New Testudo tortoise

[Roxanne B]

Hi. I purchased this tortoise on Saturday and its now Tuesday morning. He stays in his hide and is not eating yet. I have soaked him twice. Temporarily I have him in a 40-gallon tank with the bark substrate recommended at pet store, mixed with some coconut soil my son uses for his tarantulas. I have the two dome lamps on one side, water and food (mixed greens of spinach, kale and romaine. I’m concerned about him. What should I do?

 

[iAmCentrochelys sulcata]

The tortoise looks Healthy, tortoises dont eat right away when theres a change in its environment. feed weeds and if you dont have any feed a variety of spring mix (try finding the ones with different leaves not just lettuce types) collard greens, mustard greens, etc.

 

[Golden Greek Tortoise 567]

He is a full grown russian, you’ll need a much bigger enclosure. At least 8ft by 4ft, read this care sheet it has all the correct care.

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

www.tortoiseforum.org

 

[Roxanne B]

The tortoise looks Healthy, tortoises dont eat right away when theres a change in its environment. feed weeds and if you dont have any feed a variety of spring mix (try finding the ones with different leaves not just lettuce types) collard greens, mustard greens, etc.

 

[Roxanne B]

Thank you for the reply. I will offer more variety. Its normal for them to hide like this for days at first? Wondering how long is too long.

 

[Golden Greek Tortoise 567]

Thank you for the reply. I will offer more variety. Its normal for them to hide like this for days at first? Wondering how long is too long.

If it lasts a week then there might be a problem. But they usually are shy at first.

 

[Roxanne B]

We live in a townhome. The largest habitat I will be able to provide is 4 or 5’ by 2’. I’m shopping for raised, open tables. However, he was in a much smaller enclosure at the pet store and they said he was active and thriving. She also said he still has some growing to do, but he looks full grown?

QUOTE="Golden Greek Tortoise 567, post: 1856240, member: 119773"]
He is a full grown russian, you’ll need a much bigger enclosure. At least 8ft by 4ft, read this care sheet it has all the correct care.

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

www.tortoiseforum.org

[/QUOTE]

 

[Minority2]

We live in a townhome. The largest habitat I will be able to provide is 4 or 5’ by 2’. I’m shopping for raised, open tables. However, he was in a much smaller enclosure at the pet store and they said he was active and thriving. She also said he still has some growing to do, but he looks full grown?

QUOTE="Golden Greek Tortoise 567, post: 1856240, member: 119773"]
He is a full grown russian, you’ll need a much bigger enclosure. At least 8ft by 4ft, read this care sheet it has all the correct care.

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

www.tortoiseforum.org

[/QUOTE]

@Golden Greek Tortoise 567 is correct. It's already an adult, likely wild caught. Most pet store owners will say just about anything to get rid of their stock. Most of these establishments are still giving outdated and unsafe tortoise care information to their customers to this very day.

A few example threads about pet store mistreatment:

How to Deal with "Bad" Pet Shops, Zoos, etc.

How to Deal with "Bad" Pet Shops, Zoos, etc. We all have our stories. We went to a zoo here or a pet shop there, and witnessed questionable and sometimes deplorable conditions: unhealthy animals, neglected enclosures that hadn’t been cleaned in days, empty water bowls, overcrowded cages...

www.tortoiseforum.org

How to approach a pet store owner about their reptiles' conditions...?

So, this is something that has plagued me since I got into reptiles 3 years ago. Almost from the very moment I decided to get my first snake, I've been dealing with bad pet stores that don't take good care of their animals but won't take good advice, either. One of those pet stores (the...

www.tortoiseforum.org

Do not buy from petsmart or petco

They abuse all animals if you buy anything from there i garuntee you thers a high chance it will only live 2 years

www.tortoiseforum.org

Tortoises require large enclosures because they need enough space to get around, to roam; something tortoises are naturally prone to do. They need a large enough enclosure to not feel trapped and bottled in. General activity levels can often be reflected by the amount of space you can provide along with how stable a tortoise keeper is able to keep their temperature and humidity levels intact throughout the day.

 

[zovick]

Pet store personnel do not always tell buyers the truth if they are anxious to make sales. Also there seem to be many well-meaning young people working in pet stores who do not really know what care is correct for the animals they have. Many of them are simply repeating incorrect info which has been told to them by their superiors, managers, or the owners.

In my experience, there are very few pet store personnel who are actually familiar with the correct care and husbandry for various reptiles.