- Joined
- Nov 7, 2013
- Messages
- 4
Alrighty, I've done all the research I possibly can on the care and keeping of Russian tortoises (and ended up on this site quite a few times, and it's been helpful every time!), with plans to get one in the near future, however I cannot keep one right now due to pet restrictions in my current residence. Unfortunately, it's not 100% guaranteed that this will change, so I'll just have to wait until I'm sure I can provide a stable environment in a place that actually allows pets.
I was positive I wanted a CB baby because they haven't seen all the stress and parasite exposure and possible abuse that a captured adult from a pet store would have. But after reading about how intelligent these little guys seem to be (at least in comparison to what I previously thought) I felt sorry for the pet store ones I see on my window shopping excursions down the reptile aisle at Petsmart, and decided to "save" one of them, knowing I'll most likely end up with a 10-20 yr old parasite-ridden stressed animal, in hopes of giving it a better life than it might otherwise have.
That said, (and let me again say that I have not actually gotten a tortoise or any of the supplies yet) I was wondering what sort of preventative care I could give to the tortoise in the even that I brought one home, in terms of parasites and mites and such. It would be kept in an indoor enclosure, if that helps. Is there any sort of oral medication I could purchase that would keep the parasites at bay or provide some sort of preventative measure? I read some about Panacur, but I'm not going to just drug the animal without there being a serious problem, or without the advice of a pro. Iodine is supposed to be good for mites and such, so what are your opinions on giving a warm bath in a (very) diluted iodine-water solution and a gentle scrub with a cheap toothbrush?
To recap: Would it be best just to leave the little guy alone or would something like this actually provide some long-term benefits?
Thanks in advance for the help and advice!