- Joined
- Sep 21, 2013
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- 11
Hi! (Sorry, this is a long post!)
I live in Wisconsin, and was very surprised a few weeks ago to find a non-native tortoise living under our deck. It took me a while to identify her, but I'm pretty sure we have an adult female Russian tortoise. Her shell is about 10 inches long. I have no idea where she came from or how she ended up under our deck!
We watched her for a couple of weeks, and she would come out in the morning to bask in the sun. Then she'd head off into the woods behind our house to forage. Around 4pm we'd see her heading back across the yard, and she'd spend the night under our deck (presumably in a burrow). She seemed to be doing pretty well for herself, but this is Wisconsin, and I was afraid she would not survive the winter. I know Russian tortoises hibernate, but she'd have to burrow 42 inches down to get below the frost line here, and our soil is mostly clay.
So, now we have a pet tortoise. My son named her Sasha. She is currently living in a 50 gallon Rubbermaid tote with a mix of sand and coir bedding. I have a heat lamp on a timer but haven't gotten a UV lamp yet. We are still having a few warm days, so I have been putting her out in my fenced garden when it's nice enough. I have raised garden beds so she can't get to all the plants, but I have seen her eating kale, dandelions, a summer squash, part of the zucchini plant, and her favorite, squash blossoms. She seems to be really attracted to yellow things. In the house I am feeding her kale, dandelions, clover, and plantain, since I can still get weeds outside.
Is there a place I can get seeds to grow some of these weeds indoors once the weather gets colder? I can keep getting her greens from the grocery store, but would like to grow some food too.
Also, she is active and eating well, but she has a cut in the side of her beak. It doesn't seem to bother her and doesn't look infected. I assume there isn't anything I need to do about that, it will eventually grow out on its own?
I live in Wisconsin, and was very surprised a few weeks ago to find a non-native tortoise living under our deck. It took me a while to identify her, but I'm pretty sure we have an adult female Russian tortoise. Her shell is about 10 inches long. I have no idea where she came from or how she ended up under our deck!
We watched her for a couple of weeks, and she would come out in the morning to bask in the sun. Then she'd head off into the woods behind our house to forage. Around 4pm we'd see her heading back across the yard, and she'd spend the night under our deck (presumably in a burrow). She seemed to be doing pretty well for herself, but this is Wisconsin, and I was afraid she would not survive the winter. I know Russian tortoises hibernate, but she'd have to burrow 42 inches down to get below the frost line here, and our soil is mostly clay.
So, now we have a pet tortoise. My son named her Sasha. She is currently living in a 50 gallon Rubbermaid tote with a mix of sand and coir bedding. I have a heat lamp on a timer but haven't gotten a UV lamp yet. We are still having a few warm days, so I have been putting her out in my fenced garden when it's nice enough. I have raised garden beds so she can't get to all the plants, but I have seen her eating kale, dandelions, a summer squash, part of the zucchini plant, and her favorite, squash blossoms. She seems to be really attracted to yellow things. In the house I am feeding her kale, dandelions, clover, and plantain, since I can still get weeds outside.
Is there a place I can get seeds to grow some of these weeds indoors once the weather gets colder? I can keep getting her greens from the grocery store, but would like to grow some food too.
Also, she is active and eating well, but she has a cut in the side of her beak. It doesn't seem to bother her and doesn't look infected. I assume there isn't anything I need to do about that, it will eventually grow out on its own?
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