Heyo....

[Eggs And Toast]

Heyo there, I have only just found you!

I am Chris, a single mum of one holy terror and lots of animals... most recently joined by a tortoise... Dino's previous owner is in intensive care and will not ever recover to a state where she can get the tortoise back...

I have been told he is a horsfield[?] russian tortoise- he is about 8-10cm long and a wee cheeky soul... he chases the cat around the room... [but sometimes he plays with her] and really loves cuddles...

He spends most of the day running around my ground floor, having great fun and goes into a vivarium[I know you guys hate these things] to sleep at night- he only goes in there for about 3-5hrs a night[I dont get much sleep].

Anyway- since it is apparent that he is now a permanent member of my household now I thought I might as well join here and find out all I can....

I am in Belfast, Northern Ireland btw.

 

[Stephanie Logan]

Welcome to the forum!

You will get loads of good advice here to help you take good care of your new charge. Be sure to check out the Species Specific section and Enclosures, which will provide you with practical information and advice for your Horsfield. Also, if you can post pictures (easy to do if you get a free Photobucket account and follow the directions shown on the Photo and Video section), there are tortoise experts on this forum who will identify the sub-species, gender and age range for your tortoise.

 

[mctlong]

Welcome Eggs and Toast!

Here's a great caresheet for Russian tortoises:
http://www.russiantortoise.org/care_sheet.htm

 

[Eggs And Toast]

Thanks... I can get pictures onto flickr and into e-mails but not onto this...

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Chris:

to the forum!!

In my opinion, tortoises should not be allowed to roam around the house on their own. There are just too many things on the floor that they can get into trouble with...hair, dust, small bits of plastic, toys, etc. Also, its not warm enough for them on the floor.

I feel that a tortoise's main habitat should be outside. Then, when the weather turns and they have to come inside, they need their own little habitat. A place where they can feel safe and get warm.

I'm so glad you found the forum! I just love the fact that we have so many members from other countries besides the U.S. Ireland! Wow!!

Yvonne

 

[Eggs And Toast]

Lol my floor is cleaned with small things in mind cos of the child and the small pets that I have[which include rodents]... my house is always at least 30 degrees celcius[i have health probs which mean I need extra heat]... He was outside earlier in the summer but the weather is too cool now for him... I am going to be moving soon within Northern Ireland... where I plan to have room for a full-blown tortoise table and one of those runs for outside.... He was kept in a fish tank until I got him, and could barely walk about- now he zooms off at a great speed- I am also researching a 'proper' reptile vet for him, because his nails seem overly long[probably cos of his previous confined home] and his shell does feel bumpy to the touch and obviously he could do with a check up... I am giving him some grated cuttlefish because I thought he might need it....

 

[Meg90]

Rodents can chew right through a tortoise's shell, and we had a member lose her russian because her son's pet rat chewed both its front legs down to the bone.

Please don't let your tortoise and your other animals mix. Dogs, cats, and rodents all pose a very big risk.

He needs a tortoise table as soon as possible. Its pretty stressful to have that much space, but none of it is specially for him. Enclosures make them feel secure, and give you the ability to control temp, humidity etc.

That bumpiness of his shell is probably pyramiding from improper care. You can't make that go away, but with time, you can reduce it by giving him a good diet, and having his enclosure be correct. Please post some pictures. You can get a free photo bucket account, and upload them to this site using the IMG link underneath the pictures on photo bucket.

 

[Weloveourtortoise]

Weclome to the forum! Please do not feel insulted when we are giving you our thoughts and tried and true practices on taking care of these little guys. We here all love tortoises and only want to ensure the torts are cared for and not in harms way by any means, even unintentional.
Please read the care sheet in one of the previous links.
I have a Russian and know how fun it is to have him out and about but I only do so when Matt or I are right with him. He is quick and likes to hide under things, the hutch, the bean bag chair and the book shelf. If we are not holding him we could loose him rather quickly.
Also Russians need a dry warm environment with bedding that they can dig into as well as the uvb light for shell growth and health. And the Russian may play nicely with the other animals at the moment but that could change any time and very quickly.
As you will see from other threads there have been a lot of very sad incidences inwhich the tortoises did not fair well from attacks by other pets.
Please post pics of your new addition. We love to see everyone's tort.

 

[Eggs And Toast]

I am not insulted- I dont let the rodents and tortoise mix, and the dog is never in when hes out and about and he throughly bullies the cat[who is also never left alone with him] He mainly follows me around, and I have a corner of the room with some substrate down[wood chippings- i used to have leopard geckos] and a log tunnel and bamboo roots for him to hide amongst....[its in a cardboard box with side down....

---

its a big box btw.....2metres long by 1metre

 

[micki]

welcome to the forum.

 

[reptylefreek]

HI!! I think you are the only one on here that I've seen from Ireland. Must be beautiful where you live. I also let my torts run around the house. I keep my house pretty warm and they have a corner in the closet to warm back up and sleep if they so choose. My baby sully has to be watched closely cuz he eats hair but I think they enjoy exploring and hanging out following me around. I know people frown upon it but everybody has their own way of doing things....lol. Hope you stick around for awhile and learn alot!

 

[terryo]

Hi and welcome! What's your name?

 

[galvinkaos]

Welcome aboard. Hope you learn alot here.

Dawna

 

[Eggs And Toast]

My name is Chris... Dino just follows me everywhere- reading the posts on here I discovered h should have a soak... so I did it and he loved it.... all nice and fresh now....

 

[K412]

Eggs and toast, too cute.
My dogs names are Beans and Toast.

 

[Crazy1]

Chris welcome to you and Dino to the forum. I am looking forward to seeing pics of Dino and hearing of his future adventure.

 

[dmmj]

Welcome I have 3 russians and I have found that old bookshelves make pretty good tort tables. Here is to your future with a russian they are great little torts.

 

[katesgoey]

Welcome to the forum. Looking forward to hearing more about "Dino".

 

[Isa]

Welcome to the forum

 

[Jacqui]

Welcome Chris!