Nervous new mother (human!)

[RosemaryDW]

Late last October, my husband and I found a desert tortoise on the street on the edge of our neighborhood. In the 24 hours we had her before reaching a qualified vet, she* disappeared. We presumed she had dug in somewhere but could not find the burrow location.

Last Friday, after some early warm weather, she emerged. Her burrow is on a slight slope, just next to a boulder and in between/under the root system of a ground cover plant. It's not terribly deep/long, maybe a foot?

She looks okay, no obvious signs of ill health or infection. Our yard** is entirely landscaped with California natives, quite a few of which are on the "acceptable" lists. She's willing to eat a few of them but is much more interested in romaine. :/ I soaked her a bit yesterday; that's about as much as I would like to handle her for now.

At night she returns to her burrow but does not go all the way down into it. We've added a wood overhang and I put some leaf litter over it once she's down for the night. I'd rather not try to house her inside; it is not consistently cold enough here, not even in the garage. Where we live in Irvine is VERY temperate and she should do well outside for the most part, I think.

Today it started to rain and naturally I am positive she is going to catch a horrible illness if I don't immediately intervene. This tortoise has survived four months in this exact spot without any assistance from me plus however long she was roaming the streets but surely I know better than she does? It's an El Nino year, after all!

Your feedback is appreciated! I've attached a photo from October; it's not the best but I didn't expect her to brumate so quickly.

*I'm guessing it's a she.
**Our yard is behind cinderblock walls with no exit points.

 

[Tom]

That is a russian tortoise.

Here is some care info:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Here is how I house mine:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/semi-underground-russian-box.98590/#post-922226
They can live outside all year here with the right enclosure. I hibernate mine in a fridge over winter since our winter weather is not warm enough for them to safely function, but not consistently cold enough for them to hibernate either.

This addition allows me to keep them outside later into fall and earlier in the spring:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/heating-an-outdoor-russian-night-box.116180/#post-1077261

I was just in Irvine on Sunday for Cavalia. I love it down there. Great area.

 

[RosemaryDW]

A Russian tortoise? Goodness. With all the native rescues we have here in California, I didn't see that coming!

Thank you. I had started on the first link already, since the care sheet said they are very similar. A fridge certainly didn't come to mind!

 

[RosemaryDW]

Do I need to bring her out of the rain tonight, would you think?

 

[Tom]

A Russian tortoise? Goodness. With all the native rescues we have here in California, I didn't see that coming!

Thank you. I had started on the first link already, since the care sheet said they are very similar. A fridge certainly didn't come to mind!

Care is very similar for DTs and russians, but a lot of what is written on the internet for both species is old, out-dated, and wrong.

I used to hibernate them on the cold garage floor, but we just have too many 80 and 90 degree winter days here and the temperatures are just too warm and too inconsistent. Using a fridge set to the correct temperature keeps things perfectly controlled all winter long regardless of the weather outside. Protects them from rodents and bugs too.

 

[Tom]

Do I need to bring her out of the rain tonight, would you think?

I would. Best if you have a large indoor enclosure for bad weather days and nights and a large outdoor enclosure for fair weather.

 

[RosemaryDW]

I would. Best if you have a large indoor enclosure for bad weather days and nights and a large outdoor enclosure for fair weather.

Thanks! we'll work something out.

 

[RosemaryDW]

Hmm, if we hibernate her in a fridge and have an indoor spot for rainy days, would a night box be necessary? Weatherwise, we are a hair's width away from Newport Coast. Our temperatures just barely hit the low forties/top thirties in the winter months, when we'll hibernate her. We historically have the occasional week to ten days in August when we get into the nineties.

Her hibernation time this year exactly matched the tracked weather changes. We're happy to do it, I'm just not sure it will get much use. Unless she can be in it on rainy days?

Also, for a single Russian (we are a one and done family!), how big for a night box, 2x2?

Sorry for so many questions but hopefully newbies get a two-week pass?

 

[Tom]

You don't need a pass. We are all here to talk tortoises. Questions like yours fuel the conversation.

2x2' would be plenty large for a russian tortoise's night box. You could even go smaller if you wanted. 18x18 or 12x12 would be fine too.

I'm not sure I understand your question on hibernation. Hibernation is a months long process done over winter. Its not a day to day thing depending on the weather. You either go through the steps and hibernate them in the fall, or you keep them in a heated and lit indoor enclosure and awake for the winter. Either one is fine, but you'll have to decide ahead of time which way you want to go next year. Hibernation time is pretty much over for this time of year, so you just need to make sure your tortoise is staying warm and dry enough during the cooler days of spring.

 

[RosemaryDW]

Oh, sorry to be unclear. We would keep her inside, hibernation for the appropriate timeframe--straight through winter. Likely in a fridge. End of hibernation questions--for now, anyway!

It's just that the overall weather is sooo mild here. I'm trying to understand if she needs a night box AND an indoor enclosure for the other months of the year or if just one or the other will be enough to keep her healthy? We'll do what we need to.

Thank you for your patience!