I had no idea how tiny she would be!!
I met the breeder, and he was very tolerant of all my questions. He had a huge outdoor enclose, and tons of happy adult Russians. My favorite part was, upon hearing I was worried about finding a good brand of vitamins, he said “Welcome to Tortoise-nerddom.â€Â
I have named her Mo-Nellie. So when I can finally tell if she is a he, she will be called either Mo or Nellie. Right now, I’ve decided she’s a girl until proven otherwise, and am calling her Mona.
She hasn’t eaten yet, except she put her mouth around the chopped up sunflower leaves, she just didn’t swallow. When I first put her in her enclosure, she trundled around for awhile, exploring every corner. She sat under the light for awhile, and then she went into her hide, and started digging into the corner of it. She was digging for a really long time (my friend and I were watching a movie next to her, and were slightly shocked by some of the noises she created) and then she went to sleep. She hasn’t woken up yet today, but I turned on her light only about 30 minutes ago.
Do tortoise hatchlings always breathe with their whole bodies? I can see her chest seem to heave with every breath. And for while she seemed to bob in and out of her shell slowly. Are these signs of stress? She slowed down a lot since when I first put her in the enclosure.
Since the coconut is still sort of damp, her hide can get really cool. Should I worry about her freezing herself in there? Or should I just let her work it out?
Are there any foods other than sunflower leaves and chopped sunflower leaves I should try to get her to eat?
I’m sorry I’m such a worry-wart! But she's my baby!
Thank you!
-Kayti
I met the breeder, and he was very tolerant of all my questions. He had a huge outdoor enclose, and tons of happy adult Russians. My favorite part was, upon hearing I was worried about finding a good brand of vitamins, he said “Welcome to Tortoise-nerddom.â€Â
I have named her Mo-Nellie. So when I can finally tell if she is a he, she will be called either Mo or Nellie. Right now, I’ve decided she’s a girl until proven otherwise, and am calling her Mona.
She hasn’t eaten yet, except she put her mouth around the chopped up sunflower leaves, she just didn’t swallow. When I first put her in her enclosure, she trundled around for awhile, exploring every corner. She sat under the light for awhile, and then she went into her hide, and started digging into the corner of it. She was digging for a really long time (my friend and I were watching a movie next to her, and were slightly shocked by some of the noises she created) and then she went to sleep. She hasn’t woken up yet today, but I turned on her light only about 30 minutes ago.
Do tortoise hatchlings always breathe with their whole bodies? I can see her chest seem to heave with every breath. And for while she seemed to bob in and out of her shell slowly. Are these signs of stress? She slowed down a lot since when I first put her in the enclosure.
Since the coconut is still sort of damp, her hide can get really cool. Should I worry about her freezing herself in there? Or should I just let her work it out?
Are there any foods other than sunflower leaves and chopped sunflower leaves I should try to get her to eat?
I’m sorry I’m such a worry-wart! But she's my baby!
Thank you!
-Kayti
Last edited by a moderator: