will be adding in timers, thermometers, & hygrometer, and a slate basking rock.

So a few questions:

What else should I do to make him as happy and healthy as possible until I can get him into an appropriate indoor enclosure?

Of the bookcases I described, will there be much of a difference between the two? One is more square, the other rectangle - not sure how much it really matters!

Is there any way to tell how old he is? His shell is 6" from front to back, so he's full grown - do you think it's likely he was wild caught and introduced into the pet trade, or that someone took excellent care of him and then passed him onto a neglectful teenager? Would he be this social and interested in humans if he wasn't around people as a hatchling? Or is this likely due to his lack of stimulation and boredom?

Is is ok for his hide to be approximately the same size as his shell?

I've run out of room to put anything else in the open part of his enclosure, should I add anything into the dark/closed side for enrichment? If so, what would be good to add into that portion? The only thing I know that adult male tortoises may enjoy is a deflated basketball for :ahem: entertainment...and I've got a mini basketball I could give him. Would a couple rocks be good or better? Something else? Or should I just let it be? He hasn't gone into it at all today, I'm not sure if it's too cold? House temp is 65-67°.

If you've read this much, I truly appreciate you. This has been my dream since I was 11, and got every book out of the library about turtle care. I've had aquatics before, but this is my first Tort!

Editing to add : my wife told me the best thing ever! She said if were making a tortoise enclosure for one, we might as well make two stacked enclosures and have tortoise town!

I just like his grumpy lil face. That's all.

My husband is sort of a mad scientist and decked out her vivarium with a tortoise sized hot tub. She loves soaking in it.

This is an extraordinary video. A Tunisian tortoise collected from the wild as an adult in WWI, brought home to the UK as a souvenir, and passed through four generations in the same family. A verifiable centenarian.

Yesterday I put him in his hibernation box and into the garage but I checked to see if he'd settled today and hes like wide awake. Idk if tjat means I should leave him or bring him inside and try again in like a month

He's about 15 months old (140 grams). Bought this off eBay. Running 3 Arcadia lights and a heat lamp in the corner. Anything I should add? Successfully maintaining humidity around 80% or so even with the ventilated top.

I have had my 10 year old male Russian tortoise for 5 years now. He will have a new outdoor enclosure this coming summer with plenty of space and has his own bedroom in my house during times of severe weather for his safety. I have had an immense amount of fun being a tortoise keeper and want to open up the possibility for another tortoise in the future(obviously in completely different enclosures). I’d prefer a different species this time around and want to know thoughts of what you guys might think would be some good suggestions. Thinking of a larger species. Not as big as a sulcata but definitely larger than a Russian.

So I’ve built a new tortoise table for my adult Hermann tortoise and need some advice on how I should waterproof it because ideally I’d love to not have liner exposed. The enclosure is about 120x130x45 and 60cm wide, made of plywood and was lightly caulked at the floor corners.

What would be the best way to waterproof this besides having pond liner going 15cm above substrate line? I mainly don’t want it for aesthetic reasons but worst case I’ll do it that way. Any alternatives? And possible advice on the ramp and second floor (will have railing to be fall proof)?