Hello from Coastal Southern California

Nicollet

New Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2016
Messages
1
Location (City and/or State)
Oceanside, CA
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).

IMG_20160817_155129.jpg IMG_20160817_155749.jpg IMG_20160817_160306.jpg IMG_20160817_160706.jpg
 

BILBO-03

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Joined
Aug 20, 2016
Messages
739
Hello to you and your tort:)
Your outside enclosure is AWESOME!!!!!!
 

Grandpa Turtle 144

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5 Year Member
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Apr 3, 2013
Messages
10,878
Hello Nicollet
I would get rid of the glass water dish it's to slippery when it's wet . Tara cota plant saucer . But it looks great !
ImageUploadedByTortoise Forum1473724256.084149.jpg
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
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Jan 23, 2008
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93,388
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
Welcome to the Forum!

You don't have to worry about electricity because when it gets cold enough (like that ever happens in San Diego!), he'll hibernate.

About a month before he goes into hibernation he'll stop eating in order to clean out his digestive tract. When you no longer see him coming out to sun himself, you can box him up in shredded newspaper and put him away in a cool, quiet, dark place. He needs to be between 40 and 50F degrees in order to hibernate.
 

RosemaryDW

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Joined
Feb 17, 2016
Messages
4,144
Location (City and/or State)
Newport Coast, CA
Hi Nicollet,

I'm in Coastal So Cal as well and am also the owner of an escapee Russian! This is our first year with her and every little change in behavior makes me nervous, even with the wealth of information here.

Our little girl is slowing down with the weather as well. Leaving her burrow later, going to bed earlier. I wish I had her life!

As Yvonne stated, you may find it doesn't stay cool enough where you are for him to start or stay in hibernation. Ours hibernated successfully outside last year; she dug down very shortly after we found her and showed up three months later. This year she has a heated night box for the spring and fall; it has a ceramic heater that kicks on when the temperature falls below 65 degrees.

Right now we are transitioning her from her burrow to the night box (she's not happy about it). In Novemberish we plan to fridge hibernate her for three months. You'll hear lots of opinions on whether and how to hibernate in climates like ours; it's a personal call. I chose fridge hibernation somewhat for my own benefit; I will worry about her less if she's where I can see her!

Since this is a new tortoise to you, I think some will advise you not to hibernate at all the first year. That's a topic I'll leave to the experts.

Welcome and enjoy your tortoise!

P.S. Addy put on a bunch of weight in the spring but has been at a constant weight since early June, if that's helpful.
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
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Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,264
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Hello and welcome. Overall the enclosure looks great, but I see two major problems.
1. That water dish is dangerous. The sides are too tall and too steep and the slick surface will offer no traction to tortoise feet. I strongly recommend replacing it. Terra cotta plant saucers sunk into the substrate work best.
2. In your potted plant I see little white bits. Looks like perlite. Tortoises will usually eat little white bits in there substrate and perlite is really bad for their GI tract. It can lead to death in some cases. Whatever it is, it the tortoise shouldn't have access to it.
 
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