New to this

[Theresa Evans]

I've always wanted a tortoise. I've had snakes before so I'm a little versed on reptiles. I found an ad for a male and female Russian Tortoise so I bought them. I should have done a little more research before I bought but I thought cause the male would hurt the female. When I got them home (2 days ago) I took them out of the 30 gallon aquarium he had them in and put them in my greenhouse. The floor is concrete but I put the substrate from the aquarium on the floor. It seemed they really couldn't get any traction in it. It is dark brown and has coconut fibers in it. It was dry.

One male is a different color on his legs and neck, it is a lightish green but it seems his back legs just drag behind him, but he can move them. He also sleeps a lot. Neither one has eaten since I got them. I think he just feed them a slaw mix. He said they ate before I picked them up. He didn't know he was suppose to soak them. I soaked both when I got them home. I've watched the feces. The urine is normal but the feces is runny. I don't see any worms in it.

I plan on building an outdoor enclosure for them both. I plan on buying a female but will buy one from a reputable seller. I live in southeast Texas so the temps don't get that low during the winter, we might have 4 days this year that the temp was near 32.

If any one has any suggestions or advice please let me know. Thanks in advance,

 

[JoesMum]

Hello and welcome to TFO

Unfortunately, Russians are very aggressively territorial regardless of gender. They see another tort as a rival for space and food. They are solitary and don't want company, so I they need to be kept separately. If you want to breed them then introduce them to mate and immediately separate them.

For care information, please read the following written by species experts working hard to correct the outdated information widely available on the internet and from pet stores and, sadly, from some breeders and vets too.

Beginner Mistakes
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

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

Why not to 2 keep 2 tortoises together
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...together-a-lesson-learned-the-hard-way.94114/

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Theresa and welcome to the Forum!

Are you saying you ended up with two males instead of a pair? Or is it just that you want to add another female so you'll have one male and two females? That would work outside in a large area. I have one male and three females in an appx. 35' x 16' pie shaped yard and they get along great. The grass is tall so they can't see the whole yard, and there are plenty of hiding places.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hi Theresa

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome. I'm a little confused too. Two males can not live together. One male and one female can not live together. One male with two or more females is what you want. If you have two males separate them ASAP.

 

[Stuart S.]

Hello and welcome!