Russian Travel Stress

[TortsMaGoats]

Greetings!

I am a high school science teacher and have a Russian tortoise for my classroom. I care very much about his health and well being. He seems to do fine in his tub - the students are good about not touching him and the noise levels in my room aren't out of hand.

My question: is it better for him stress-wise to leave him at the school over weekends, or should I set up a similar habitat at home and have him commute with me on the weekends? I would feel more comfortable having him with me, but I don't want to freak him out either. He is spending the summer with me right now, but I would like advice on what to do for the next school year.

Thanks!

 

[mini_max]

Tough call! You can probably find ways to keep him fed for two days if he stays at school, and just make sure his home has no flip hazards.

I don't think taking him home is necessarily bad once and while. Especially if he lives with you all summer - the place won't be totally foreign. However, in and out of the cold in winter.....his health might inevitably be compromised.

 

[Yvonne G]

I would bring him home. If you set up his enclosure at home like the one at school it shouldn't be too stressful on him. At any rate, he'll soon get used to the back and forth and it won't bother him.

Also, the lights and heat/air conditioning at school might not be on over the week-end.

 

[WillTort2]

Russians can adapt very well in most cases, but each tortoise is different. When I go on vacation, I take my 5 Russians and put them in an unused room at my workplace. It's about a 30 minute drive and I find the best ways to pack them for travel varies from tort to tort. The more timid Russians I put in shoe boxes and place the lid on. The more curious ones I put in their soaking tub with about 2" of substrate in the bottom.

I think your biggest question might be the temperature swings and can you have a timer turn on the basking light over the weekend if the tort is left at the school. If the heat is off on the weekends at the school and the temperatures drop below 40 degrees outdoors then I would not leave the Russian at the school.

Try both and see how your tortoise handles each situation.

 

[mini_max]

I could swear my tortoise actually likes car rides.

 

[TortsMaGoats]

I have his UV light and basking lamp on a timer. When I've gotten in on Monday mornings, before the lamps come on, the temperature is usually around 65F. However, I got him this April and I don't know how cold it gets in the room over the winter months.

How do I know what will be a tipping hazard? He often likes to pretend he can climb the walls of the tub, is that a hazard? I also have a half-log in there as a hidey-hole, could that be a hazard as well?

 

[mini_max]

My tortoise went through a phase of walking off the edge of things and would sometimes land on his back. I don't think the log would be a problem...depends on the tortoise I guess. You could always sink it in a bit, and hollow underneath a bit just to be safe. Some water dishes have too high and too vertical of a lip and can also cause them to flip. A terra cotta plant saucer is a safe choice. I think wall climbing will be ok . Or he should at least be skilled enough at it by the end of summer that it won't be a problem.

 

[Butterflea]

I could swear my tortoise actually likes car rides.

I've often thought the same thing with Nozzy, I don't put a lid on him anymore during car travel as it seems to distress him, he's a lot calm with the lid off, sat in a container on someones knee.

When I first got Nozzy, taking him to my mothers was an hours car journey and he coped well, but the change of enclosure used to make him 'sulk' for a couple of days, and then he was fine. He was same on the return journey home. I only take him with me now if I will be away for more than a couple of days and there's no one in to care for him. When I leave him, my other half or mother in law will check on him and feed him.

I don't know how I'd feel... I'd want him with me, but at the same time if he gets stressed etc it might not be worth it. If it's just for the weekend I'd be tempted to just make sure his enclosure was as safe as possible and that he was fed. And then just make the journey home for the holidays. Unless you give it a go and see how he acts, he might not mind! I imagine if he spends his days in a classroom full of children, he's a pretty hardly little thing!

 

[mini_max]

I agree. I still think regular in and out in sub zero temps isn't going to be a good thing.

 

[GotTort]

If you decide to leave him over the weekends you could get a camera such as a dropcam. This would allow you to remotely monitor him and intervene on the off chance he flipped over and couldn't right himself. This is assuming there is wifi at the school that u can connect the camera to.