I feel like a horrible owner :(

[Blu]

It's really hard for me to say this but I have been a horrible owner for the past 10 years

I have a Russian tortoise and I got him 10 years ago when I was a kid. I knew nothing about taking care of a tortoise when I got him and neither me nor my parents really bothered to make sure we were taking proper care of him. He has been somewhat okay for the past 10 years until he recently got sick. He is all better now (I can't exactly remember what the vet told me it was he had :/ some sort of stomach infection from improper hibernation) but I still feel horrible for not taking better care of him.

I am posting this today for multiple reasons. One is that I want to get everything straight on how to properly take care of my pet. I spent 10 years feeding him nothing but romaine lettuce because that's what the store told me to do. I feel so stupid and i want to get his diet back on track. Unfortunately He doesn't like to eat a verity of foods because I spoiled him for 10 years but he has caught on to Dandelion and Endive now that I have tried expanding his diet. What else should I feed him? There are plenty of lists online but I just can't find some of the things in stores near me.

The second reason I am posting this is to start out in a new community that can help me take better care of my pet. I feel like a sack of **** for basically ruining this poor little guys life for 10 years. I want to make sure he lives happily and properly. One option is to give him away to a more competent owner but I don't know if I can do that. If I really can't take care of him then I understand its important that he goes to someone that can but I believe that I can get on track and make my little Nick a happy tortoise.

The third reason I am posting this is because I feel awful. I have already ragged on myself quite a lot in this post but after looking up proper care of my tortoise there were some things that seem obvious (like giving him a bath) that I had never done in 10 years. 10 years! Oh and back to the bath thing. He has always had a water dish in his cage that he has used to take baths but I have seen people wash their tortoises by hand and I had no idea that I was to do that. The first bath I gave him was a little awkward but he was a lot cleaner afterwards!

Anyway... I kinda just rambled on about how bad of a owner I was and really I am just looking for tips on proper care. This summer I plan on building a backyard pen for him to run around in cause currently I take him out and just plop him in my garden for maybe and hour and I have to watch him to make sure he doesn't get under the house, into the pool area, or under the fence to say hello to my neighbors dog.

I know this is kind of a bad entrance into a new community but I don't want to lie to myself and try to pretend I know what I'm doing. Please, any help would be appreciated!

(BTW his name is Nick... forgot to add that! Not sure why I named him that. I guess I though it was a cool name back then)

 

[mike taylor]

Man Don't be so hard on your self . You had to be doing something right he is alive and kicking. I don't know any thing about taking care of that species of tort . I keep red foots ,sulcatas,and red ear sliders . O welcome to T.F.O. There will be someone on here soon to help you .

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[Yvonne G]

Hi:

It's ok...don't beat yourself up over it. You are not the Lone Ranger. Quite a few new keepers follow down the same path that you took. The good news is that your tortoise is still alive and now you're doing something to improve his life.

Read this care sheet. It's a good one:

http://russiantortoise.net/care_sheet.htm

The short version is - a good UVB light or an outdoor pen, a variety of dark, leafy greens to eat, a nice hiding place, a waterer that he can get drinks on his own, a soak in a tub occasionally (bathing is not important), and a nice substrate to dig in.

 

[cemmons12]

Yeah, no need to beat yourself up. Your doing things to make everything good now.

 

[tortoiselove25]

I agree with everyone, he is still alive and has many more years!

I am a new Russian Tortoise owner but I have learned a vast amount of information on here from great tortoise owners!

One thing I know is that many people on here like to see pictures of your tortoise and its enclosure. Other information such as temperatures and the kind of UVB light you have if you use one or anything else you deem as important.

Good Luck!!

 

[SANDRA_MEISSNEST]

Pumpkin puree is good also used for natural deworming

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[Blu]

Hi:

It's ok...don't beat yourself up over it. You are not the Lone Ranger. Quite a few new keepers follow down the same path that you took. The good news is that your tortoise is still alive and now you're doing something to improve his life.

Read this care sheet. It's a good one:

http://russiantortoise.net/care_sheet.htm

The short version is - a good UVB light or an outdoor pen, a variety of dark, leafy greens to eat, a nice hiding place, a waterer that he can get drinks on his own, a soak in a tub occasionally (bathing is not important), and a nice substrate to dig in.

Thank you for the sheet! I've looked up many things like these and all of them tell me to do different things and they are all very long! I think this one has been the most helpful so far!

Yah, I know I was kind of beating myself up :/ I just feel so bad for him. I got him sick because of my actions and he was even malnourished because of such a bad diet. He is lively now and much healthier (at least I think... He looks better! and his infection is gone).

I am ow thinking of also getting him a new pen... I've had this glass aquarium thing for all these years and the heat pads have cracked the glass on the bottom and its in really poor shape. I also just want to start from scratch with his cage because I have never been very happy about it.

Also for heat, I am not sure I am doing the right thing. Basically I have an area in the corner where there is a heat lamp. I am not sure how hot it gets underneath. Doing a little research I am finding various people saying it should be 90 or 95 or you need a rock under it and its all overwhelming. I'm not sure what to do.

 

[Yvonne G]

Pumpkin puree is good also used for natural deworming

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Not really. It's the pumpkin seeds that is the anthelmintic, not the pumpkin flesh. Feeding canned pumpkin just gives the tortoise a looser stool.

 

[Sh3wulf]

I think that you have beaten yourself over and beyond what anyone else would have done. So time to stop.

You are doing good now by wanting to make amends and sounds like you have a little power house of a tort there, so you should have a good time enjoying the rest of his life doing things better. He's lucky to have you

I am pretty new to torts, have a baby leopard, but the people on this forum are fantastic and super knowledgable. You'll get lots of great advice and people willing to help.

When I got Benny we went through a minor period of identity crisis that people here helped sort out. Thought I had adopted a leopard tort, then got told by a vet he was Sulcatas, and the. Found this forum where it was confirmed that indeed he is a leopard. Since then I have been religiously following the methods for raising a healthy smooth tort and Benny is doing wonderfully! (Tom is the local expert in my breed, and Yvonne seems knowledgable about all breeds)

Hope you will post a pic of little Nick for all of us to see, and welcome!

 

[Blu]

Also, I feel like my substrate is not right. I was told to just use orchid bark... and all the pictures i have seen of Russian tortoises' pens have dirt/sand. Should I switch? Or am I fine?

 

[Tom]

I know EXACTLY how you feel. I started out the same way with my first box turtle 33 years ago. I followed the pet store's advice, and it nearly killed him. When he miraculously survived with help from a vet, I started following the vet's advice. I now know that just about everything he told me was wrong too. Yet my turtle lived..., as yours has.

Learn. Do better. Learn some more. Help others avoid your previous mistakes. Helping others is good medicine man. It will make you feel better about what has happened for the last 10 years. Let your guilt motivate you. I'll bet money that your tortoise is going to live the rest of his days in comfort and style.

Welcome to the forum. Nobody here was born knowing this stuff either. We are all in the same boat.

 

[SANDRA_MEISSNEST]

Not from the can ,fresh one and put it in the bender.so its easey to eat i actual bake my pumpkin first

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[EchoTheLeoTort]

The positive thing is that I am pretty positive that russians are a really hardy species. Honestly there have been worse cases of improper care, (much worse lol) I don't think you did bad at all. He may not of had the best of diets, but at least you were feeding romaine and not iceberg, at least you did what you thought was right. Be proud that you were at least on the track of heading in the right direction. Now you are taking more steps to improve his life. In this forum there are so many helpful members who have lived and learned from their mistakes, everyone came here for a reason, because they needed help with something. Welcome, we are happy to help when we can. I haven't had a russian so I'm not quite sure but it seems you've gotten a good care sheet. good luck... and show us a pic of Nick

 

[graine]

Coconut coir it looks like dirt but its not. I get at pet smart in a dehydrated form. Just put a brick into a 5 gallon bucket and add hot water. I let it set for a few minutes until the water is absorbed. Add water gradually so as to not get over wet. I have learned allot from TFO and Nicky is gona be just fine!!!


Gary tortise fan

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

I was a complete idiot when I started keeping box turtles (among other pets) as a boy. It takes time to develop expertise in a subject, like good pet husbandry. Love your pets, learn all you can, and apply it!

Also, show us a pic of your little guy so we can see just how "messed up" (or not) he is.

 

[thea lester]

Hey! Check this out: I've had Sophia, a 3 Toed Box turtle for 28 years. I got her when I was a kid and we had NO IDEA how to care for her. The pet store gave us totally bogus info. and we didn't feed her right, even when she was eating (which was not consistently). My first turtle, Montia, died when I was 15 and that was a huge wake up call for myself and my family. Were it not for my father's research, hard work and interest in my turtles, Sophie never would've made it either.

POINT being: Sophia is still alive and at least as old as I am!

You are so awesome for your honesty and renewed devotion to Mr. Nick.
I wish you all the best!
Thea

 

[WillTort2]

One of the keys to good bone and shell health is sunlight and calcium.

Get a cuttlebone for your enclosure and see that Nick gets at least a couple of hours of sunlight each week. You need an area that he cannot climb out of or dig under. Make sure it has shady areas as well as sun. Have a shallow water dish for hydration. Make sure no predators can attack him.

For your diet try adding mulberry leaves, grape leaves, escarole, radicchio, and healthy weeds from a pesticide free area.

To boost your torts health status you should also consider ordering TNT from Carolina Pet Supply. It's a all natural powdered supplement made from dried weeds.

Good luck with Nick!

 

[Rramagge]

If u where a bad tortoise owner u wouldn't b trying to make things right for him now.
As others have said he is alive so u must have been doing something right. He will b the happiest tort in no time if u read the care sheets and remember that everyone is on here to help each other even if u think its a silly question ask it.
(I have been asking a lot of them recently lol)
Welcome and hope u can try to stop beating yourself up about the past and think of the future

Rebecca

 

[Joanne]

For the enclosure, have a look at the enclosures section on the forum for inspiration. It doesn't have to be expensive. Mine was free because I built it out of wood that I was given.

A lot of people on here from America use big plastic tubs to keep torts in. They can be cut and sealed together to make large enclosures.

When I was researching tortoises, one of my options was a Russian. I know that they need a lot of space as they like to walk for miles. They also love to dig and climb, so making things escape proof is a must. Google image climbing tortoise - hilarious and eye opening!

So in terms of heating, I have a mercury vapour bulb, which does heat and uvb. I found that alone to be sufficient for my enclosure. I also have a low wattage strip bulb for extra light. If you need more heat, standard 60w spot lights do the job. If I were you, I wouldn't bother with heat mats.

My favourite substrate so far is coco coir, I think it is also called eco earth. I bought mine off eBay. My Hermann tortoise loves to bury himself in it, so no doubt your Russian will too.

As for expanding diet, I got some seeds and grew weeds in tubs in my garden. Thetortoisetable.org.UK is an excellent resource for finding out if plants are safe to feed. I have a huge variety of different lettuce too and my tort loves munching on it all!

You have done the right thing by coming to this forum. I love it on here, you will find it an invaluable resource!

Also, pictures are a must. I upload mine to a private album on facebook and link to them that way...

 

[Timjb97]

Instead of getting a glass vivarium get a table, it's got much better circulation and they won't harm themselves trying to get out the glass.