Hi, from the Midwest!

[TortoisesRock!]

Hello everyone! I'm really glad I've found this site. My family and I recently rescued a Russian tortoise. We believe it's a female. Her official name is Concha (shell in Spanish). We have a lot of different nicknames for her though, depending on her mood! Like a lot of other people here, my house is much like a zoo too! My family has 2 dogs (dacshunds), a saltwater fishtank, and now a Russian tortoise! I have had many other types of pets as well, almost everything under the sun! I've done a lot of research on tortoises, both online and in books. Any hints would be much appreciated though!

 

[spikethebest]

Welome to the Forum!

 

[egyptiandan]

Welcome to the forum

Danny

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi "Tortoisesrock":

(May we know your name?)

to the forum!!

Russians are great little tortoises. Read through this care sheet and if you have any specific questions we'll be happy to answer them for you:

http://www.russiantortoise.org/care_sheet.htm

 

[tortoisenerd]

Welcome to the group! If you have any specific questions, we'd be glad to help you. Kinda hard to give hints though. I am a strong believer in getting animals checked out by a vet (including a fecal test for parasites), so if I had to give one piece of advice, that would be it. Torts tend to hide symptoms until it is literally too late to save them. Spending $70 or whatever gives a lot of peace of mind. What type of set up do you currently have? Any pictures? We love pictures! Best wishes.

 

[TortoisesRock!]

The name's Taylor! Right now we have her in a big container, like a Rubbermaid (that may sound bad, I'll try to explain, It's pretty large, it's not like a tupperware for food or anything, it's like the ones people put all their Christmas stuff in, and we never put the top on it). We've only had her for about a month, and that's what she came in when we rescued her. Now that the weather is nice here, we've been letting her roam outside, under our supervision of course! She absolutely loves that. As for pictures, I have a few I took today outside.

 

[TortoisesRock!]

Haha, I'm glad I found this site, I was looking at pics on how to tell the gender and now I believe I have a boy tortoise

 

[Stephanie Logan]

Hey, no fair!

I've already seen these "beak" photos!

We have a "rule" here at the forum that newbies must post at least 5 photos of their pets, preferably close-ups, as well as 2-3 of the tortoise's enclosure, so everyone here can "oooo" and "aawww" and "cootchy, cootchy coo!" over the new Chelonian member. It's true! Just ask Yvonne....

Now ante up!

Congratulations on your acquisition of Concha, and welcome to the forum!

 

[Jacqui]

Welcome! Where in the midwest are you from?

 

[TortoisesRock!]

Thanks for the welcomes everyone, I'll take some more pics and post a bunch! Also, the poor guy must have been so confused. We were told it was a girl, but now I'm pretty sure it's a BOY!? haha He acquired a new name now, FRANKLIN! After the turtle/tortoise from the kids show. I'll be back posting pics asap!

 

[Greg T]

Welcome! That's a nice looking tort you have!

 

[TortoisesRock!]

Ok here's some more pics! Most were taken while the lil one was roaming the yard. I have a few pictures of the lil one's cute bum lol this is if anyone wants to help confirm a gender. From what I've seen on this site, I now believe I have a male. If so, a name change may be in order, from Concha, which is feminine, to Franklin! I'm a bit embarassed of the enclosure , it's absolutely nothing compared to pics I've seen here! It's what the lil one came with when we rescued it! I'm working on some plans to really shnazz it up and make a better one.

 

[Meg90]

Yes, what you have there is a male Russian tortoise. Welcome to the forum. Keep us updated on enclosure progress! That's my favorite part of getting a new animal. I love setting up habitats.