Frustrated and afraid

[carnivorouszoo]

I just got off the phone with the guy I am getting Talison from tomorrow. I wanted to jump through the phone and beat him with the materials I've read on russian tortoise diet. He's been feeding him romaine and defrosted, frozen mixed veggetables! I was never able to get photos but now I'm afraid he'll be in poor health. No way I'm passing on him. I'm just gonna have to hope he's ok because if he's not it will be difficult to not hurt this guy. Honestly he sounded stoned on the phone All I can think is he's going so cheap because he's sick. . .I will NOT be feeding him that diet or should I start feeding that and slowly introduce new better for him foods? My vet will probably be seeing me quite a bit before new years. Soon as I have him home tomorrow I will weigh, measure bathe and get pictures to share.

 

[dmmj]

vegetables and lettuce aren't bad, they are just not the best choice. If he has been fed a diet heavy on vegetables and lettuce, it is possible he has now suffered any damage/ill effects, just get him eating better foods and there should be no worries.

 

[Neltharion]

If he was getting that frozen vegetable medley of peas, corn, and carrots; its not bad for the tortoise in small amounts, but its not a good choice either. Unfortunately, if thats all the tort was getting was romaine and frozen vegetables, then he was getting an incomplete diet. Also if he was getting a lot of peas and beans, the phytic acid interferes with calcium uptake.

I'd be more curious to find out how well hydrated the tort is, has it been given UV exposure, was the diet he was on supplemented with calcium or anything else?

 

[carnivorouszoo]

The guy said he's never taken him to a vet, has no idea how old he is, and did not know what uvb was Just that he is kept on whatever "pet bedding" was on sale and had a heat lamp. This diet is all he ever been fed while he had him and he could not recall how long he's had him. I'll be able to show him to you guys as soon as I get him home. Luckily I pickedup cuttle bone and have powdered calcium on hand. My UVB is setup and ready to go.

 

[Baoh]

I would wait to see the condition of the tortoise before getting too agitated.

 

[Shelly]

vegetables and lettuce aren't bad,

I adopted a DT that was fed mostly frozen veggies for 15 years, and he was a beast. Not saying I recommend it by any stretch, but there are worse diets, for sure.

 

[Jacqui]

Want my guess? The guy got hm as an adult, so the damage of anything he has lacked will be minimal. Remember these guys can be tough and do amazing things to survive. I will bet he has long claws and a long beak and that will be the worse things. While romaine is not the greatest, it is also a good thing to get moisture into the tortoise, if he has been denied water, so it does have a major plus feature to it along with a little food value. His diet is better then straight iceburg, so count every blessing.

I know it's hard and frustrating to wait. I know your worrying over every little thing that could be wrong or any slight this creature has had to endure. However, I have found, when you go looking for trouble it normally finds you. Keep a positive outlook. You have done your homework and so you should know all the bad things that could happen, don't dwell on them, just acknowledge and prepare for them. Then think only good and positive thoughts.

It will be fine, relax. *hugs*

 

[carnivorouszoo]

Yeah, I'm ok, it'll be ok, there as just something about the ay he sounded over the phone that worries me. Last time I got a critter from someone who sounded like this it was a ferret given for free. She said it was a rare hairless (big red flag there is no such thing), ate dog food(big no-no) and was perfectly healthy. Not close. I got to him too late to save him but he lived about 6 months before passing away, my vet wanted to put him down just because of how much was wrong, but since he showed no signs of pain I tried. Vet gave him days to weeks. So, while I hope thi guy is ok, I'm prepared to work hard to help him if he's not.

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I don't think he got him as an adult because he said he had grown alot since he got him but he did not know how old he was or exactly how long he's had him "cause only people have birthdays" (his words). Once Talison (never even named in his old home) is here I will forget about his old home and focus on giving proper care for him in the here and now.

 

[paschallraschalls]

How did it all turn out?

 

[lynnedit]

Yes, how did it go? I have a male RT who live in a fish aquarium (sketchy UV), reptile bark (dry) and ate canned green beans and romaine lettuce for at least 3 years.
Had to get his beak trimmed... but he is amazing; active for 13 hours per day, eats like a pig, shell looks pretty good.
I don't get it, but there you are.
Hope it all went OK!!!!

 

[tortoises101]

Russians are tough torts. Not saying that this type of living condition is ideal (it's far from recommended), but I would ask the seller to snap some pics of the tortoise and the habitat before jumping to conclusions.

 

[carnivorouszoo]

Russians are tough torts. Not saying that this type of living condition is ideal (it's far from recommended), but I would ask the seller to snap some pics of the tortoise and the habitat before jumping to conclusions.

He wouldn't give me photos so I saved Talison and hoped for the best. He was underweight, dehydrated, pale (darkened under the UVB-former home gave no UVB), with fairly bad shell rot. My conclusions did not come close. Talison is now much better. His shell is healing, he fills out his shell with no difficulty going back in when he needs/wants to, and has a hefty appetite. I find myself limiting his food even though he still eats as though never fed before on a regular schedule. The guy did not even give me the tortoise he promised. Instead of the 5-6 year old 5-6 inch male I got the beat up, sickly, 2 year old 4.5 inch male. I feel so afraid for the bearded dragons the guy bragged about having as they need UVB as badly if not more so than this poor tort. I love my Talison though and thank goodness that I was able to get him.

Now Talison is active, gets along with my cat who was also abused before we got him, and comes to me for food I wish he came to me for attention but meh, he's a tort not a cat and I get that LOL!

 

[Momof4]

Great update! Are there pics of him yet? Maybe before and after. I love happy endings.

 

[lynnedit]

Good for you! That sounds like a frustrating experience. But you turned lemons into lemonade...

 

[carnivorouszoo]

I have pics from when I got him and will get new pics in the am, right now he's dug in for the night. I adore how he digs and lounges and climbs! I hope the difference in his plastern (is that spelled correctly?) shows in the photos. The patch on his back seems to be having troubles but the fungus has not returned. Will send photos and a description to my vet to see what he thinks.

 

[cemmons12]

I have pics from when I got him and will get new pics in the am, right now he's dug in for the night. I adore how he digs and lounges and climbs! I hope the difference in his plastern (is that spelled correctly?) shows in the photos. The patch on his back seems to be having troubles but the fungus has not returned. Will send photos and a description to my vet to see what he thinks.

Well all I can say is I am glad u saved this tort! Good job!!