Garrett, the rescued Russian tortoise

[Tortugatron]

Introducing Garrett, the rescued Russian tortoise.

I found Garrett in an ad on Craigslist advertising a Russian tortoise with his cage and accessories for dirt cheap, which was a red flag for a sick tortoise. In my experience, when someone has taken proper care of an animal and invested time and money into it, they know what they are "worth", and charge rehoming fees accordingly. That, or they go to good homes for free. More often than not, a cheap price is indicative of an animal that is no longer wanted, and that rarely happens overnight. In these cases, unfortunately, often the animal's condition reflects the owner's declining interest. This particular owner's interest had been declining for six years.

I contacted the owner, asked enough questions to confirm my suspicions, and reserved my place to come see the tortoise and we went this morning to pick it up.

This is how we got him.



He lived in this cage since he was purchased six years ago with his owner in Seattle, Washington. He has never had a UV bulb or been outside, and has only ever been fed iceberg lettuce.

I'm not sure of the gallon capacity of his tank, but here's his cage next to my foot (size 9) for size reference.



When we took him home and inspected him closer, we saw that his substrate was moldy and compacted, and he had a typical case of doo-doo-shell, so our first course of action was a warm bath.

Here are some before and after.



And the doo-doo cake.



Here he is enjoying (hating) probably his first bath ever.



After a good scrubbing (and I mean GOOD scrubbing) he was like a shiny new tort.


(I can tell he really likes it when I do that on account of the way he flails his arms like he's having fun)

I built him a very quick little barrier that I could put him in and watch him as he got accustomed to the front yard, and to our delight after a few laps he started eating the grass! At first he seemed afraid of it and wasn't sure how to walk on it, but eventually he came around.




He liked it so much he was trying reeeeally hard to get out so he could come thank me.



All things considered, he seems to be a hopeful case for a strong recovery. He's ready eating and he's very very active and inquisitive, and he's FAST. Reeeeeaally fast.

Initially when I asked for pictures of the tortoise from the owner I got this and his shell looked strange to me.



After asking around a bit on the forum about his condition someone mentioned MBD. That tip, coupled with my expert use of the Google, led me to believe that Metabolic Bone Disease is the reason for his misshapen shell. One of the symptoms of MBD I found listed on a Russian tortoise website was that the tortoise's shell would look too small for it's body. That's what it looks like to me, and that's why we named him Garrett; after a friend of ours that was known for wearing shirts too small for his body.

Here are some more pictures of him close up.



Does anyone have any experience rehabbing tortoises with MBD? With what I've learned so far, proper husbandry is the best remedy and Russian tortoises can make a full recovery if they are not too far gone. We've already got him under UVB and he will be out daily, as well as receiving a total dietary makeover with calcium supplements. I'm just wondering if anyone had any experience or tips or cautions for is to be aware of. We'll be posting more updates as we come along.

Right now his stats are:

Age: 6 years
Weight: 1.4 lbs
Length: 4.4 inches
Width: 4.4 inches
Height: 3 inches

If anyone has any experience or tips MBD or Russian tortoises in general it would be much appreciated.

Thank you!

 

[Lexiii]

No experience, but I'm so glad this guy found you! And your post is hilarious.

 

[kirsty Johnston]

I must say I got pretty upset reading this post. How anyone could reduce to keeping an extrodinary animal like this in such a small enclosure without giving them there basic requirements such as a UV bulb, a soak, healthy food or even showing them the back yard is beyond me.
I think it's amazing how there are so many good people on this forum who rehome tortoises and give them the loving home they deserve.
Unfortunately I can't help you with your MBD problem but I just want to let you know I have maximum respect you and appreciate what your doing for this little guy!

 

[lismar79]

so happy you decided to get him. Make changes slow so he takes to them better would be one suggestion. Of course he's already going after the good food so that's a huge plus for you. I would put a little anti fungle cream on the bottom of his shell and one of his nails looks a little rotted. Can't hurt anyway.. calcium is a must and gett him out in the sun as much as you can ( offer shade too so he doesn't over heat). I don't remember if you said you had russians before but they are master escape artist that can climb anything. If there is a corner in the enclosure, mine can scale it! Cap all corners with wood or blocks. Good luck with him!!!

 

[Jodie]

Congrats! Very glad you got him. I don't think you need to do anything really special. Just optimal care and diet. I would sprinkle calcium on his food 3X a week and put cuddle bone in his enclosure for him. Weeds are the primary source of nutrition for these guys. Get some cactus for him. He is a lovely little guy, and must be so happy to be out of that tiny prison.
Definitely cap the corners of the outdoor enclosure. Some swear Russians must be able to levitate they are such great escape artists.

 

[dmmj]

He, correcti she probably feels a thousand times better

 

[Carol S]

I am sure she is one happy tortoise now that you have rescued her. She already looks better. Considering the poor care she had for six years and only being fed iceberg lettuce, I am suprised that she is not half dead. She has bright eyes and she doesn't look skinny. Also with all that new growth it looks like she was eating something other than iceberg lettuce. Give her sunshine, a good healthy diet, calcium, a cuttlebone and a terra cotta saucer for water and she will thrive. She has bright shiny eyes. She looks so sweet.

I rescued a 3 year old Russian tortoise the Spring of 2014. She had been fed iceberg lettuce and a few other things once in a while (strawberries). She had such skinny little pale legs that were not strong enough to hold herself up high, let alone climb like Russian torts love to do. She only weighed a few ounces more than my 1 year old Russian torts and she was 3 years old at that time. Her toenails were very thin. She did not have a UBV light at her prior home. Her shell was showing signs of metabolic bone disease. I put her in an outside enclosure and gave her healthy food. She ate like she was starving. In around a month and a half and was walking around properly, starting to climb, and showing signs that she was much stronger. Her toenails by the end of summer were much thicker. She had new growth and looked so much better. She has the sweetest personality. From day one she will come over for me to pet her and then will go eat her food. Now it is a year later and she is very healthy, strong, active and still the sweetest tort. I named her Sweet Girl.

 

[Tortugatron]

He, correcti she probably feels a thousand times better

Wait, "she"? How can you tell? Man. All of her friends are going to make fun of her for being a girl named Garrett...

 

[Tortugatron]

I am sure she is one happy tortoise now that you have rescued her. She already looks better. Considering the poor care she had for six years and only being fed iceberg lettuce, I am suprised that she is not half dead. She has bright eyes and she doesn't look skinny. Also with all that new growth it looks like she was eating something other than iceberg lettuce. Give her sunshine, a good healthy diet, calcium, a cuttlebone and a terra cotta saucer for water and she will thrive. She has bright shiny eyes. She looks so sweet.

I rescued a 3 year old Russian tortoise the Spring of 2014. She had been fed iceberg lettuce and a few other things once in a while (strawberries). She had such skinny little pale legs that were not strong enough to hold herself up high, let alone climb like Russian torts love to do. She only weighed a few ounces more than my 1 year old Russian torts and she was 3 years old at that time. Her toenails were very thin. She did not have a UBV light at her prior home. Her shell was showing signs of metabolic bone disease. I put her in an outside enclosure and gave her healthy food. She ate like she was starving. In around a month and a half and was walking around properly, starting to climb, and showing signs that she was much stronger. Her toenails by the end of summer were much thicker. She had new growth and looked so much better. She has the sweetest personality. From day one she will come over for me to pet her and then will go eat her food. Now it is a year later and she is very healthy, strong, active and still the sweetest tort. I named her Sweet Girl.

That's an awesome story. How impressive the change animals that have been neglected can undergo with even just a little attention and proper care. I see signs of this with our new little one. She (?) is a bit uncertain of us humans (who can blame her? Sometimes I am too), but seems to have a great personality and she's adjusting very well. It's awesome to watch her sit in the sunshine and peer at the world around her. She'll just sit in the middle of her outside pen and stick her new waaay out watch everything go by. You'd swear she was taking in the sky and trees and trying to figure them out. What a curious little reptile.

 

[JoesMum]

Judging by the size, I would say that Garrett is older than 6 years. Size is not reliable for age tests as they all grow at different rates, but this is probably wild caught? If you have a hatch date then sorry I am wrong. Either way from that beautifully clean plastron shot which shows the tail, I would agree that you have got a female there.

Lovely to see Garrett cleaned up and being cared for properly though. Well done

 

[Carol S]

Wait, "she"? How can you tell? Man. All of her friends are going to make fun of her for being a girl named Garrett...

Her tail is short and broad. A male at that age would have a much longer tail. I believe on the Forum there are pictures of Russian torts that show the difference between male and female.

 

[axeman25]

My first thought when reading about him and looking at the pictures was "Pretty sure Garrett's not a dude". LOL. I have a male and two females that I rescued from an acquaintance of a friend. I paid to have them shipped to Michigan from Arizona. They were in way better condition then I thought they'd be since every pic I had of them was of all three in a 29 gallon aquarium they had spent their entire 6 years of life in. They did have heat and UVB, I was told. Of course I was also told a lot of conflicting info by the owner. They were my first tortoises and I was glad I could put them into a better situation. It looks like you did that and I think that's really awesome of you to knowingly take on an animal with issues to make sure that it has the best possible life from here on out. Kudos.

 

[Tortugatron]

Thank you everyone for the kind support, as well as helping me figure out that Garrett was actually a Garrettina. She's doing really well! I can tell she hasn't been handled very much as she's hesitant and a little shy around us homo sapiens, but she's warming up to me. Today she almost ate out of my hand, and for the first time she was confortable enough to eat like a hog while I was sitting right next to her. She's been very energetic since I got her, so no change there.

Here's some pictures.



And the picture that strikes fear into the hearts of leafy greens everywhere:



Currently she's being housed in 70 gallon tank while her outdoor enclosure is being prepared. The tank isn't ideal, but it's a big upgrade from the 20 gallon she was raised in. Here's the progress on her enclosure:







It's about 6' by about 11', 15 inches high from the ground with a extra 6 inches buried under that, surrounded by concrete. As per the advice on I've received on this thread, I intend to cap all the corners and put a border facing in to prevent daring escapes. For now, I built it up to keep the other tortoises OUT during their free time so the grass seed I planted in there can grow undisturbed. I figure it will be about three weeks until I can start letting her hang out in there for a while. I also have a hibiscus plant I'll be planting in there this weekend. More updates to follow.

Thanks again for all the support and advice. You all are awesome!

 

[Lyn W]

Wait, "she"? How can you tell? Man. All of her friends are going to make fun of her for being a girl named Garrett...

I have a male called Lola - she turned out to be a he but kept the name after the Kinks song

I was slightly horrified at you saying she was enjoying being upside down - until I realised you were being sarcastic. Well done for rescuing the poor thing.

 

[Gillian M]

That tort is so lucky. Good luck to you both and take good care of it please.

 

[MyrtlesMum0131]

I'm afraid I don't know very much about treating torts with MBD, but it's obvious that she lucked out on finding you! (Or you finding her) Best of luck!