New Tortoise Owner

[tn00b_22]

Hey all,

I just rescued a full grown Russian tortoise. I've gone ahead and named it Clyde. I don't know the gender. This is my first tortoise and I just want to make sure I am giving him/her the best possible life from here on out. They have been stuck in a tiny little enclosure with absolutely no burrowing space. Being fed only lettuce, for the majority of its life. According to the ex owner I rescued it from, it is fully grown. I have been doing some research and have found some very informative videos but I still have many questions. I would appreciate it if someone gets back to me asap. My questions are as follows:

How much should I feed him/her?
The best kinds of diet for him/her?
How big should his/her terrarium be? I am currently going to house him/her in a 4x4 enclosure for the time being.
How many lights should I have in the enclosure and what wattage?
How often should I fully clean out the enclosure?

Any other tips would be appreciated. Thank you guys!

 

[KarenSoCal]

Start out by thoroughly reading the care sheet I've linked below. That will answer most questions.

As for the questions you've listed...
1. Start out with the amount of food that it would take to fill his shell. At the end of the day, if there's none left over, give a little more the next day. If there's a little left over, you gave the correct amount.

2. At the end of this post, I will give you a very long list of good tortoise foods. A very long list...

3. The bigger the better. Minimum size for an adult is 8ft x 4ft.

4. That is decided by your enclosure and your thermometer. Since he's an adult and with your climate, you could house him outdoors for most of the year. Indoors, at minimum you will need a basking light, a UVB light, and some additional ambient light if you need/want it. Read the care sheet for more info.

5. Whenever it needs it. Many keepers do it about every 6 months. If your tort cooperates and pees/poops in his soaks, you might not have to totally empty it at all. Spot cleaning is done daily.

Care sheet and food list...

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

Compiled by Tom: Good foods for tortoises are "chicories," types of lettuce that are likely to be on the far side of the more common floppy green heads of lettuce most people buy. Anything labeled as simply "chicory" is good, as are radiccio, frisee, escarole, and endive; you might even find something labeled as dandelions. You may find a bag of "Spring" or "Spicy" mix that is good, just check the label to be sure it has some of the chicories I just mentioned. The leaves (just the leaves) of turnips and radishes are also good, as are carrot tops. Collards, mustard greens, bok choy, and other dark, leafy greens are okay as well. If you have any kind of Mexican/hispanic market near you, they will sell cactus, labeled "nopales." Cactus is a great food to rotate in the diet, as it is high in calcium. You don't need to feed all of these at one time, just make sure your tortoise is getting access to different types of food. As you get more experienced, you can find the better types of food listed on the care sheets. Here are a whole bunch of non-grocery store suggestions. Mulberry leaves Grape vine leaves Hibiscus leaves African hibiscus leaves Blue hibiscus leaves Rose of Sharon leaves Rose leaves Geraniums Gazanias Nasturtium Lavatera Pansies Petunias Hostas Honeysuckle Cape honeysuckle Leaves and blooms from any squash plant, like pumpkin, cucumber, summer squash, etc... Young spineless opuntia cactus pads Weeds: There are soooooooo many... Dandelion Mallow Filaree Smooth Sow thistle Prickly Sow thistle Milk thistle Goat head weed Cats ear Nettles Trefoil Wild onion Wild mustard Wild Garlic Clovers Broadleaf plantain Narrow leaf plantain Chick weed Hawksbit Hensbit Hawksbeard Other good stuff: "Testudo Seed Mix" from http://www.tortoisesupply.com/SeedMixes Pasture mixes or other seeds from http://www.groworganic.com/seeds.html Homegrown alfalfa Mazuri Tortoise Chow ZooMed Grassland Tortoise Food Ones that you can buy in every store: Arugula Lambs lettuce Chicory Kale Mustard greens Organic kohlrabi leafs Organic carrot leafs Organic radish leafs Dandelions Radiccio Their main diet should be broad leaf weeds, succulents and grasses. Store bought foods are okay, but not the best. Collards and dandelions are a good food, but neither should be used every day. Check out the plant ID section for lots of ideas on weeds to feed. You can get spineless opuntia cactus pads from most Mexican grocery stores, or grow them yourself. You can also easily grow grape leaves, african hibiscus, regular hibiscus (if it will survive in your area), and mulberry leaves. You can try red apple, ice plant, and jade plant too. Also look into Gazania, pansies, nasturtiums, carnations, geraniums and many others. At the grocery store, favor endive and escarole, but also use cilantro, carrot tops, mustard and turnip greens, bok choy, radiccio, swiss chard, watercress, parsley, all the lettuces, etc. Lots of variety is best. There are also tortoise "weed" seed mixes that you can grow. I like the "Testudo Mix" from Tortoisesupply.com. Buckwheat; cactus; vetch; Mohave aster; creosote bush; desert four o’clock; tacoma stans; bladderpod; globe mallow; goldenhead; burro weed; so many things!

 

[GBtortoises]

The Russian Tortoise Care Sheet

This site is dedicated to providing exchange of ideas and information to create a better understanding of the care and breeding of the Russian Tortoise. (Testudo horsfieldii, horsfield, Agrionemys, Steppe)

www.russiantortoise.org

 

[Tortlee83]

Hey all,

I just rescued a full grown Russian tortoise. I've gone ahead and named it Clyde. I don't know the gender. This is my first tortoise and I just want to make sure I am giving him/her the best possible life from here on out. They have been stuck in a tiny little enclosure with absolutely no burrowing space. Being fed only lettuce, for the majority of its life. According to the ex owner I rescued it from, it is fully grown. I have been doing some research and have found some very informative videos but I still have many questions. I would appreciate it if someone gets back to me asap. My questions are as follows:

How much should I feed him/her?
The best kinds of diet for him/her?
How big should his/her terrarium be? I am currently going to house him/her in a 4x4 enclosure for the time being.
How many lights should I have in the enclosure and what wattage?
How often should I fully clean out the enclosure?

Any other tips would be appreciated. Thank you guys!

Clyde!!!! Do you watch Elementary??????? lol..

 

[tn00b_22]

Start out by thoroughly reading the care sheet I've linked below. That will answer most questions.

As for the questions you've listed...
1. Start out with the amount of food that it would take to fill his shell. At the end of the day, if there's none left over, give a little more the next day. If there's a little left over, you gave the correct amount.

2. At the end of this post, I will give you a very long list of good tortoise foods. A very long list...

3. The bigger the better. Minimum size for an adult is 8ft x 4ft.

4. That is decided by your enclosure and your thermometer. Since he's an adult and with your climate, you could house him outdoors for most of the year. Indoors, at minimum you will need a basking light, a UVB light, and some additional ambient light if you need/want it. Read the care sheet for more info.

5. Whenever it needs it. Many keepers do it about every 6 months. If your tort cooperates and pees/poops in his soaks, you might not have to totally empty it at all. Spot cleaning is done daily.

Care sheet and food list...

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

Compiled by Tom: Good foods for tortoises are "chicories," types of lettuce that are likely to be on the far side of the more common floppy green heads of lettuce most people buy. Anything labeled as simply "chicory" is good, as are radiccio, frisee, escarole, and endive; you might even find something labeled as dandelions. You may find a bag of "Spring" or "Spicy" mix that is good, just check the label to be sure it has some of the chicories I just mentioned. The leaves (just the leaves) of turnips and radishes are also good, as are carrot tops. Collards, mustard greens, bok choy, and other dark, leafy greens are okay as well. If you have any kind of Mexican/hispanic market near you, they will sell cactus, labeled "nopales." Cactus is a great food to rotate in the diet, as it is high in calcium. You don't need to feed all of these at one time, just make sure your tortoise is getting access to different types of food. As you get more experienced, you can find the better types of food listed on the care sheets. Here are a whole bunch of non-grocery store suggestions. Mulberry leaves Grape vine leaves Hibiscus leaves African hibiscus leaves Blue hibiscus leaves Rose of Sharon leaves Rose leaves Geraniums Gazanias Nasturtium Lavatera Pansies Petunias Hostas Honeysuckle Cape honeysuckle Leaves and blooms from any squash plant, like pumpkin, cucumber, summer squash, etc... Young spineless opuntia cactus pads Weeds: There are soooooooo many... Dandelion Mallow Filaree Smooth Sow thistle Prickly Sow thistle Milk thistle Goat head weed Cats ear Nettles Trefoil Wild onion Wild mustard Wild Garlic Clovers Broadleaf plantain Narrow leaf plantain Chick weed Hawksbit Hensbit Hawksbeard Other good stuff: "Testudo Seed Mix" from http://www.tortoisesupply.com/SeedMixes Pasture mixes or other seeds from http://www.groworganic.com/seeds.html Homegrown alfalfa Mazuri Tortoise Chow ZooMed Grassland Tortoise Food Ones that you can buy in every store: Arugula Lambs lettuce Chicory Kale Mustard greens Organic kohlrabi leafs Organic carrot leafs Organic radish leafs Dandelions Radiccio Their main diet should be broad leaf weeds, succulents and grasses. Store bought foods are okay, but not the best. Collards and dandelions are a good food, but neither should be used every day. Check out the plant ID section for lots of ideas on weeds to feed. You can get spineless opuntia cactus pads from most Mexican grocery stores, or grow them yourself. You can also easily grow grape leaves, african hibiscus, regular hibiscus (if it will survive in your area), and mulberry leaves. You can try red apple, ice plant, and jade plant too. Also look into Gazania, pansies, nasturtiums, carnations, geraniums and many others. At the grocery store, favor endive and escarole, but also use cilantro, carrot tops, mustard and turnip greens, bok choy, radiccio, swiss chard, watercress, parsley, all the lettuces, etc. Lots of variety is best. There are also tortoise "weed" seed mixes that you can grow. I like the "Testudo Mix" from Tortoisesupply.com. Buckwheat; cactus; vetch; Mohave aster; creosote bush; desert four o’clock; tacoma stans; bladderpod; globe mallow; goldenhead; burro weed; so many things!

Thank you so much for the info. I truly appreciate it! I hope to give him the best possible life from here on out. He is about 7 inches so I wanna say he is a male.

Also I noticed he has broken 2 nails from both his rear legs. No infection seems to be setting in and he is eating normally. Should I take any precautionary steps?

 

[tn00b_22]

Clyde!!!! Do you watch Elementary??????? lol..

Lol I can't believe you caught that. My GF does and Clydeade a lasting impact on her. She showed me compilation videos of him on YouTube and it was the best

 

[KarenSoCal]

Thank you so much for the info. I truly appreciate it! I hope to give him the best possible life from here on out. He is about 7 inches so I wanna say he is a male.

Also I noticed he has broken 2 nails from both his rear legs. No infection seems to be setting in and he is eating normally. Should I take any precautionary steps?

If you will post some pix of Clyde we can help determine if he's really a he. Take a good shot from below him showing his tail area. And take a couple of all of him from above and below. We like to put a face with the name. ?

Can't really say much about the nails without seeing them. How about a picture of those too?

 

[Hutsie B]

congratulations on the new tortoise, you sound like you will give him/her a good home.

 

[tn00b_22]

If you will post some pix of Clyde we can help determine if he's really a he. Take a good shot from below him showing his tail area. And take a couple of all of him from above and below. We like to put a face with the name. ?

Can't really say much about the nails without seeing them. How about a picture of those too?

Yes I will upload some pics in the coming days. I work fulltime 9-5 job and i get home late. Plus he/she isn't used to being handled a lot so I don't want to stress him/her out. But I will get them uploaded asap.

 

[Tom]

https://www.russiantor

http://That link is full of old bad... re-read it before linking it to new members.

 

[Tom]

https://www.russianto.htm

That link is full of old bad info that will do harm to tortoises. I think you should re-read it before you link it to new members.