New Russian

[Louie-Lou-I]

So over the Black Friday weekend I was excited and bought a pair of Russians. At this point they are in their own enclosure and eating, basking, exploring at their leisure.

Then I looked on the forum and it said wild caught. I have mixed feelings on this.... Are they going to have parasites? I have other Russians that I would like to house with them eventually but is 60 days good or will they need longer?

 

[Jacqui]

Even captive bred tortoises will have parasites, but wild caught ones normally have a higher load. Having some worms is not a bad thing, it's when stress and diet cause the load to increase or bloom, that problems happen. You can always take a stool sample into your Vet to see what their loads are like. 60 days should be okay. I myself prefer longer, but that's me.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Can the OP feed the new wild caught Russians pumpkin? I read that was a natural de wormer..
Would those be the only parasites for her to be concerned about?

 

[Louie-Lou-I]

Well they do seem happy and healthy at the moment so hopefully I can keep the stress as low as possible.

Is it possible to tell if its wild caught or only because its so likely from the pet store.

Does pumpkin work? Canned or fresh would be better?

 

[Jacqui]

The pumpkin won't do much to actually kill a parasite bloom. Some folks say that food grade diatomaceous earth works great. I am currently trying that on my animals. Usually with a wild caught Russian you will have a rougher surface with some pitting even.

 

[lynnedit]

Chances are they are wild caught if from a Pet Store. If they are doing well; eating, urinating normally and poo looks healthy(not runny and in torts with very heavy parasite loads you can sometimes see it in the stool), then you can continue to watch them.
The fact that they are active, etc., is a very good sign.

Some wait 3 months, some 6 months before mixing them with their established torts.
Do you have a large enclosure with sight breaks, etc., for them?

 

[Louie-Lou-I]

Well the indoor enclosure right now for the main 2 is large enough for them. I was thinking of adding a level and thereby doubling the size and in the process adding a garden on the side. I saw it online and it just looked nice with the bonus of fresh grazing greens on the side. I have seeds on the go now so it might be another month until I do the project.

I may need to amend to two enclosures either way. We will see how the mix goes with the newbies eventually. The male tends to bug the female a bit but she holds her own and they don't fight. I noticed though that in the last month or so he seems to have given up on her. No real head wagging or trying to look studdly. We shall see.... I'd like the two littles to be females but I'm 98% sure that one is male. Is it pretty definitive at 4"?

The two newbies are in a Rubbermaid 50gal which I know isn't amazing size wise but its temporary and they are relatively small. 4 inches but small at that with more delicate looking features. They aren't super light, just not beefy if that makes any sense.

I'm not sure what you mean by sight lines?

 

[Jacqui]

A sight break or visual barrier is something (like plants, hides, rocks, uneven ground surface) which breaks up the line of sight or hides the tortoise from the view of the other one to give it a rest.

 

[canadianturtsandtorts]

Ah, yes. There are sight breaks now between the two from before and more when the other level is built.

The newbies have some but I'm going to try and make their enclosure a bit more interesting for them. So far it's basically plants, a hide, heat lamp/UVB etc. the basics. It lacks anything too interesting and could use some more sight breaks I'm sure.

 

[lynnedit]

sounds like their lives have taken a turn for the better!

 

[ottosmom18]

Even captive bred tortoises will have parasites, but wild caught ones normally have a higher load. Having some worms is not a bad thing, it's when stress and diet cause the load to increase or bloom, that problems happen. You can always take a stool sample into your Vet to see what their loads are like. 60 days should be okay. I myself prefer longer, but that's me.

My tortoise was captive bred, but after a week of having him i took him back to Petsmart (Petsmart has a two week guaranty so if they get sick they take them to a vet for a free screaning) and the test came back positive for 5 different kinds of parasites! Now, after a brush with death, he's recovering. The fact your tortoises were wild bred increase the risk dramatically. Separate the two tortoises immediatly and call your vet ASAP!!!!!