New Russian with a really bad shell

[JoeTurtleKing]

I just got 4 free Russian tortoises. 3 males and 1 Big female with a really bad shell. The family I got her off of seemed to really love her but must have feed her the wrong things :-(

 

[kathyth]

I dont even know what to say about the shell.
I will defer to the much more experienced.
Does she have trouble moving her head in and out of the shell?
Hopefully with proper care you can help her!

 

[JoeTurtleKing]

I dont even know what to say about the shell.
I will defer to the much more experienced.
Does she have trouble moving her head in and out of the shell?
Hopefully with proper care you can help her!

She can move fine and eats great and has laid eggs this year for the last owners. I feel bad for her but im sure she will be fine. They had her for 6 years. From what the old owners said when I put her in my outdoor pen (This is the 1st time shes been outside since we owned her) So I hope shes enjoying the sun, I know her shell will be this way for the rest of her life, I just hope I can make the rest of her life better

 

[CactusVinnie]

Poor tortoise!! That was not accelerated growth, that was EXPLOSIVE growth!! What did she ate, have you asked?
I think you can help a lot this one, with outdoor enclosure, sunshine, weeds and limestone powder, and maybe hibernation from the next winter.

 

[JoeTurtleKing]

Poor tortoise!! That was not accelerated growth, that was EXPLOSIVE growth!! What did she ate, have you asked?
I think you can help a lot this one, with outdoor enclosure, sunshine, weeds and limestone powder, and maybe hibernation from the next winter.

I didn't want to ask and be rude. I just said that you for the tortoises but when she arrived there was strawberries in the enclosure so im sure she ate a bunch of fruit and other stuff she shouldn't. From the look of her shell I would say she was fed dog food, Thats all I can think that will make her grow this fast. The people also gave me a zoomed tortoise house plus the heat lamps and lights. I think the family tried there best to take care of her but must have fed the wrong foods all the time

 

[shellysmom]

Oh. My. God. That's crazy. How do the other ones look?

 

[lynnedit]

A combination of the wrong food, too much of it, and poor lighting.

If she can walk, eyes are open, and she poos and pees, she will be OK. She will never be perfect, but she will be happy.

She needs exercise, weeds/greens high in calcium and SUNLIGHT!

Glad you got her.

 

[chris_m90731]

Wow. Talk about bad husbandry. Please take better care.

 

[CactusVinnie]

Well, Joe, with care, she could became a healthy breeder for the next years, but I think she will need 2-3 years of getting used to the "poor" weed diet and recalcify, first.
Yeah, dog or cat food, I think that too... Make sure she has water, it is a wonder that her kidneys didn't fail from all that protein- maybe due to the juicy fruit diet. Also the "lights" she had, I suppose UVB, helped her a lot, it would have been much worse without them.

Anyway, it is a quite hardy tortoise, still alive and without irreversible damages- her genes are worthy to propagate, that's for sure.

Good luck with her!

 

[JoeTurtleKing]

Update: She is doing great! Very shy but has been eating until I trimmed her beak and nails now shes mad and wont eat but im sure she will. Its only been two days since I trimmed her beak & nails and they where very long. Here are some more pictures before I gave her a trim.

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Oh. My. God. That's crazy. How do the other ones look?

The other ones look fine but she was the one they had the longest

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Here is a picture of the smallest male I got off them. He was in rough shape. He was with two other male Russians and his nose was all bit and so was his tail. All the males are in separate enclosure now and are doing a lot better. All eating and drinking