Tortoise Death... Advice Wanted.

[Pearly]

SOAKING: I soaked my babies daily their first year (kept inside in closed top very humid 40 gal tank), now (their 2nd year) we do it about every other day.

 

[Pearly]

SOAKING: I soaked my babies daily their first year (kept inside in closed top very humid 40 gal tank), now (their 2nd year) we do it about every other day.

T this is how i soak mine. It's a guest bathroom that we don't really use that tub. They used to freak out in small container, which members here say it's ok makes them go poo... but it was very stressful for me towatch that frenzy for 30 min every day. Then i saw a post here when someone had pics of tort in small human tub and i tried... and BINGO!!! My babies LOVE their bath timr now. I usually put some treats in there so they can hopefully associate bath with sometjing yummy. , this tub has shallow and deeper ends, once acclamated to the warm temp (i keep water 95-102F they start walking/floating really bcs they both like to go to the deep end where they have to literally stretch their necks little up to keep their nostrils above water level. Again, there is a shallow end where they can always choose to go they just seem to be enjoying the feeling of buoyancy in deeper water. I usually bring some reading to do and stay with them. Not comfortable leaving them like that unattended. if you look closer you can see that bottom 1/2 of my Tucker's body is submerged, water reaches the level of his cheek. Again, this is their choice to spend more time there

 

[crazytortoiselady]

I am so so sorry for your loss!!! Looks like you had done lots of homework, definitely more than i had before getting mine! You have gotten some great insight here, I'll just throw in one of my petpeaves: NUTRITION! It'l this same principal as feeding human babies: feed them "a rainbow of colors" every day! For me it's easy bcs i keep the RF's who are omnivorous, but I know from the grazing tort keepers on here that thete is a really WIDE VARIETY of herbivorous diet items out there you can use. Until you get the hang of it I'd get few different brands of grazing tort commercial diet pellets and add little to each feeding rotating them throughout the week. Check the ingredients on the labels, they should all have some little different things in them which maybe just enough to fill in the blanks on what's missing in their fresh greens/flowers/plants. Also stay away from commercial/park/your neighborhood loans/dandellions/weeds, bcs you don't know what's been sprayed on it, also beware of domestic roaming pet poop around as it may contain pesticide that is deadly for torts. Definitely TRY AGAIN!!!! And if you get a baby tort, we'll help with with "baby tort feeding" and all that. Get your new tort from reliable source so you get a good head start this time

First of all, your babies are so adorable, oh my goodness. What a cute little face Tucker has!!! <3
I really like the idea of feeding the commercial pellets in addition to the greens; I've never done that before but it would definitely make sense that this would help with nutrition. You're also right on the account of pesticides: I'll make sure to be careful in that area.
The bathtub is a great idea! I don't have a bathtub, but I can definitely get something bigger for bathing.
Thank you for your help!!

 

[crazytortoiselady]

May I mention a few things that I would do differently?

-Floor space for an adult russian need to be as large as possible. I recommend a minimum of 4x8'. Something that large is not practical for a lot of people, and to them I say: The animal needs what is needs. It doesn't need less space because a person has less space to offer. Now a tortoise won't drop dead if all you can do is 3x6', but bigger is better. Four 50 gallon tubs is starting to approach the right size.

-Grocery store foods should be only a last resort if you can't get better stuff. There are three main problems with grocery store greens: Low fiber, low calcium, wrong calcium to phosphorous ratio. The first one can be fixed by adding in grass, finely chopped grass hay, or Zoomed Grassland tortoise chow. The last two can be fixed by adding a calcium supplement two or three times a week and by have a cuttle bone available in the enclosure for the tortoise. If you must use grocery store greens, favor endive and escarole heavily, but use lots of other stuff for variety too. Adding some regular Mazuri to the diet will also help ensure all the nutritional needs are met. I type this up for sulcatas, but if you skip the text and scroll down a bit, there is a nice list of all sorts of good tortoise foods. http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

-Letting your tortoise roam free in the yard is a disaster waiting to happen. Ask me how I know this. Everyone thinks they are being super careful, and then it happens. Happens to everyone eventually. Make a large secure enclosure outside and let your tortoise be contained in that territory. You tortoise will become familiar with it and get very comfortable there.

-Best to soak them in a larger, taller sided tub that they can't see out of. I buy my soaking tubs at Walmart. They call them dishwashing tubs and they cost $1.82 here.

Hope these things help for next time.

Hey Tom!
Yeah, I totally understand your sizing concern. I'm gonna do everything in my power to give as much space as possible. Two fifty-gallons connected side-by-side with half-size "second floors" installed is my new plan, which should give a total area of about 4X3 PLUS 2X3, which is a total of eighteen square feet, plus secure uphill/downhill room for exercise. The tortoise I have my eye on is currently two years old. By the time they reach three years, I will hopefully be able to provide a bigger area.

Don't worry! I always have a cuttle bone in my enclosure and dust food with a calcium supplement, in addition to providing timothy hay to munch on. But that list is very helpful! Thank you!

You're probably right! I'll make some efforts in the direction of creating an outdoor enclosure once it gets warmer.

The soaking tub is a good idea. I'll get a big opaque one. Pearly's happy tortoises in the bathtub have definitely convinced me I need a bigger soaking space.

Thanks for your help!!

 

[Pearly]

First of all, your babies are so adorable, oh my goodness. What a cute little face Tucker has!!! <3
I really like the idea of feeding the commercial pellets in addition to the greens; I've never done that before but it would definitely make sense that this would help with nutrition. You're also right on the account of pesticides: I'll make sure to be careful in that area.
The bathtub is a great idea! I don't have a bathtub, but I can definitely get something bigger for bathing.
Thank you for your help!!

Just to throw in another "nugget" to consider in trying different bath container options. 1) think about how you are going to keep the water warm, because in shallow container it will be getting cool pretty quickly, and soaking time is also perfect time to warm them up pretty good I keep my water around 95-102, plus 2) the bigger the container, the harder it will be to change water in it, maintain/drain it 3) whatever you end up using, think also how you will keep the water clean, most torts in warm bath go caca like gangbusters, and as they grow, the size of their.... "products" grow with them

 

[Mr Buster]

You did everything right. The only thing that struck me is the pine wood hide. Pine and cedar are toxic to Russian Tortoises and emit fumes when heated. I have two artificial wooden hides I think are ceramic. I keep all wood out. I cannot say that the pine would be a factor, but you might want to research it. best of luck and sorry you lost your pet.

 

[TammyJ]

You did everything right. The only thing that struck me is the pine wood hide. Pine and cedar are toxic to Russian Tortoises and emit fumes when heated. I have two artificial wooden hides I think are ceramic. I keep all wood out. I cannot say that the pine would be a factor, but you might want to research it. best of luck and sorry you lost your pet.

That struck me too but I doubt it was a cause for the death, unless the hide was partly in the water or got wet somehow and the tortoise drank it. I am always pained to see how many pet shops keep their animals of any kind, (especially reptiles) in pine shavings. A friend once brought his sick baby ball python to me and I saw right away what the problem was - a cedar wood "hide" partially in the water bowl and actually discoloring the water!!! The snake survived, thankfully, but the symptoms were scary.