Introducing My Loves: Chiquis & Chikorita

Chiquis&Chikarita_4ever

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Feb 26, 2017
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Nothern California, US
Hello everyone,

My name is Angelica and I am the proud mother of two Russian Tortoises. One of them is named Chiquis and from what I can tell he seems to be a male. He has been with me and my family for almost three years. We adopted him when he was around three years old, so we believe he is around six years old. Speaking of Chiquis, may I just add that his birthday is coming up this April? I am very excited about this because it marks the third year since I've met this wonderful little guy.

File_000.jpeg

Plus it is also the first year that Chikorita, our second Russian tortoise, will be joining him for his birthday. We actually just got Chikorita last month and at first it was a bit crazy, but things have been getting better. At first we were apprehensive about adopting her because taking care of Chiquis is already a lot of responsibility and on top of that Chikorita seems to be a female so we were worried about how Chiquis would react. He surprise us though and behaves like a total gentleman around her except for that fact that he enjoys sleeping on her as you can see below:

Chiquis and Chikarita2 (2).jpeg

We are still getting to know my second child, but what I do know is that she is younger and a lot more feistier than Chiquis. We are guessing that she is around four years old which is younger than Chiquis, yet she is almost as big as him. I have done my research though, and I know that she will eventually surpass my Chiquis' size. Although she is feistier than Chiquis, I have to admit that I enjoy the personality contrast. It helps remind me that everyone is different and that I should not make the same assumptions for both of my children.

File_000(2).jpeg

I hope that you guys have enjoyed my introduction and that you will welcome my babies with open arms. Thanks!
 

JoesMum

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Hello and welcome to you and your lovely torts :)

Can I suggest you read the TFO care guides for this species? The wood shavings suggest they're being raised very dry which is an indicator that you have outdated care information for them

Beginner Mistakes (I know you're not, but it's a useful summary :) )
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Russian Tortoise Care
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

Why not to keep two tortoises together
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...together-a-lesson-learned-the-hard-way.94114/
 

SarahChelonoidis

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Beautiful Russians. I'm curious how you've estimated their ages - I would have assumed both were a fair bit older than that.

You may not like the advice you are going to hear on this forum, but I think it's really important. Most species of tortoise do very poorly kept as a pair - Russians are one of the absolute worst to house as a pair. You have a very territorial species of tortoise, and it is just a matter of time before you notice the consequences (the head resting, while looks sweet to us mammals, is a sign of tortoise dominance - it isn't a good sign). Females fair particularly poorly in these housing situations. I recommend reading the already existing threads on housing Russians as pairs - a lot of keepers have done what you have and you can read their experiences. I'd also recommend getting started on a second enclosure asap.

Welcome to the forum. There is a great wealth of experience to draw from here that will help you improve your tortoises' quality of life.
 

Tidgy's Dad

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Hello, Angelica, and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum to you, Chiquis and Chikorita. :)
The care sheets linked are invaluable, and i'm afraid that i agree, these tortoises need to be separated, or stress, physical injury or even death will occur.
Russian tortoises are particulalrly territorial and aggressive they neither want nor need company or friends, they are happiest alone.
 

Yvonne G

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Welcome to the Forum, Angelica!

Both of your tortoises are much older than you've estimated. They are full grown. They might have a bit more growing to do, especially the female, but the are mature tortoises.
 

Chiquis&Chikarita_4ever

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Hi guys,

Thanks for your for your responses. I'm sorry that my response is so late, but I became a little busy and kept forgetting to log on. The ages I wrote down were what my past vet had told me, but after researching more I have realized that they are much older. I was trying to house them together because I kept thinking that Chiquis felt lonely and because Chiquis seem more active once Chikorita arrived. Although, I did have a plan for separating them if needed. In the end, they didn't last very long together since I noticed that the female was biting the male. This was unexpectant to me, but once I separated them I did notice improvements. As for the substrate, I have tried many different ones. Aspen was one of them because I thought it could retain heat well. I live in northern California where it's humid and cold, so I worry a lot about them getting sick. I have recently bought coconut husk since I've read that many people favor it. I've also been really interested in microclimate and have recently begun a garden for my tortoises.
 

wellington

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Hello and Welcome. So glad too see you are observing and taking advice gracefully. Many newbies don't and it's very sad for their tortoises. Everyone here just wants the best for your tortouses, so you can have them for a healthy long time.
 

Maro2Bear

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Hi guys,

Thanks for your for your responses. I'm sorry that my response is so late, but I became a little busy and kept forgetting to log on. The ages I wrote down were what my past vet had told me, but after researching more I have realized that they are much older. I was trying to house them together because I kept thinking that Chiquis felt lonely and because Chiquis seem more active once Chikorita arrived. Although, I did have a plan for separating them if needed. In the end, they didn't last very long together since I noticed that the female was biting the male. This was unexpectant to me, but once I separated them I did notice improvements. As for the substrate, I have tried many different ones. Aspen was one of them because I thought it could retain heat well. I live in northern California where it's humid and cold, so I worry a lot about them getting sick. I have recently bought coconut husk since I've read that many people favor it. I've also been really interested in microclimate and have recently begun a garden for my tortoises.

Good update... I’m sure both of your torts are much happier!
 
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