6" Russian Female Escaped Dam!

[grogansilver]

My 6" Russian Female Escaped Her pen! Can she survive, Hibernate and possibly produce starting a new generation of tortoises Running wild here? I have heard they can retain their sperm up to five years with laying good fertile eggs! is this true?

 

[dmmj]

I know box turtles do, not sure about russians. what are the temps like in your area of NY? Was she around a male? or was she by herself?

 

[grogansilver]

I know box turtles do, not sure about russians. what are the temps like in your area of NY? Was she around a male? or was she by herself?

"She was raised with a male! 81 degrees low tonight 65 she got a head start on me she must have climbed out 5 hours ago I've been searching all of area ever since! The three Others were put inside, I am pissed! Break out attempt succeeded shes been trying for awhile but I didn't think she would get over that wall! She did! I even reinforced it yesterday and she still found a way!

 

[dmmj]

I am not trying to nit pick but did you have corners uncapped? they can actually climb quite high, which is why I always say cap corners, deters most escape attempts. It is possible she escaped to lay eggs. Is their enclosure inside another secure yard or does it lead to the street and such?

 

[grogansilver]

Its a complex I live in! I already put my neighbors on alert! And yeah the corners were capped off! she Always stayed by this one side trying to get out and she finally succeeded! here's the photo, i think this is how she did it! View attachment 10844

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Its a complex I live in! I already put my neighbors on alert! And yeah the corners were capped off! she Always stayed by this one side trying to get out and she finally succeeded! here's the photo, i think this is how she did it!

This was only suppose to be temporary my green house I'm having built is scheduled for next spring for them! Man thank god I didn't get my pancakes torts yet! They would of jumped that wall probably.

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Oh For get it if I would of have seen this picture earlier of a Russian tortoise climbing like this my walls to my Enclosure would of been higher! "no questions asked! Dam!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well those other 3 Russians I have there on lock Down big time! View attachment 10846

 

[paschallraschalls]

Sorry she got out. Hopefully she will show back up(where she is used to being fed) when she gets hungry!!!

 

[grogansilver]

Sorry she got out. Hopefully she will show back up(where she is used to being fed) when she gets hungry!!!

Thanks, something tells me I just might see her again! As far as her running out of food shes escaped to paradise!!! My neighbors back yard is a vegetable market he grows everything there if any thing she might show up there! I don't know.

 

[DixieParadise]

Well then the neighbors yard is the first place I would be when the sun comes up. Also check around your foundations. She might try to climb back in... Don't give up, just be a little methodical in your search. Five hours is a long time, but she may not have actually gone very far. Why don't you put one of the other tortoises out tomorrow and see which way they head. Might give you some idea...

 

[russianuncle]

Last Monday: female Russian missing. Last Wednesaday: the tort was found under melon patch near a very dense bush. When missing I raced over to help search and was searched for by 2 of us for hours and just managed to be doing it's thing under one of the dense bushes just some feet from where she disappeared - all the time!. Keep up hope-she's probably real close to home - just unseen for the moment.

 

[grogansilver]

DixieParadise you read my mind as far as using another tortoise to see which way she possibly could of went. "Good one"! "Plus of course She doesn't Realize I am a "tracker" I always have been when it came down to looking for box turtles!!!! But shes a "tortoise" they think differently!! One male got away this yeah from me and escaped! It took me 2 hours to find him and bring him back. But that's another whole story this one is a female and I Believe she might be Gravid! Which changes the whole out look and search picture for me.

 

[grogansilver]

Tell me what you think? "Well I tor down the old cage and redone it over this time i made the walls 12" high and put a lip over the edges and there's no climbing out now! Totally sealed, "no escape! Look at the pictures! and the pen is now also twice as big. as far as the female goes "no sign of her yet" Im looking but shes good!

 

[fgately]

I posted last year that one of my females also must have escaped. It would be pretty hard for a tortoise to hide for long in my backyard, so in my mind she must have gotten out. I was actually more worried that she was eaten by one of the critters that visit my backyard. I scoured my backyard, and even looked around the homes next to where we live. I was just sick about this. I was further convinced she was not hibernating because we had several days that were in the 90s, and she was still gone.

THREE MONTHS LATER it was raining really hard and I walked outsie to dump some trash. There she was climbing out of the mud under a small patch of flooded gazanias! I was absolutely shocked and amazed, but mostly happy she was there the whole time. She was right under my nose as that area I dug into as I looked for her. I rinsed her off, dried her with an old towel, and then placed her in the hibernating box out in my garage. She slept for another three months! She is my most curious and active tort, and she is a bully to the other larger female.

Don't give up hope. They are absolutely incredible at hiding, so she might be there right under your nose as well!

 

[cemmons12]

Yep, don't give up hope! I'm betting she will turn up.... sooner or later.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

I don't think the walls of your pen are high enough. They should be two feet high, without any nearby rocks or branches to allow the tortoise to climb. Ideally, they should also be dug two feet underground, because Russian are also good diggers and have been known to escape under a fence as well.

 

[grogansilver]

I've searched every where possible to the end for that tortoise, that girl is gone!!!! And as far as building sides to the Enclosure which are 24" high and 2 feet Deep which is another 24" inches down into the ground "hay" GeoTerraTestudo your more then welcome to come over any time and do it! Ill even throw you a couple bucks as a tip! I believe I've done it! My Enclosure is secure!!!! and Now Its time to bring in the pancakes!!!

 

[cemmons12]

Sorry to hear she hasnt turned up yet.......

 

[dmmj]

The rain should bring her out, it often does, and I am not being critical here but if you don't raise the heights of your walls, then keep away anything near the walls she or future tortoises may be able to climb and then escape.

 

[grogansilver]

The rain should bring her out, it often does, and I am not being critical here but if you don't raise the heights of your walls, then keep away anything near the walls she or future tortoises may be able to climb and then escape.

I think 12 inches is surficial! At the top of those 12" walls completely around is an over flap facing in! like an "L" shape upside down! They couldn't even use Ropes if they tried to climb out now! theres even a tree there in the picture i couldnt move so i worked around it! hay ive seen pictures on here where enclosures werent even half secure as i have it now! i admite i was a little sloppy with the first cage cutting corners and i paid dearly for it by loosing her.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

I've searched every where possible to the end for that tortoise, that girl is gone!!!! And as far as building sides to the Enclosure which are 24" high and 2 feet Deep which is another 24" inches down into the ground "hay" GeoTerraTestudo your more then welcome to come over any time and do it! Ill even throw you a couple bucks as a tip! I believe I've done it! My Enclosure is secure!!!! and Now Its time to bring in the pancakes!!!

Hey, I'm just saying, better safe than sorry. I hope your pancake tortoises don't try to escape; they are even better climbers than boxies and Russians.

 

[grogansilver]

Here we go, experiment! Tortoise in picture (1) " wont reach the top and even if he did which is most unlikely he would have to figure out from there the lip? Picture # (2) I doubled them up with them piggy backing each other up to get out and they still cant reach! And if they do! well its Americas gnus book of world records for tortoise escaping, plus ill even look the other way and let them walk free with out stopping them! they then earned it, their freedom!!!!