My Two New Girls

[axeman25]

Hello All!
So I had a very nice lady and her boyfriend bring me two female russians they could no longer take care of. They came from about two hours away and brought, the torts, several lightbulbs, light fixtures, and water/food dishes. There was no charge, they were just looking for them to go to a responsible owner who would care for them correctly. I thought they might be the size of my 3 which are all about 4.5" after looking at the pics. Boy was I wrong! These girls are HUGE! I spent two hours making lids for a temporary indoor enclosure for them (I am moving next month and will have the money to make them an appropriate enclosure in the next couple months) that I though would work only to find out that is is way to shallow for them. So for now, I have them in the glass 40 gallon breeder tank she brought with them. I know it's way to small. I have divided my outdoor enclosure and power washed the dirt (Thats the only thing I could thing of to do) so I could put them outside while keeping them away from my other russians for the quarantine period. Below is the photo I took while soaking them this morning. I really don't have to point out which ones are the new arrivals.

 

[kirsty Johnston]

Congratulations
They are lovely!

 

[Merrick]

Congrats I hope they do good for you

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I don't want to beat a dead horse or tell you something that you don't already know, but....
You know that Russians are some of the scrappiest, fighting-est, can't stand another tortoise being near them tortoises out there, right?
I feel for you!

 

[axeman25]

I don't want to beat a dead horse or tell you something that you don't already know, but....
You know that Russians are some of the scrappiest, fighting-est, can't stand another tortoise being near them tortoises out there, right?
I feel for you!

Yup, I know this and have posted several times warning about it. I always soak my three together and they are together in their outdoor enclosure which is 7'x30' with lots of sight barriers. I separate one of them while indoors. The two big females I literally got hours before I took this pic and were delivered to me in a 40 gallon breeder tank which has been their home since last June. I have the ability to separate them if needed and have kept a close eye on them. They actually do pretty well for such large girls in such a small area and yes I am also aware of the non physical bullying that can go on as well. I am moving next month and plan on building the girls a very large indoor enclosure that I am able to divide if needed. The two have been together for years in a fairly small enclosure before the breeders tank so it'll be nice for them to have some room.