First Time Russian Tortoise Owner and I Need Help

[Jaz4444444]

Hi! My family has just gotten our first Tortoise as a family pet.

Some Background Info: Before our tortoise the pets we had in our house were a few fish and our two parakeets which we still currently have. I have never had any experience with any reptiles or anything and my brother was the one to actually ask my dad for a tortoise as a reward for passing an acceleration exam to skip a grade for math. As soon as I heard my dad promise to get the tortoise, I knew my mom and I would have to be the primary caretakers for the animal as my dad and brother don't really take part in the care of the animals(my brother is only 11 years old). I began researching and realized how expensive tortoises were and how much time went into actually taking care of a tortoise and tried to warn my dad, but he kind of brushed me off. One day after I had just completed a big standardized test and was really exhausted, my dad said we were going to a reptile store(which I had to find since my brother and dad did not really know how to search for or take care of any pets) since my brother had passed his acceleration exam. We got there and spotted some Russian Tortoises and according to my research Russian Tortoises hibernated, and I knew that was something that would be very difficult for us as we had no experience with something like that, but as the Russian was the cheapest tortoise there, my dad decided to get that one. I tried to argue against it as I knew I would be the primary caretaker and wasn't comfortable with a tortoise that would hibernate, but my brother kept saying that the Russian tortoise was the one he wanted. I was at this point, pretty mentally exhausted as I had just gone through a 5 hour standardized test and so I went to go ask the clerks about Russian Tortoises and how to take care of them. The people at this store were very nice and talked me through the care taking process, but there were a few things they didn't mention which I would later find out after researching Russian tortoises a little more. So we bought the tortoise and set up it enclosure which I soon found out was too small and left it alone for a week.

The Present: We have currently had our tortoise for about 3 weeks(his name is Sri) and surprisingly my brother has been helping out a little more than I thought, by changing the tortoises water dish everyday and turning on the lights every morning at 8am and turning them off at 8 pm. I have finally convinced my dad that the tortoise needs a bigger enclosure and he has started searching for some wood he can use to build the enclosure (if anyone has any recommendations for wood that we should use please reply). I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for brands of hides for Russian tortoises, how I could provide enrichment for the tortoise, and how I can maintain humidity levels for the tortoise. Currently his enclosure has some rocks that he can use to shorten his nails, his food and water bowls, a makeshift hide, some reptibark for the bedding, and one of our birds cuttlebones for calcium(since I heard that tortoises need a source of calcium). I also take the tortoise outside into our backyard everyday at 4:00 pm to just exercise and eat any weeds that he might want to eat at the time. After that I also soak him in some warm water for 10-15 minutes everyday, although he doesn't seem to really enjoy soaking. I was wondering if there was anything else I needed to do for him since I want him to have the best possible life that I can possibly provide him.



These are some pictures of our tortoise(sorry if they're kind of blurry, he was zooming around the carpet when I took them). I was wondering if anyone could tell how old he was since the reptile store didn't really tell us how old he was.

 

[Golden Greek Tortoise 567]

Welcome! How large is he? If he’s from the pet store he’s likely 10-15 yrs old. Russian Tortoises don’t have to hibernate if you don’t want them too. I hope you understand that pet stores give old outdated info and this species requires at least 8ft by 4ft if space.

It’s not recommended to let a tort roam around the house because 1. It is too cold for them 2. They realize there‘s a bigger world out there and want to escape the enclosure and 3. Because they can eat something and get hurt. Please read this care sheet carefully, it will explain most of your questions.

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

www.tortoiseforum.org

 

[Blackdog1714]

Good thing you were mentally preoccupied at the reptile store or your head would have got filled with nonsense. Also Russians do not have to be bruminated as long as you maintain the heat and light! As far as hides just go simple- flower pot upside down, small plastic tote, etc. just cut a semicircle (like a bite) out of one side to creAte an opening. Welcome and good luck from a fellow Russian owner. Also as for enrichment add new weeds daily to eat!

 

[Jaz4444444]

Thank you so much for replying! The care sheet was very informative and I realized that we were doing a few things wrong. I also wanted to ask for clarification on something. Is it ok if we take our tortoise out into the backyard so he can graze on the weeds there or would that not be ok?

 

[Blackdog1714]

Thank you so much for replying! The care sheet was very informative and I realized that we were doing a few things wrong. I also wanted to ask for clarification on something. Is it ok if we take our tortoise out into the backyard so he can graze on the weeds there or would that not be ok?

That is fine but you should have a safe enclosure for them to go into. It is amazing how fast their are when you divert your attention for just a moment! Way too many thread on lost tortoises where they just turned away for a second! This way you can ensure shade/light needs and have a soaking dish cause some like too

 

[KarenSoCal]

When letting him eat weeds, just be certain that no lawn chemicals, weed killer, or bug killer has been used on them. Don't collect weeds or flowers from parks or any other public places for that reason. Be sure you can positively identify any plant you feed him. There are lots of plants he can have, but also lots that are toxic.

Here's a very loooong list of things they can eat.

Compiled by Tom:
Good foods for tortoises are "chicories," types of lettuce that are likely to be on the far side of the more common floppy green heads of lettuce most people buy. Anything labeled as simply "chicory" is good, as are radiccio, frisee, escarole, and endive; you might even find something labeled as dandelions. You may find a bag of "Spring" or "Spicy" mix that is good, just check the label to be sure it has some of the chicories I just mentioned. The leaves (just the leaves) of turnips and radishes are also good, as are carrot tops. Collards, mustard greens, bok choy, and other dark, leafy greens are okay as well. If you have any kind of Mexican/hispanic market near you, they will sell cactus, labeled "nopales." Cactus is a great food to rotate in the diet, as it is high in calcium.



You don't need to feed all of these at one time, just make sure your tortoise is getting access to different types of food. As you get more experienced, you can find the better types of food listed on the care sheets.


Here are a whole bunch of non-grocery store suggestions.


Mulberry leaves
Grape vine leaves
Hibiscus leaves
African hibiscus leaves
Blue hibiscus leaves
Rose of Sharon leaves
Rose leaves
Geraniums
Gazanias
Nasturtium
Lavatera
Pansies
Petunias
Hostas
Honeysuckle
Cape honeysuckle
Leaves and blooms from any squash plant, like pumpkin, cucumber, summer squash, etc...
Young spineless opuntia cactus pads


Weeds:


There are soooooooo many...
Dandelion
Mallow
Filaree
Smooth Sow thistle
Prickly Sow thistle
Milk thistle
Goat head weed
Cats ear
Nettles
Trefoil
Wild onion
Wild mustard
Wild Garlic
Clovers
Broadleaf plantain
Narrow leaf plantain
Chick weed
Hawksbit
Hensbit
Hawksbeard


Other good stuff:

Category: Organic sourced diet items

kapidolofarms.com

"Testudo Seed Mix" from http://www.tortoisesupply.com/SeedMixes


Pasture mixes or other seeds from http://www.groworganic.com/seeds.html


Homegrown alfalfa


Mazuri Tortoise Chow


ZooMed Grassland Tortoise Food


Ones that you can buy in every store:
Arugula
Lambs lettuce
Chicory
Kale
Mustard greens
Organic kohlrabi leafs
Organic carrot leafs
Organic radish leafs
Dandelions
Radiccio


Their main diet should be broad leaf weeds, succulents and grasses. Store bought foods are okay, but not the best. Collards and dandelions are a good food, but neither should be used every day. Check out the plant ID section for lots of ideas on weeds to feed. You can get spineless opuntia cactus pads from most Mexican grocery stores, or grow them yourself. You can also easily grow grape leaves, african hibiscus, regular hibiscus (if it will survive in your area), and mulberry leaves. You can try red apple, ice plant, and jade plant too. Also look into Gazania, pansies, nasturtiums, carnations, geraniums and many others. At the grocery store, favor endive and escarole, but also use cilantro, carrot tops, mustard and turnip greens, bok choy, radiccio, swiss chard, watercress, parsley, all the lettuces, etc. Lots of variety is best. There are also tortoise "weed" seed mixes that you can grow. I like the "Testudo Mix" from Tortoisesupply.com.
Buckwheat; cactus; vetch; Mohave aster; creosote bush; desert four o’clock; tacoma stans; bladderpod; globe mallow; goldenhead; burro weed; so many things!

 

[TortoiseWarrior]

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