New Russian Tortoise mom

[Hollymacd63]

So I just adopted Rosy The Russian Tortoise from my niece. Ive been doing lots of research and am going to build her a new Tortoise Table and I wanted to grow plants to plant in there for her to graze on. I live in NH, she gets outside to graze in the summer but is exclusively inside for the cold weather. Any help is appreciated. For now I am using grocery store produce, lettuce, kale, and dandelion greens, and adding some supplements a couple times a week. She loves the occasional strawberry as a treat, and peppers.

Oh I also believe after peeking under "her" shell, that "she" has been masquerading as a female.....but maybe Rosy needs a new moniker.....

Also was recommended to use some Mazuri Tortoise food. thoughts on that?

And lastly I need to find a good vet for Russians. How do you research for a good vet for a tortoise???

Thanks for the advice in advance.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Hello and welcome to the forum from South Florida
As far as vets go. Very few truly understand tortoises. But even fewer will admit that. Many of them cause harm to your animal as they "learn" through experiments on them using outdated books as a guide.
Please research your vet ahead of time. And avoid one altogether if your tortoise seems healthy.
Mazuri 5M21 is the most widely used. But Mazuri LS is more easily found. Either can be part of a diet.
Give this a read and I'm sure a Russian owning member will be along soon

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Hollymacd63]

Hello and welcome to the forum from South Florida
As far as vets go. Very few truly understand tortoises. But even fewer will admit that. Many of them cause harm to your animal as they "learn" through experiments on them using outdated books as a guide.
Please research your vet ahead of time. And avoid one altogether if your tortoise seems healthy.
Mazuri 5M21 is the most widely used. But Mazuri LS is more easily found. Either can be part of a diet.
Give this a read and I'm sure a Russian owning member will be along soon

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

I did read this! thank you for the info

 

[Tom]

So I just adopted Rosy The Russian Tortoise from my niece. Ive been doing lots of research and am going to build her a new Tortoise Table and I wanted to grow plants to plant in there for her to graze on. I live in NH, she gets outside to graze in the summer but is exclusively inside for the cold weather. Any help is appreciated. For now I am using grocery store produce, lettuce, kale, and dandelion greens, and adding some supplements a couple times a week. She loves the occasional strawberry as a treat, and peppers.

Oh I also believe after peeking under "her" shell, that "she" has been masquerading as a female.....but maybe Rosy needs a new moniker.....

Also was recommended to use some Mazuri Tortoise food. thoughts on that?

And lastly I need to find a good vet for Russians. How do you research for a good vet for a tortoise???

Thanks for the advice in advance.

View attachment 364512View attachment 364513

Yeah... Roșie looks like more of a Ron, or Rodrigo, or Ritch... That's a male tail. Just FYI, Russian males do not get the typical concave plastron that most males of other species get. This has confused some people over the years.

I would recommend skipping the strawberries. Sugary fruits are not good for their GI tract.

An outdoor enclosure for summer grazing would be hugely beneficial. Just be aware that they are escape artists, so build accordingly. Never let the tortoise free roam. No matter how carefully you intend to supervise, you will lose your tortoise this way eventually. Ask me how I know this...

Good advice from ZP on the vet question. I agree with him.

Questions and conversation are welcome. Glad you found us!

 

[TammyJ]

A warm welcome to you and Robert 😁

 

[Hollymacd63]

Yeah... Roșie looks like more of a Ron, or Rodrigo, or Ritch... That's a male tail. Just FYI, Russian males do not get the typical concave plastron that most males of other species get. This has confused some people over the years.

I would recommend skipping the strawberries. Sugary fruits are not good for their GI tract.

An outdoor enclosure for summer grazing would be hugely beneficial. Just be aware that they are escape artists, so build accordingly. Never let the tortoise free roam. No matter how carefully you intend to supervise, you will lose your tortoise this way eventually. Ask me how I know this...

Good advice from ZP on the vet question. I agree with him.

Questions and conversation are welcome. Glad you found us!

Thank you so much

 

[Yvonne G]

welcome!!

Regarding the name . . . they don't come any more masculine than Rosie Grier!

 

[zolasmum]

How about Ambrose ?