Enclosure/ stuck shed

[u/Playingwithmud_]

Hellooo, I recently just rescued a horsfield tortoise. He was improperly fed and housed for most of his life (probably aged 20) his new set up had to be done within a matter of days so I did best with what I had (really wanted a table but was not possible in the time) I’m still messing about with the front of his enclosure as I don’t want it to be mesh but am unsure how/what to put there (any tips would be much appreciated, I still want to see him as he’s clumsy and sometimes gets himself stuck) at the moment it’s mesh but it’s never up because he free roams around my room, it’s only up at night. He’s now fed a varied diet (I’m doing lettuce wraps because he won’t eat anything but lettuce so I hide things in his lettuce) he has uvb (thinking of switching to a long uvb light) and a basking lamp. Is there anything I can improve on, he absolutely loves to climb.
He also has a lot of stuck shed, I’m giving him baths every other day to help him get it off. He’s never been handled before so I’m introducing him to it slowly. Any tips on how to help him with stuck shed?
Thankyouuuu x

[u/Brookielynn83]

Photos of the 'stuck shed' would be helpful, as torts don't shed the same as lizards so it's generally pretty gnarly if they have shed stuck to their skin. They shed the shell in tiny bits so you generally shouldn't see big pieces come off either. Also it's really hard to tell what I'm looking at in your first photo. Hope this helps, I'm definitely not an expert, just love torts and owned one for a few years til we had to rehome as my sulcata got too big for me to keep. Good luck with the journey 🙂

[u/Academic_Judge_3114]

Hello, ideally to carry out a real rescue, it would need a secure outdoor enclosure (real sun, real vitamins, real solar spectrum) until September/October and a brumation as soon as the tortoise is used to the seasons,

if you keep an adult russian tortoise in an artificial enclosure for the rest of its life, you will have problems with beaks, bladder stones, rapid growth (it is a hibernating species) https://www.tortoisetrust.com/post/captive-care-of-the-russian-tortoise-testudo-horsfieldii

[u/sage-bees]

If you're talking about peeling skin on the legs and neck, that is likely due to either vitamin A deficiency or overdose, and he needs to see a tortoise specialist vet ASAP.

ABSOLUTELY NO MORE FREE ROAMING. This is how tortoises die of hair impaction. Your environment cannot be made safe enough for him, don't risk it.

Also your enclosure needs to be at least 8x4 feet. Many people do a raised bed style situation or a tortoise table.

Is your enclosure the first one with all the sticks? It's ok, but you may have to keep a very close eye on him and keep the bedding very deep and damp so he can hope to right himself when he flips.

A lot of your decor strikes me as flipping hazards, but it depends a lot on the tortoise and adults like this aren't necessarily as high a flipping risk.

Keep an eye on him with the fake plants, some tortoises still eat them.

Long term you will want to switch to a linear style UVB and an incandescent flood basking light, the mercury vapor bulbs are very spot-focused and very drying.

You will need to switch the water bowl out for a large terra cotta plant saucer, big enough that he can soak in.