First time tortoise owner - Russian tortoise

[chuck21570]

Hello everyone! First time tortoise owner here, and glad to have found this forum.

I have been doing a ton or research on the internet to try to learn as much as I can going into this, but always nice to speak to actual people who are taking care of their tortoise friends day in and day out to learn from their experiences.

The tortoise was primarily a birthday gift for my 6 year old son Josh. My son is autistic (highly functioning), and was in a social skills group that had a pet tortoise. He has aged out of that group, and was upset about the fact he would not get to see "Twiggles" anymore, so we decided to get him a Twiggles of his own.

Looking forward to getting to know you all.

 

[xMario]

Hello and welcome to the tortoise forum!
I wish u all the best for u and ur son and ofc for ur new family member [emoji217]

This forum is the best place to do ur research about tortoises here is a Russian care guide if u haven't already read it [emoji846]

https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/80698/

 

[chuck21570]

Hello and welcome to the tortoise forum!
I wish u all the best for u and ur son and ofc for ur new family member [emoji217]

This forum is the best place to do ur research about tortoises here is a Russian care guide if u haven't already read it [emoji846]

https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/80698/

Hi Mario. Thanks for the well wishes. I am learning quickly that this is certainly going to be a learning experience no matter how much research I have done! But I am actually looking forward to it and excited about it. With 3 young humans to take care of, you would think I wouldn't want the added stress, but I am enjoying it and looking forward to the work ahead. It is also good for my son I think, to have some responsibilities with Twiggles as well.

Thanks for the link to the care sheet. I found about 100 of them online, mostly with consistent info, but again, good to get one from people living the lifestyle.

 

[chuck21570]

Josh holding Twiggles for the first time. And yes, that is my hands underneath just in case, and yes, that is me holding Twiggles poop for the first time as he pooped in my hands right before I handed him to Josh.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome!

Who did you buy Twiggles from? Reason I ask is because he looks more like a little Greek than a Russian. But I could be mistaken.

 

[chuck21570]

Hi, and welcome!

Who did you buy Twiggles from? Reason I ask is because he looks more like a little Greek than a Russian. But I could be mistaken.

We bought him at a place called Everything Reptile, in Chadds Ford, PA. Based on a recommendation someone had made somewhere on this forum, I contacted a local exotic pets veterinarian in my area and asked for a recommendation, and that was the place they had recommended. I wanted to stay away from the whole PetSmart-ish type purchase, wanted something a little bit more "personal".

How could I find out for sure which it is? Is there a way? Since they are both Mediterranean, I guess their care is fairly comparable? I have not done a ton or research on greek, so I don't know for sure. Would be nice to confirm one way or the other though.

 

[chuck21570]

Here is another closer up picture of Twiggles if it helps in identifying if he may be a Greek and not a Russian as I was told he is.

One article I saw said a difference is 4 vs 5 toes on the forefeet. I can’t tell how many toes there are in this picture!

 

[chuck21570]

Hello Yvonne, and everyone else. Just a follow up on my intro thread.

So, based on your comment yesterday Yvonne, which had me a bit curious / nervous about which tortoise I actually had, I started googling "Russian vs greek" tortoise, and one article I read actually recommended a forum member here to ask when u are unsure of what species you have (Gary Bright), so I reached out to him, and he said I for sure had a Russian.

So, all is right with the world again! I got what I expected to have gotten. And since I was having a little fun with people regarding why I got a Russian tortoise (because Trump LOVES the Russians), I would have had to completely rescind my awful joke and come up with another witty response as to why I had gotten a Greek tortoise instead. So that is quite the relief.

 

[Sleppo]

Welcome to the forum, I am in Philadelphia too and own 2 Russians. This forum is a tremendous resource!

 

[Cheryl Hills]

Welcome to the forum

 

[Blackdog1714]

Welcome and I agree that this forum is awesome! I got every bit of tortoise knowledge and help from her. 1-Russian and 1-Leopard

 

[chuck21570]

Thanks for the welcomes everyone

Sleppo, where are you from in Philly? I grew up in Southwest philly, but now actually live out by Swarthmore. Just easier to tell everyone you are from Philly.

 

[Sleppo]

Thanks for the welcomes everyone

Sleppo, where are you from in Philly? I grew up in Southwest philly, but now actually live out by Swarthmore. Just easier to tell everyone you are from Philly.

I’m a transplant (grew up in MD) and have been here for 10 years. First 5 in South Philly, now Mt. Airy.