First tortoise and new to forum! Greek or Russian? What type of tortoise is he??

NatalieFogle2001

New Member
Joined
Oct 18, 2021
Messages
5
Location (City and/or State)
South Carolina
Hi!! My name is Natalie and I’m new to the forum, this is my first post! I am a first time owner of a pet tortoise, (adopted from petsmart last Sunday). Today is the first time I’ve seen him eat, but I’ve soaked him every other day for 25-30 min in warm water. He seems kinda lazy and sleepy most of the time. I’ve taken him outside to let him roam in the grass, always being supervised, and he is very active then. He also get little bursts of energy and will do laps around his kiddy pool. 735B6047-1780-4DC4-B7F5-9AB2FD63B5D0.jpegThe adoption papers say testudo tortoise and that’s all. I don’t know what kind of torty i have on my hands, HELP!!! I also just realized that what I though was my girl (which i was calling maple) tortoise is actually a boy!!!! Im gonna have to give him a new name i think lol. But I’m wondering if y’all could also tell me how mature he is?? 019D02DC-D41E-494F-8092-FD54E993D6DA.jpeg

He eats green onions, celery leaves and stalk, the lemon balm I’m growing, and some weeds and dandelions from the yard.
He has a nice soaking/drinking water area. His basking areas is at 95 degrees and the cooler side about 70-75. I mist his area once a day and the hygrometer said 50% last time I checked. He had a nice heating lamp with a good uncoiled bulb? I plan on getting a infrared bulb and lamp for the night time. And the substrate is natural cypress mulch.

Id love to hear anything y’all could tell me or advise me on! Thank ya!? B04DF121-2916-4FB4-9496-66BD94730721.jpeg
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
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Platinum Tortoise Club
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Messages
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Location (City and/or State)
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Congrats! You have an adult Russian. If you show us a pic of the tail and anal scutes, we can tell you the sex.

All of the CFL bulbs, any that you screw into a socket, are potential eye burners and should not be used. Not just the coil type.

You need a bit more substrate in there. Should be a good 3-4 inches deep all around. This way the tortoise can dig into it to feed safe and comfortable at night.

It sounds like you already found the right care info, but I leave this here just in case:
 

jeff kushner

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Jul 24, 2020
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You are in for a treat Nat, He's a gentle beast and in very good health too (50/50 M/F right?).

Do yourself a favor and take a look at the Care Sheets linked by Tom.....everything you wanted to know, and more! They are in every section of the forum and they are really, really well done. I suggest you listen to the advise you'll hear as dollars/space permit but safety can't wait if by chance you have a burner-bulb, he'll be happier in the dusk with it off for a couple days as it gets replaced. You can post the label from your bulb(the stuff near the bottom) and the guys will quickly tell you if you're okay or not.

You know that he's "your guy" now, right? 15-20 years from now you'll remember....lol wttc
 

NatalieFogle2001

New Member
Joined
Oct 18, 2021
Messages
5
Location (City and/or State)
South Carolina
Congrats! You have an adult Russian. If you show us a pic of the tail and anal scutes, we can tell you the sex.

All of the CFL bulbs, any that you screw into a socket, are potential eye burners and should not be used. Not just the coil type.

You need a bit more substrate in there. Should be a good 3-4 inches deep all around. This way the tortoise can dig into it to feed safe and comfortable at night.

It sounds like you already found the right care info, but I leave this here just in case:
Thank you!!! I just went and got a 50 gallon rubber made tub that I plan on making his permanent home in!!
 

NatalieFogle2001

New Member
Joined
Oct 18, 2021
Messages
5
Location (City and/or State)
South Carolina
You are in for a treat Nat, He's a gentle beast and in very good health too (50/50 M/F right?).

Do yourself a favor and take a look at the Care Sheets linked by Tom.....everything you wanted to know, and more! They are in every section of the forum and they are really, really well done. I suggest you listen to the advise you'll hear as dollars/space permit but safety can't wait if by chance you have a burner-bulb, he'll be happier in the dusk with it off for a couple days as it gets replaced. You can post the label from your bulb(the stuff near the bottom) and the guys will quickly tell you if you're okay or not.

You know that he's "your guy" now, right? 15-20 years from now you'll remember....lol wttc
I am so happy to have him! I keep telling him “well you’re stuck with me buddy because I’m not going anywhere” lol I think he is starting to be fond of me. But this is the light I have right now, but I also bought one from pet smart. The one from pet smart didn’t seem to give off enough heat. image.jpg
 

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Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
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Messages
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View attachment 334922
Also, do you think his claws are too long?
That is a boy, the claws are not too long, a 50 gallon tote is much too small for him to live in, and both of those bulbs are fine to use. They need something around 4x8 feet for when they must be indoors. Outdoors in favorable weather, go way bigger than that.
 

Jilliancornejo

New Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2021
Messages
4
Location (City and/or State)
Bend Oregon
Hi!! My name is Natalie and I’m new to the forum, this is my first post! I am a first time owner of a pet tortoise, (adopted from petsmart last Sunday). Today is the first time I’ve seen him eat, but I’ve soaked him every other day for 25-30 min in warm water. He seems kinda lazy and sleepy most of the time. I’ve taken him outside to let him roam in the grass, always being supervised, and he is very active then. He also get little bursts of energy and will do laps around his kiddy pool. View attachment 334917The adoption papers say testudo tortoise and that’s all. I don’t know what kind of torty i have on my hands, HELP!!! I also just realized that what I though was my girl (which i was calling maple) tortoise is actually a boy!!!! Im gonna have to give him a new name i think lol. But I’m wondering if y’all could also tell me how mature he is?? View attachment 334916

He eats green onions, celery leaves and stalk, the lemon balm I’m growing, and some weeds and dandelions from the yard.
He has a nice soaking/drinking water area. His basking areas is at 95 degrees and the cooler side about 70-75. I mist his area once a day and the hygrometer said 50% last time I checked. He had a nice heating lamp with a good uncoiled bulb? I plan on getting a infrared bulb and lamp for the night time. And the substrate is natural cypress mulch.

Id love to hear anything y’all could tell me or advise me on! Thank ya!? View attachment 334918
Download the Tortoise table. It will tell you what foods are safe. These guys shouldn’t eat onion or veggies- they eat mostly weeds and some greens,. Also substrate should be organic soil and coco fiber blend so you don’t get respiratory issues, splinters in eyes or nasal area as they burrow. If you are on Facebook you can join Russian Tortoise Lovers. They have all the charts and card info posted. I hope you enjoy your little guy!
 

Ddflinn

Active Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2020
Messages
89
Location (City and/or State)
SPRING VALLEY CA
I never feed mine celery or green onions. If going to store get escarole and endive, raddichio, yellow squash, romaine. weeds and succulents are easy to grow as well as hibiscus
 

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