New friend today! Any advice?

[elliotmarie]

I’m so so excited!! I got my guy today! They’re thinking he’s pretty young 3-4 month and a Russian tortoise!!
Any tips or advice is appreciated, I’m a first time tortoise mom and I’m nervous but excited!
Can I put the heat lamp directly on the metal mesh top of the enclosure?
Also I’m thinking of naming him Theo, Tucker or Ty/Tyrant short for tyrannosaurustortis lol

 

[LaLaP]

Congrats on your new pal! Those are great names and I especially like Ty/Tyrant. They really are like tiny dinosaurs.
So I have some news for ya... your guy is a full sized adult and is several years old. Could 5 years or even 10. There's no way to know because he was caught in the wild. It's very common for Russian torts to be wild caught. I have 2 myself. You can put your heat lamp on mesh but you have to make sure that the basking spot is the right temperature. It needs to be sound 95 degrees. Do you have a way to measure temps. A lazer heat gun is a great and cheap way. You can get one at a hardware store. You'll need a uvb light and that can't be set on the mesh because the uvb rays don't go through the mesh well enough. Here are some good threads that you should read:

https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

If you post photos of your setup we can help you get things right.

 

[LaLaP]

Oh and your tort might be a female. Can you get another photo of the tail? Especially of the vent (where the poop comes out).

 

[Tom]

Woohoo! You got one!

LaLaP is right on.You've got an adult female wild caught tortoise. Looks healthy. Enjoy!

 

[Toddrickfl1]

Congratulations, and welcome to the wonderful world of Tortoise keeping. As others have said your Russian is a full grown adult. Also Theo looks like a Thea.

 

[OwnerOfTravisAndBoris]

I have two Russians and they are great pets, im sure you will love her?

 

[Ink]

Enjoy your new tortoise! Congrats