Am I healthy

[Dreamwallaby]

Little background : I purchased this russian from petsmart Aug. 2011. I have not been keeping him in he best conditions due to misinformation from another site. I have upgraded his living quarters but want to see how his overall health appears at this time. How old he might be, are petsmart's wild caught or CB? He eats organic spring mix and I planted hostas in his outdoor pen.
Thanks in advance
Stacy

 

[Utah Lynn]

Looks good to me.

 

[Tom]

He/she looks fine. Chain stores are usually selling wild caught or "farm raised" tortoises from the country of origin. No way to tell the age. Most likely a few years old.

Work on more dietary variety. Broadleaf weeds. Grape vines. Mulberry leaves. Spineless opuntia cactus. Rose and hibiscus leaves and flowers. You can order Russian tortoise mix from one of our site sponsors too. Click on Carolina pet supply at the top of this page. Or do a search for for tortoisesupply.com.

 

[Talka]

He's old, definitely over 5, I'd say at least 10? Fully grown and impossible to tell.

 

[Dreamwallaby]

Is that guess from the rings?

 

[JoesMum]

Torts aren't trees. You can't tell their age from rings

You can have a guess based on size, but as they all grow at different rates, especially wild caught, that's all it is... a guess

 

[dmmj]

Looks good, petco/petsmart russians are 100% WC. When trying to guess age the main thing to remember is that torotise in the wild grow sower because they have less access to food. In captivity they will grow faster, so any type of shell ring counting is useless. Once they reach full size, a 20 year old russian basically looks the same as a 50 year old one.

 

[Talka]

Is that guess from the rings?

More of a guess from the general look. Older Russians have more visible stains on the skin (young, captive-bred Russians have flawless skin, for a tortoise anyway). My Sheldon must be pretty old since there's a distinct change in color in his legs past the knees right where they tuck into the shell. The fold that forms on his neck when he tucks his head in is pretty much permanently marked - he has little wrinkles going all the way around. The shell looks more damaged the older they get, etc. He doesn't look like a youngster but past 10 years old it's really impossible to say.

 

[jeffbens0n]

I can't quite see the tail but based on the overall shape of the tortoise i'm guessing you have a female there. Could you post a better picture of the tail?

 

[Kerryann]

Looks good, petco/petsmart russians are 100% WC. When trying to guess age the main thing to remember is that torotise in the wild grow sower because they have less access to food. In captivity they will grow faster, so any type of shell ring counting is useless. Once they reach full size, a 20 year old russian basically looks the same as a 50 year old one.

The petsmart here actually gets their russians from a local breeder. They gave me the breeder information when I quizzed them. I dont know if they manage their stores individually but they seemed sincere to me??

 

[Dreamwallaby]

JeffbensOn- I can not get this tortoise to hang that tail out, but it is large and gave me the impression it was a male but I am def. no expert. If I ever manage a tail shot I'll definitely post it.

 

[jeffbens0n]

JeffbensOn- I can not get this tortoise to hang that tail out, but it is large and gave me the impression it was a male but I am def. no expert. If I ever manage a tail shot I'll definitely post it.

No you may be right, if the tail is large and held to the side it is likely a male, just the shape of the carapace and fact that I couldn't see a tail in the pic made me think female.

 

[GBtortoises]

The tortoise looks fine. The Russian tortoises being sold on chain stores and several online vendors are 100% wild caught.