Please Help Identifying Tortoise

[series]

Can anyone tell me what these are so I can better take care of them?
They are likely very expensive, as they were my sister's rich boss's but she was irresponsible and left us to take care of her pet, and since it's still technically hers I am not allowed to find them better owners either. She gave us a total of $150 to take care of the pair indefinitely.

I am sorry to say but these tortoises are very abused, my mom refuses to have any pets indoors so these tortoise are left outside in the shade all year, and their enclosure cannot be placed near an electrical outlet.
We live in Southern California, temperature gets to ~85 in the summer and ~50 in the winter.
They would only eat lettuce and cabbage and apple peel (which I know is not good for them), we tried throwing in other vegetables that tortoise should be able to eat and moistened tortoise pellets, but they always ignore those.
Their nails are very long, I don't know if it's from the lack of space to move around in their enclosures, which is about the size of a child's coffin maybe.

I am probably getting some hate here, I don't mind some labor, but I do not want to pay too much out of my own pocket.
What are some affordable things I can do to improve their living condition, and what are some must buys?
I am thinking to buy a water bowl (Amazon Link) even though they don't seem to drink water, and these lamps (Amazon Link) and just pick them up and bring them under the lamp from time to time. I probably need to upgrade the substrate sometime? Right now I am replacing the original dirty wood chips with flimsy wood shaves that we happen to have. There is a woodblock looking tunnel shaped hiding area they always hide under, the space is tight for two. Do I get them something else to hide under?
Also, do I try to bring them outside and walk them to give them enough exercise, even though they seem to be scared and always try to find a place to hide? I bring their enclosure out to the sun during winters.

 

[DoubleD1996!]

Can anyone tell me what these are so I can better take care of them?
They are likely very expensive, as they were my sister's rich boss's but she was irresponsible and left us to take care of her pet, and since it's still technically hers I am not allowed to find them better owners either. She gave us a total of $150 to take care of the pair indefinitely.

I am sorry to say but these tortoises are very abused, my mom refuses to have any pets indoors so these tortoise are left outside in the shade all year, and their enclosure cannot be placed near an electrical outlet.
We live in Southern California, temperature gets to ~85 in the summer and ~50 in the winter.
They would only eat lettuce and cabbage and apple peel (which I know is not good for them), we tried throwing in other vegetables that tortoise should be able to eat and moistened tortoise pellets, but they always ignore those.
Their nails are very long, I don't know if it's from the lack of space to move around in their enclosures, which is about the size of a child's coffin maybe.

I am probably getting some hate here, I don't mind some labor, but I do not want to pay too much out of my own pocket.
What are some affordable things I can do to improve their living condition, and what are some must buys?
I am thinking to buy a water bowl (Amazon Link) even though they don't seem to drink water, and these lamps (Amazon Link) and just pick them up and bring them under the lamp from time to time. I probably need to upgrade the substrate sometime? Right now I am replacing the original dirty wood chips with flimsy wood shaves that we happen to have. There is a woodblock looking tunnel shaped hiding area they always hide under, the space is tight for two. Do I get them something else to hide under?
Also, do I try to bring them outside and walk them to give them enough exercise, even though they seem to be scared and always try to find a place to hide? I bring their enclosure out to the sun during winters.

View attachment 384686View attachment 384687

Looks like you've got two Russia torts. I commend you from trying to do better, and no one should give you any flap for that.

Can't tell the genders without seeing the tail, but you would want to keep two males seperate, and a male and a female seperate.

The males will combat, and if it's a pair, the male will relentlessly harass the female to breed.

Good news is, russian torts are very cold hardy, and it's not a major issue for them to be outdoors year round so long as they have somewhere to stay dry and burrow. They also need an area with full sun. If you can't provide that, they need uvb lighting and heat. Enclosure should be at least 4ft. You could easily construct one for cheap out of pallets. Disassemble them and make sure the surrounding walls and borders are dig proof as these guys love to burrow.

As far as diet, look into feeding them a more naturalistic diet. Weeds you can source easily outdoors like dandelion, thistle, wild mustard, cactus, to name a few. These days, it's easy to snap a shot of a plant on your phone, ID it and Google if it's safe to feed. You also have the tortoise table app as well.

They need a shallow water dish, and hides. And if your on a budget, substrate could simply be dirt from the yard, organic top soil, and cypress mulch. Ditch the shavings.There is a more in depth care sheet here you can search for russian torts. I'm just giving you the gist. There is ALWAYS (no matter your level of keeping) more to learn.


Here's an example of how I keep some of the males.

Hope this helps,
Eddie

 

[Sarah2020]

They are Russians. Suggest you have a good read of the care sheet and see what you can adjust / amend. I would focus on the diet, warm shallow soaks in a high sided container and claw care and progress from there . I recommend you search for a local reptile shop and check if they have someone who can trim claw nails and get them attended to. Tortoise need a good diet, calcium for strong bones, claw, shell and beak, hydration, heat and light but if that is not forthcoming ensure there is sunshine, shade and shelter that does not flood.
Care sheet -->https://tortoiseforum.org/forums/tortoise-faqs-new-and-need-help.133/
They can not roam inside unattended as they will bite cables and wee and poo freely. They are running as they need cover. They are trying to find shelter from predators that is their natural instinct. Introduce hides and shelters to provide cover and shelter. They need a large dedicated space for them. Normally they live solo and do not need a friend. Overtime you may find one dominates and flips, bites the other. If that occurs separate and provide independent enclosures.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello! Don’t you worry about hate here! Judgment free zone and I think it’s wonderful you’ve made your way here! That alone shows you care about giving these two a better life you have two Russian tortoises there.

Now first and foremost, they need separating asap! tortoise of any species should NEVER be housed in pairs under any circumstances, they’re incredibly territorial(particularly Russians), behaviours that look cute to us really aren’t, following one another and sleeping huddled up is all bullying the the tortoise world, you’ll eventually see more extreme signs of aggression. Anyone who tells you pairs are fine, have no idea what they’re talking about.
Small groups are ok when there’s lots of land and the correct male to female ratio.

That said, don’t be surprised if once you do, they act ‘off’ for a few weeks, don’t let that discourage you! It’s because they are animals that hate any kind of change, even the good ones! It’ll take a few weeks possibly for them to settle and realise they don’t need to go looking for their rival.

Substrate does need fixing yes, shavings like this isn’t a good option.
Don’t buy those lamps no, they aren’t appropriate.
For a water dish those bowls are a known hazard, the safest option is a clay terracotta saucer, they have grip should tortoise accidentally flip in there.

I’d suggest giving this housing thread a read! It covers correct equipment(uvb, heating bulbs, lighting etc, if you can provide uv outdoors, you won’t need it indoors), correct levels, sizing, appropriately maintaining the humidity, safe substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything and a really handy diet link to check out! They will each need an individual set up

Housing adult Russian and Hermans indoors

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information an example of an appropriate indoor set up for an older Herman/russian. As much as it’s encouraged to have tortoises in a safe outdoor enclosure, I understand being from the uk myself, that some climates make it difficult to...

tortoiseforum.org

This includes inspiration for both indoors and out! In your climate, separate outdoor enclosures with a individual night box would be ideal!

Enclosure inspiration

Howdy folks! Hope everyone is well! As you all know, I’m a big fan of making threads that cater more towards visual learners like myself, I’ve really been wanting to create a thread full of adult enclosure inspiration for a while now, I’ve managed to find some great references over time! I do...

tortoiseforum.org

Lastly, probably most important! this one here can be really good to familiarise yourself with, it’ll always help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

Really hope this all helps! Always happy to try and answer any further questions! Welcome to the forum, wonderful to have you here

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Welcome to the forum! Sounds like you are in the right mindset and trying to do better!

 

[series]

You guys are the best! I am reading and re-reading all the posts. Some recommendations are harder to implement, I have to digest and figure out what to do.

 

[TammyJ]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[SinLA]

Welcome from LA! What (general) part are you in? There’s a lot of micro climates here and we can give you better guidance. Read the FAQs above and we’ll be happy to answer questions.

Here’s my backyard enclosure, it’s very easy once you are set up correctly. As noted they cannot be kept in pairs, you’ll need two separate enclosures

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

You guys are the best! I am reading and re-reading all the posts. Some recommendations are harder to implement, I have to digest and figure out what to do.

We all understand every circumstance is different, sometimes set ups have to be less than ideal until future plans can be made and that’s ok, we can still help each step of the way if you need any tips on anything