Recent content by Alpha752

My Russian’s shell is getting lighter along he scute lines. Is this bad? It’s new.

He is an adult Russian. I will have to pick up a laser thermometer to get some better readings. He stays in a large plastic tub with a screen on top, so not fully enclosed but also not totally open. I try to let him out as much as possible, but during the day no one is home so he has to be in...

Our house is very small, so Henry's enclosure is on the floor in pretty much the only space we have for it. It is unfortunately very close to an air conditioning vent. How bad is this for tortoises? I have the vent blocked with a plastic bin, and he has his heat lamp of course. He usually stays...

I am fairly sure he is an adult, but it's hard to know, he was "rescued" from a pet store. His cloaca, when his tale is stretched out looks like a slit. I think females look more like an astricks.

These are the best I have on my phone at the moment. He definitely isn't grossly overweight, I just worry about him. His enclosure isn't that big, I try to take him out and let him wander when I can.

Thanks, that's reassuring. I'm glad that my tort only has the slightest bit of extra shoulder jiggle. Looks like we will be getting a lot more exercise time added into our day.

How do you know if your tort is overweight? What are some of the signs?

Not sure what this tree is, are the flowers tortoise friendly?

Thanks for the opinions. I could put together a frame or fence like that, I guess my concern was the Russians ability and affinity for digging. Could he dig himself under a wood or fence enclosure in a few unsupervised hours?

I know Russians can be quite the escape artists, and Henry has already shown that he has no problem digging in the short periods he's been outside. I want him to be able to spend as much time outside as possible, since our nice warm days are limited. I can't build anything permanent in the...

Were in Lorain County, a little ways away from the lake. It got over 60, so he got a little yard time today.

I live near Cleveland, Ohio. Now that it's turning warm, I am excited to get Henry, my Russian, time outside in the yard. I know dandelions are ok, I just want to double check and make sure that he is ok to eat grass, clover and other things he comes across in the yard. We don't spray the lawn...

Henry (Russian) seems to have some dry skin around his neck and shoulders. This just seems to have started within the last week or so. I soak him twice a week for 15-20 minutes. Is this bad? What else should I be doing?

Really? I thought that overeating was a big concern with torts, especially indoors ones. I cant wait until it's warm enough for me to be able to take him outside so he can roam and graze, but that is a couple months away. So he is ok to eat this much twice a day?

He is an adult Russian. He eats a lot of Kale, but we try to vary it with romaine, dandelion when we can find it, other kinds of spring mix. About once a week he gets a strawberry or cherry tomato or something like that.