We just adopted a Russian male, roughly 1 yr. He is about 4.5 inches. We believe the shop was overfeeding him with an incorrect diet. They had him housed in an enclosure filled with red wood chips. He is doing well on an improved diet.
This was moved here why? I was responding to the original poster, as I was citing the example that my tortoise of the same species was also about 4 to 4.5 inches in length as quoted by the store I aquired him from. Maybe got lost in my extra details. I can be long winded.We just adopted a Russian male, roughly 1 yr. He is about 4.5 inches. We believe the shop was overfeeding him with an incorrect diet. They had him housed in an enclosure filled with red wood chips. He is doing well on an improved diet.
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Rosey ...short for RooseveltHi and welcome! Have you seen the caresheet for Russians? It has much better info than pet shops usually give.
https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
Have fun getting to know your new tortoise! Does he have a name yet?
I was told he was a year old. Considering how off they were on other info I am not suprised. My understanding is that he can get to 6 to 8 inches in shell length? So he could grow some more. Do not know how they aquired him but he has a very sweet personality. He nuzzles up at my chin and doesn't run off if I dose off. Wife was there so no danger. We have anti bacterial soap for us, and are keeping him clean. Little dude loves soaking, and a good gentle scrub with a toothbrush.( I have it marked). His uric discharge looks good as well as deposits(#2).Your new little Russian tortoise is almost full grown, so much older than the one year you've assumed.
Rosey was the name of my childhood dog. A good nameRosey ...short for Roosevelt
Again. He is only on the floor with human supervision. I do not trust my dog or cats good intentions as opposed to their natural desire. I have been around animals of all types since I was a kid. I am not humanizing his behavior. I am well aware that he may have his own motives. That is natural. But it is obvious that he has been exposed to humans early on. His quick recognition of me as a provider is a point to that. He also seems perfectly comfortable with short term contact. Also some long term. Dude just crawls into a shirt pocket and chills. Obviously you have to give the tortoise their due.Welcome! Sounds like your poor little guy was dried out; he’s lucky to have you. If your post got moved it might be because you responded to someone else’s post describing your own tortoise. New owners deserve their own post!
They can grow larger but that’s mostly females, yours isn’t likely to get too much bigger.
Please please do not let your tortoise roam on the floor, it is absolutely risky. Additionally, as mentioned above, they can’t be with dogs, they are just a calcium chew. Even the best dog is likely to eventually cause a problem (sorry!).
It’s easy for humans to confuse reptile behavior with mammal behavior. Tortoises are solitary animals and aggressive, Russians in particular. They don’t want friends and any other animal they encounter is likely to be seen as a competitor for food or space. He’s not nuzzling your cats, he’s trying to establish dominance. He needs his own space, which I can see you’re working on.
You already know your pet store gave you a lot of bad info so hopefully you’ve read the care sheet. Just in case, here it is again: https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/.
I’m afraid that food mix looks wrong (is that red stuff fruit? it might just be the picture but are there twigs in there?) Russians truly can’t digest sugars healthfully, they don’t eat grass and very rarely twigs or dry matter; they are from a poor scrubby climate when they eat primarily leaves with some flowers in the spring. Unless your tortoise is showing signs of a calcium deficiency you’ve got too must supplement on there, for an adult male the tiniest pinch every so often will do. You can get all of this fixed up pretty quick. Help for this is in the care sheet.
Hopefully this doesn’t feel like a dump of mean advice. All of us made some or all of the mistakes you’re describing and just want the best for your tortoise, as I can see you do.
I do not agree. Oh and having your tortoise on the floor for excise in a well heated room with a clear space protected by two people is not letting them roam. If you can't see what was being done here you are foolish.I tried to be polite.Why so hostile? Rosemary has not been rude in any way, and all of this has been said to help your tortoise.
All of what has been said has been stated because we have learned from the mistakes of others. Almost every time a tortoise gets stomped on, gets caught in a door, eats a dust bunny, and so on, the post starts “I was watching closely”. It doesn’t matter how closely you’re watching, and it only takes a second for something to happen. We don’t say these things to fuel our ego, to ridicule a poster, to get some sort of high, we say it to help your tortoise. These are situations we see time and time again, and we do not want you to be another example.
That reference was not made by the forum. It was taken from a Facebook group because it does have a nice amount of good information. That does not, however, mean that the forum is a hive mind that agrees with every single thing on the site, and having one source not even made by the forum does not negate what anyone else says.
You are the only one on this thread who has come after other members. No one has said anything meant as an attack, or even anything snarky in the slightest. This is a forum made for giving advice so that the poster and other readers can learn. I highly suggest that you view this advice in a different light so that it can help you and your tortoise.