Healthy russian tortoise?

[Qasimja]

i posted some pictures of the tortoise to my photobucket account does the tortoise look healthy to you guys? i got him from petsmart on tuesday hes been acting normal ever since i got him a stronger light hes been basking etc but he looks somewhat darker then the pictures of russian torts ive seen what do you guys think?

http://photobucket.com/Qasimja

 

[Laura]

The pictures themsleves are a little dark. My guess.. Wild caught and cold where he came from, so a darker animal absorbs heat better. Not sure if his color willchange.
Someone else here will tell you im sure.. and maybe prove me wrong! HA!
I would change his substrate. do a soil/sand mix or read the forum and see what others use..
What are you feeding him?

 

[Qasimja]

The pictures themsleves are a little dark. My guess.. Wild caught and cold where he came from, so a darker animal absorbs heat better. Not sure if his color willchange.
Someone else here will tell you im sure.. and maybe prove me wrong! HA!
I would change his substrate. do a soil/sand mix or read the forum and see what others use..
What are you feeding him?

I actually read on here and several members told me using cypress mulch was fine was that wrong? also i feed him carrots dark leaf greens and apples he seems to like the apples the best so far

 

[Laura]

Just looks dry and splintery.. and they like to burrow down..
Id feed less apple and carrot and more spring mix ( greens) and weeds.
Mine like apples too and other fruit, but too much is not a good thing.
I like chocolate.. but...

 

[Qasimja]

yea hes been borrowing down every night to sleep i suspect lol and is it better to do an every other day feeding ie one day feed him greens the next day feed him carrots so forth? ive been giving him several things to choose from at once and thanks for all the info your giving me by the way

 

[travisgn]

I think most will tell you to feed greens every day, and simply add veggies or fruit to the greens occasionally (once a week or so, but that's your decision). That's what I do. That way even if they go for the fruit first, they have to eat greens to get filled up. If they get the good stuff for a whole meal, they might be less inclined to eat the greens the following day.

I believe some here stick to healthy greens only and never give "snacks" because they don't really need them to be healthy.

I also use cypress mulch and burrowing is not a problem. I have a couple piles of hay for burrowing, as well. It helps the tort burrow and hide without really adding any height to the substrate that might facilitate escape.

 

[Qasimja]

and if i were to change the substrate would a top soil and playsand mix( like the type you get from lowes) work?

 

[dolfanjack]

I personally never give my Russian tortioses anything but flowers and leafy greens even though tortuga loves apples (thats what petco was feeding him when my family bought him for me) somtimes it's hard to get them off of it. I use garden loam and sand as substrait but yours should be fine. Let him outside supervised as much as possible. Jack

 

[tortoisenerd]

Torts can get addicted to the sugary stuff so I would not ever feed it. It can also cause any parasites they have to multiply, stomach aches, etc. Apples and yes even carrots are sugary for torts--cactus is the only fruit I'd ever feed. What the pet stores feed them and house them in should never be used as an example. They don't miss it if they don't know it exists. Stick to a natural diet like they'd get in the wild--organic weeds and greens, edible flowers, dark leafy lettuces, etc. Your tort can graze on your garden weeds if you haven't used any fertilizers or pesticides in at least 6 months and you identify everything as edible.

I recommend a vet check up and fecal test for parasites for all torts. Wild caught torts especially are 99% likely to be infested with parasites which in the wild is fine, but in captivity after they have been imported, kept in a pet store, and now taken to a new home, one cold can make them very ill and the parasites multiply with stress. Best to spend the $15 for the test to see if your tort needs a one time medication to keep it healthy (different types for different parasites). I get a repeat test done 2-3 months after the first one (parasites have different life cycles), then yearly. A good tort vet will be able to give you information about your tort's health, evaluate your care, and be able to see your tort in case of an emergency.

Signs of ill health however would be not being active, not eating, discharge from the eyes/noses/mouth, heavy breathing or sounding wet when they breathe (it is normal however for their arms to move in and out when they breathe, and they make a hissing noise when you scare them and they retreat into their shell as its the air escaping their lungs quickly), shell flaking or having white stuff on it, etc.

Without a yard, I use spring mix for the bulk of the diet (no spinach though) and add 1-2 other greens a week (rotating through a list such as dandelion greens, mustard greens, radish greens, turnip greens, collard greens, watercress, endive, etc). Most of the greens I listed however are high in oxalic acid so you want to not feed only those. For a small part of the diet (like 5%) I feed treat foods like pumpkin, squash (butternut is great), cactus pads, edible organic flowers, etc. Pure calcium powder over the food a couple days a week for an adult tortoise like yours. You want to aim for variety. I feed about 20-30 items over the course of a few months. You don't need variety each day, but over time it is very important. Don't let your tort get hooked on only a couple foods. Tough love is a fine approach if he doesn't eat the good stuff--just feed a variety of good stuff and after a few days he will eat it!

If you post pictures of the tort's underside and backside we can probably give you a sex. Some closer up shots of the head and body and you might get a guess on age (my first guess is older). What kind of light do you have? You need UVB unless he gets out in the sun regularly, such as an hour more days than not.

I think that substrate is fine for now if its the cypress mulch. Try it out and see how you both like it. If your container has the height, make it at least twice as deep as he is long. Do you also have hides (like a half log, box, container, fake plant, or a pile of timothy hay)? They like to have one in each temperature area, such as one by the basking spot, one moderate, and one cooler. You also need a large shallow dish of water and a place to feed to keep the food off the substrate (I like to use a slate tile as it also wears down the beak and nails).

Congrats and good luck!