Hi everyone!
I'm not yet a tortoise owner, but it's happening this week!
I've got sort of long story of how the little guy (?) is coming to live with me:
My neighbor recently found a tortoise at a city park (Seattle, WA, USA) very near our homes. He actually thought it was a species of turtle (the park has a large red eared slider population) and took it to the zoo for identification purposes.
At the zoo he was told that is was most likely a Russian tortoise and that it was likely an abandoned pet, but my neighbor is uninterested in making a permanent home for the tortoise. Which is where I come in.
I have a vet appointment set up for Thursday so that I can get a positive species ID, gender ID, and general health check up. I'm also hoping to pick the vet's brain for a local reptile store or local owners that might be interested in giving regional specific advice. Since Saturday I've been up to my ears in researching housing options, food requirements, heat lamps, uvb light bulbs, substrate varieties...
In the short term, this tortoise will need to live in the house. At least until my husband and I have a chance to build an appropriate outdoor pen. (And go through the garden plant by plant to make sure everything is tortoise-safe).
I will post an update/proper tortoise intro after our appointment on Thursday.
I'm not yet a tortoise owner, but it's happening this week!
I've got sort of long story of how the little guy (?) is coming to live with me:
My neighbor recently found a tortoise at a city park (Seattle, WA, USA) very near our homes. He actually thought it was a species of turtle (the park has a large red eared slider population) and took it to the zoo for identification purposes.
At the zoo he was told that is was most likely a Russian tortoise and that it was likely an abandoned pet, but my neighbor is uninterested in making a permanent home for the tortoise. Which is where I come in.
I have a vet appointment set up for Thursday so that I can get a positive species ID, gender ID, and general health check up. I'm also hoping to pick the vet's brain for a local reptile store or local owners that might be interested in giving regional specific advice. Since Saturday I've been up to my ears in researching housing options, food requirements, heat lamps, uvb light bulbs, substrate varieties...
In the short term, this tortoise will need to live in the house. At least until my husband and I have a chance to build an appropriate outdoor pen. (And go through the garden plant by plant to make sure everything is tortoise-safe).
I will post an update/proper tortoise intro after our appointment on Thursday.