Alaskan RT

[Jamberry]

I have a few questions concerning a Russian tortoise I recently took as a rescue from a man trying to drop it off at the pet store I work at. The store didn't have the accommodations necessary for even temporary housing of the tortoise, and the man said he was planning to just let him go until he heard the store takes unwanted animals, the jerk. So of course I volunteered.

Now...

Question 1: Tonight during his soak, the as of yet unnamed tortoise relieved himself, but the matter was completely white and had some visible mucus around it. I haven't seen him pass a normal bowel movement since bringing him home about a week ago, but during the soak I gave him at the store after he was brought in, he passed a considerable amount of very normal looking and smelling fecal matter. Is this something to be concerned by?

Question 2: He does a lot of slight head bobbing. Not as a precursor to some epic tortoise adventure like taking on a big salad or seeing a lady tortoise, but just a sort of constant tick. Is this a normal RT behavior?

Question 3: Are broccoli florets safe for RTs?

His living specifics are:

The pen is 48" x 22" x 18". I'm going to double this soon.

Temperature gradient: Daytime 94F basking spot, 81F cool side; Night time temperature is about 75F. I use a CHE for normal heating and a spot light for the warm end/basking spot. I also have a Repti-Sun 5.0 tube fixed about a foot above the pen floor.

Substrate is a 50:50 play sand and organic soil mix. I have a considerable about of timothy hay at each end for him to have some coverage to his burrowing, and some unfinished slate tiles under the basking light.

Also a shallow tera cotta water dish and a small cuttle bone are in the pen at the cool end.

I soak him three times a week, and I give him a salad of green leaf lettuce, red leaf lettuce, dandelion leaves and flowers, clover, and a little bit of spring mix daily. And grate a little carrot over top a few times a week, so far. I sprinkle pure calcium powder without D3 over top of his salad three times a week, and then calcium powder with D3 once a week, so far. I say "so far" because I've only had him a week, lol.

I haven't been giving him any other vitamin supplements as of yet, but I've ordered some T.N.T from Carolina Pet Supply and some of the RT seed mix that I plan on growing inside to make a "grazing pen" for him so he can get out a bit more.

I've got a check-up scheduled for him at the vet. in about a week, but those things have really been bothering me. So I'd really appreciate any input you could give me.

Thanks in advance, and sorry for the long post.

 

[Stephanie Logan]

Wow, you have certainly been reading this forum and/or doing your homework. I've been in this business of tortoise keeping only since June but after reading everything I can and following the forums, my impression is that you are to be commended for setting up a top-notch tortoise home with all the trimmings! In fact, if you get the green light from folks like Maggie and Yvonne and Robyn and Dan, I'll use your email as a quick reference to set up any new or additional enclosures for Taco.

 

[Meg90]

Skip the broccoli. Its hard to digest.

That "bobbing" is like a hiccup right? Its what they do when they are nervous, or stressed. He'll stop when he gets used to his surroundings, so that's nothing to worry about.

That white bowel movement is actually Urates--a solid form of uric acid. They pass it when they have too much in their systems. If it was NOT gritty, you are fine. Urates help tell how hydrated the tort is. If they were dry, or gritty, you would have something to worry about.

I'd ease up on the carrot. It should only be done if he refuses to eat, its a pretty sweet veggie, and sweats give them upset stomachs/runny stool.

Diet sounds pretty good--watch how much dandelion he eats though, its high is oxalic acid, and will inhibit calcium.

I would love to see some pictures of your new addition. It sounds like you are doing a great job so far. What is his SCL? (length) and weight? Also, if the tort is big enough, you can take a picture of his underbelly, focusing on the tail area, and someone here can tell you if its a boy or a girl.

Again, KUDOS to you for rescuing! You did a great thing.

 

[Crazy1]

Jamberry , Wow how does it feel to save that little RT life. As you know letting any tort go in Alaska would be a death sentence.

Question 1: He sounds as if he may need deworming- having just urates pass is not unusual. Mucus is. This can be caused by worms or parasites.

Question 2: Some torts bob as a way to breath also if they are stressed. You have only had him for a week. He is till getting use to his new home. If there is no discharge from his nose or he is not blowing bubbles out of his nose then I would think this is normal for him at this time.

Question 3: broccoli florets are not only hard as Meg said but they are in the cabbage family and if fed should not be done so more than maybe once a month or less.

RT seem to do best when their temps are between 68 F and 89.6 F. Like you said a basking spot at 94 is fine. But I would let the night time temp drop a bit lower. Your lighting and heating sound great. Just tweak the temps a bit.

If he has a uvb bulb or gets some sun daily you do not need the D3. This is easy to over dose on. Also pure calcium goes a long way and can also be over dosed on. Which could cause kidney stones etc. So I( would use just a tad of pure calcium. I love TNT. I have just started using it and it is working Great for all my torts. Careful with the hay if it gets wet it will mold quickly. You might want to try some sphagnum moss in his hide that is just slightly dampened. Also Mazuri or Zoo Med Grazing Tort blend is a good mineral supplement and I use it a couple times a week for my Greeks and DTs.

Here is a great site for RTs http://www.russiantortoise.org

You have done a stellar job on setting up your RT and should be commended for not only the set up but the wonderful job you did in saving this RT. My hats off to you. How large is your RT?
These are just my opinion and I do not raise RT. but have taken care of a few

 

[katesgoey]

Congratulations on providing a new and better home for your russian. You'll find lots of info at the site Robyn gave you. Enjoy and Welcome to the forum

 

[tortoisenerd]

Agree with the advice above! Congrats on the new addition. Looking forward to pictures. You can drop your cool area temperatures to as low as 70 in the day, and then have night temperatures 60-70. The tort will thermoregulate before they go to sleep, but once asleep, I haven't heard of them moving around. If they are in too warm of a spot, they don't get the temperature drop like they do in the wild. You could probably make it easier on yourself (and budget) and do mostly spring mix with whatever other weeds and flowers you can toss in, unless you typically buy the green and red leaf. The spring mix may even have those in it! I rotate brands and look at ingredients to get the best mix, and always get organic.

As long as the dandelion and other greens that may be higher in oxalic acid are not more of the diet than those greens that are lower (like the lettuces), then you should be fine. In the future if he gets urates again soon you can even go so far as to take a picture to get an opinion here. I think the vet check up is good regardless though (bring the tort's fecal sample for a test). I would guess that if the tort is an adult, it's probably wild caught and from a chain pet store, and so likely has parasites. Whether the parasites are visible in the urates (or poop) is another store. I hope he starts getting on a regular poop schedule, because a week is a long time to go without. How much is he eating per day? You can compare to his size, such as a pile of greens half his size or whatever. My tort can eat a pile his size for example, but this varies a lot. If he is stressed and/or not eating much, you won't see poop. Some torts also eat their poop, but this is more unusual in Russians. They do tend to poop large amounts when scared and soaked. You should be seeing poop near daily. Urine varies on water intake. Urates no more than 2-3 days a week, hopefully less, and more like toothpaste than gritty.

Any ideas on a name? Are you keeping it long term or going to try and find it a home?

 

[Weloveourtortoise]

You are doing great! Congrats on the new addition and rescueing the little guy. Would love to see pics of him/her. The only thing along with the other comments is no to the broccoli and add butternut squash - cooked but cooled in once or twice a week. The vet suggested it for our charlie last year and he loves it like crack. We get a whole one, cook then freeze the excess, taking out small amounts each week. Spring mix, collard greens and mustard greens is the usual staple and then we add kale every once in a while. We stay away from straight lettuce.
Keep up the great work.

 

[Jamberry]

Wow, lots of good replies!

I'm sorry I haven't been back to make my own reply; my internet is unreliable at best.

I wish I had a camera so I could take some pictures of him, but he's about 5 1/2". And I don't know his weight, but I'll be sure to get a record from the vet. when we go that has that on it. Maybe a friend of mine will let me borrow one of his cameras for a tortling photo shoot.

I tweaked his temperatures a little bit so that it drops to about 68F at night, and the cool side of the pen stays at about 73F during the day. He definitely enjoys his basking spot, though; as soon as daylight hits he marches on over there to wait for the light to come on. But here it gets light really early in the summer and fall, so he gives up and has breakfast since the light won't be turned on for a while. It's pretty cute how they stretch their legs and necks out to bask.

Broccoli is taken off the grocery list. For him. And I think I'll try the squash. I have several farmer's markets that are going to be selling good organic grown squash and other goodies soon.

I also found some dried up poop in his pen when I was cleaning it, which is very comforting since he doesn't seem to be into relieving himself during his soaks. I'm glad he is in fact going.

And I think I'm going to make the substrate deeper so he can burrow a little better. He digs until he hits the bottom, then keeps trying and does what I imagine to be a sigh and gives up.

Thank you for all the replies!

 

[K9KidsLove]

Hi...Congrats on your new family member. God bless you for taking him.

You might want to get extra butternut squash and pumpkin while you can to freeze for the winter. I steam it & peel it & put it in baggies to use thru the winter. The high fiber in pumpkin helps flush worms out.

As mentioned, make sure to take a fresh poop sample when you take him to the vet so he can be checked for parasites, bacteria, coccidia, etc. Is your vet a tortoise vet or just a puppy/kitty vet who will see your tortoise? The dosing for meds for torts is different from that for dogs & cats. He/She may need to consult with a specialist for the doses if he doesn't have a manual. I was a vet tech for 8 years, that is how I know this.

Where in AK do you live? My brother is in Palmer.
Good luck
Patsy

 

[Jamberry]

Hi...Congrats on your new family member. God bless you for taking him.

You might want to get extra butternut squash and pumpkin while you can to freeze for the winter. I steam it & peel it & put it in baggies to use thru the winter. The high fiber in pumpkin helps flush worms out.

As mentioned, make sure to take a fresh poop sample when you take him to the vet so he can be checked for parasites, bacteria, coccidia, etc. Is your vet a tortoise vet or just a puppy/kitty vet who will see your tortoise? The dosing for meds for torts is different from that for dogs & cats. He/She may need to consult with a specialist for the doses if he doesn't have a manual. I was a vet tech for 8 years, that is how I know this.

Where in AK do you live? My brother is in Palmer.
Good luck
Patsy

That's a good idea, freezing extra pumpkin and squash. I bought a few butternut squash, but what kind of pumpkin is okay? I know kombucha squash are considered Japanese pumpkin, and later in the season sugar pie pumpkins are around, but I'm not sure I've seen anything else..

The vet., Dr. Nicholson, specializes in herps, but is considered a general practitioner I believe. He's listed in REPTILES so I'm hoping it will be alright. I've taken several of my reptilian wards to him.

I live in Anchorage, about 45min. away from Palmer. The state fair was just out there, and I guess there was a "Rainforest House" that had a good few reptiles, including some African spurred tortoises. I really, REALLY wanted to see that...