Introducing Percy

[PeanutbuttER]

Hello!

I posted a little while ago about a lady who was letting her tort swim in the bathtub. Well, I got in contact with her because she was trying to find him a good home before they move next week. After chatting with her a bit she decided to let me have him and I'm very excited!!

His shell is really smooth and I was thinking that perhaps there's a chance he's captive bred. I don't have any history about where he came from or anything. They had him for ~6 months and were given him as a gift by an elderly neighbor. Like I said though, his shell is smoother than both of mine that I already have and I'd like to get your opinions about whether he's WC or CB. Odds are that he's WC, but it'd be cool if he wasn't.

These aren't the best pictures, so I'll take some new ones that really show his shell and the shape he's in a lot better soon. He's very friendly, doesn't pull into his shell when you touch him, lets you scratch his chin, and seems to be really healthy (I hear swimming is GREAT exercise...). Oh, and he loves his dandelion flowers!

 

[Yvonne G]

Looks like a Russian, but can't tell much else from the pictures. You're lucky (and so is the tortoise!!) that she gave him to you. Swim in the bath tub indeed!!

Percy is a great Russian tortoise name. Can't wait to see better pictures of him (Her??)

 

[terracolson]

looks like a nice smooth shell (i hate that spam filter)

 

[Yvonne G]

(i hate that spam filter)

You say that all the time. What are you talking about??

 

[kimber_lee_314]

He's beautiful! Lucky little tort to have found you!

 

[dmmj]

the spam filter blocks you from posting if you posted whithin a certain time, I get it all of the time, it says please wait xx amount of seconds before posting.

 

[ChiKat]

Percy is gorgeous! Can't wait to see more pics

 

[Jacqui]

Percy is going to enjoy his new life. Poor guy seems to have been doing a lot of moving and changing homes. Nice he finally has one he will be able to settle down in.

 

[PeanutbuttER]

Here are a couple more pics as promised...

Eating

-and here he is giving the "skunkeye"...

He has had a hard life. When I picked him up I saw his cage which had a dust layer's worth of coconut bedding (you could see the bottom of the little 29g aquarium), no water dish, a corner of moldy uneaten food (some fruit as well from what I could see). I was told that he's never had a heat lamp and he's never had any sort of UVB. Also, his owner had never (in her 6 months of having him) seen him eat until a week before I came and got him. Then there's also the fact that he's probably the only russian to have taken hour long swimtrips in the tub. With all that in mind, I'm really excited to see that he's getting his appetite back and he seems to be so healthy. He's very friendly and doesn't mind being touched or handled.

I'm actually not sure if I will be able to keep him or not. In about a year my wife and I plan on moving to a house where we can build a nice outdoor enclosure and have plenty of space. The problem right now is that I have 1 female to 2 males (when I introduce him to the others after quarantine) which from what I've read is not a safe situation for him to be in. I saw my old male (his name is Skooch) mount my female for the first time last week, which I didn't think he would do for a year or two more. It's once they're sexually active that males become aggressive isn't it? Now I'm thinking that perhaps the best thing to do for Percy would be to trade him to a good home without any other adult-aged males or something along those lines. I'm still deciding what to do, but that seems like the most humane and best situation for him. From what I've seen and read on this forum since I became a member I'm confident that I'll be able to find an even better home for him should I decide that's what needs to be done.

 

[Yvonne G]

I just love that second picture in this last group of pix. He's opening his mouth SO WIDE that he had to close his eyes to get it open wider!

 

[Kristina]

LOL, I'll take him, he's adorable

He looks WC to me, but he is in very good shape, especially considering the last couple of homes he has had. He was lucky you found him.

Really, a single male would not need that much space outdoors, a 4X8' square made out of two layers of cinder blocks would be fine for him. I think you should keep him, you can work it out