Hey all,
About a 2 months ago my wife and I bought Lily at a reptile expo in NH. She's ~5 years old, maybe 5" or so. We were unprepared for her, but we've done tons of research and I think we're doing all we can to keep her happy and healthy. I will add pictures of her and her enclosure later today. Shortly after taking her home she developed and eye infection so we took her to a reptile vet, ran her through a course of antibiotics and some meds for hookworm. The infection cleared up and her worms are also gone
We were using a small plastic bin for her but we recently built her a larger enclosure (indoor as we live in Maine). It's 4' x 4' x 1'. We have two UVB heat bulbs opposite from each other, and 2 infrared heat lamps on the other two sides. Temps are around 80 avg. during the day (90's under the lights, and 70 avg at night with the two day lights out. We feed her nothing but greens (mostly collards, endive, escarole, green chard, and occasionally romain lettuce). We're using a coconut choir / play sand substrate. We bathe her 2-3 times a week. I'm concerned about her level of activity. She eats everyday, but very sparsely. She sleeps maybe 20 hours a day minimum and won't get up to eat or anything unless we bother her. She sleeps with her head all the way out as well...don't know if that's normal. She also doesn't really burrow in her substrate. She's almost always in the same exact spot I leave her in when I get home from work. I know she was wild caught, and I'm thinking maybe she's trying to hibernate. I check her over all the time and she is showing no signs of being unhealthy. Clear eyes, hard shell, etc. She also never takes more than a few steps away from her food when she's done and immediatly goes to sleep after eating. She's lively for a few minutes after a bath, but not for very long. I really want to know if this is normal as my wife and I really love her. I'm just really not sure how lively a healthy russian tortoise is supposed to be.
About a 2 months ago my wife and I bought Lily at a reptile expo in NH. She's ~5 years old, maybe 5" or so. We were unprepared for her, but we've done tons of research and I think we're doing all we can to keep her happy and healthy. I will add pictures of her and her enclosure later today. Shortly after taking her home she developed and eye infection so we took her to a reptile vet, ran her through a course of antibiotics and some meds for hookworm. The infection cleared up and her worms are also gone
We were using a small plastic bin for her but we recently built her a larger enclosure (indoor as we live in Maine). It's 4' x 4' x 1'. We have two UVB heat bulbs opposite from each other, and 2 infrared heat lamps on the other two sides. Temps are around 80 avg. during the day (90's under the lights, and 70 avg at night with the two day lights out. We feed her nothing but greens (mostly collards, endive, escarole, green chard, and occasionally romain lettuce). We're using a coconut choir / play sand substrate. We bathe her 2-3 times a week. I'm concerned about her level of activity. She eats everyday, but very sparsely. She sleeps maybe 20 hours a day minimum and won't get up to eat or anything unless we bother her. She sleeps with her head all the way out as well...don't know if that's normal. She also doesn't really burrow in her substrate. She's almost always in the same exact spot I leave her in when I get home from work. I know she was wild caught, and I'm thinking maybe she's trying to hibernate. I check her over all the time and she is showing no signs of being unhealthy. Clear eyes, hard shell, etc. She also never takes more than a few steps away from her food when she's done and immediatly goes to sleep after eating. She's lively for a few minutes after a bath, but not for very long. I really want to know if this is normal as my wife and I really love her. I'm just really not sure how lively a healthy russian tortoise is supposed to be.
