Nicollet
New Member
Hi, my name is Nicollet and I have a male russian tortoise named Qui-Gon (yes, like the Jedi Master). He has been through a lot in the past year - he was found by Animal Control, roaming the streets this past March (2016) in a suburban area, and ended up at the animal shelter I used to work at. I originally fostered him since the shelter was not set-up to care for a tortoise, but after a week no one had claimed him. All the local tortoise rescues were full, so I adopted him. I then leased him to an educational animal program where I was employed, because I thought it might be a good fit, but he kept escaping, and I was worried for his safety and welfare... so I brought him back home and built an outdoor enclosure for him. I am currently an exotic animal care technician (basically a zookeeper) at a different non-profit educational animal facility now - I take care of rescued snakes, birds, lizards, frogs, as well as desert and sulcata tortoises, and box turtles. I have a B.S. degree in Animal Behavior, and I love working with animals. I don't have a favorite species, and I am always looking to expand my knowledge (I'm a huge nerd). I also have a dog named Clare, and a cat name Kody at home - both have serious health issues that require a lot of my attention (I'm a sucker for needy animals!). I'm married, and we currently live about six miles from the ocean in San Diego County!
Here are some pics of Qui-Gon's enclosure - any tips for improvement would be appreciated! He was quite active when I first put him outside in July (temps in the mid 80's F), but for the past two weeks he has been sleeping more, and not eating as much. Not sure if it is due to a change in the weather (cooler at night, and intermittently cloudier during the day). I do not have any outdoor electricity sources, so I am trying to figure out how I will give him extra heat or light if needed (run a cord through the window?) even though the weather remains fairly temperate in this area. His substrate is organic top soil, and his terra-cotta "den" has timothy hay on top of the soil for him to burrow into. The small painted house is full of reptibark, although I'm wondering if I should use sphagnum moss to make it more of a humidity hut? The plants are: two different types of coleus, campanula, evolvulus, fescue grass, and geranium. The corner with the fescue grass also had seeded clover and dandelion, but something keeps eating the seedlings (I have never seen him or anything else munching on them, but they disappear as soon as they sprout), so I am starting the sprouts outside of the enclosure and will transplant them once they are established. Because he was found as a stray, I have no history on him including age. He was tested for parasites and his fecals remained clear for 60 days when I first got him. He is small - his weight has remained consistent at 379-383g (approximately 13.5oz).
Here are some pics of Qui-Gon's enclosure - any tips for improvement would be appreciated! He was quite active when I first put him outside in July (temps in the mid 80's F), but for the past two weeks he has been sleeping more, and not eating as much. Not sure if it is due to a change in the weather (cooler at night, and intermittently cloudier during the day). I do not have any outdoor electricity sources, so I am trying to figure out how I will give him extra heat or light if needed (run a cord through the window?) even though the weather remains fairly temperate in this area. His substrate is organic top soil, and his terra-cotta "den" has timothy hay on top of the soil for him to burrow into. The small painted house is full of reptibark, although I'm wondering if I should use sphagnum moss to make it more of a humidity hut? The plants are: two different types of coleus, campanula, evolvulus, fescue grass, and geranium. The corner with the fescue grass also had seeded clover and dandelion, but something keeps eating the seedlings (I have never seen him or anything else munching on them, but they disappear as soon as they sprout), so I am starting the sprouts outside of the enclosure and will transplant them once they are established. Because he was found as a stray, I have no history on him including age. He was tested for parasites and his fecals remained clear for 60 days when I first got him. He is small - his weight has remained consistent at 379-383g (approximately 13.5oz).