Possible sick Russian tortoise

L

LasTortugasNinja

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We woke up this am and found Moe dead under his log hide. My poor sons are devastated- we all are as we have gotten attached to him.
I’m just baffled and feeling so defeated as we tried so hard to make everything perfect for him.
Sorry for your loss. If it's any consolation, environmental issues other than freezing or heatstroke generally take months to weaken an adult reptile to the point of death, so it's probably not anything you did. He was probably riddled with parasites or weakened from the months of "care" he received at the petstore or transport from his home country to the petstore. I don't know any petstore that sells captive born torts. It's too expensive to raise babies to adulthood to meet the law requirements for sale at a store that does not affect breeders. Petstores get wild tortoises "farmed" (aka collected from the wild and kept in pens in groups of hundreds) for around $20 to $30 a piece, and sold for $120-$199 each.

There are breeders here who can hopefully help you and your sons get a well started tortoise if you want to raise one from a hatchling. If you prefer the much easier adult route, I HIGHLY recommend looking at your local animal rescue or classified ads. I see dozens of russian torts on classified ads for $50 to $100 and most of these are far less stressed than one recently brought to the USA and will have an easier time acclimating.

Again, very sorry for what happened. I've been there many times.
 

Kim&Tim

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I'm so sorry! Are you sure he's dead? I would wait 48 hours for you do anything. Sometimes they're in a very deep coma like state.
 

Adkmoe

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He is super stiff and rigid. And he was cold in his log. We put him under the heat lamp for a couple of hours, hoping that was the case but I really think he is dead.
 

Cleopatra 2020

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El Mirage. Az
We woke up this am and found Moe dead under his log hide. My poor sons are devastated- we all are as we have gotten attached to him.
I’m just baffled and feeling so defeated as we tried so hard to make everything perfect for him.
Soooooo sorry ....?
 

Kim&Tim

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It does sound like it, I would still wait 48 hours to be 200% sure. I'm really sorry?
 

Adkmoe

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Thank you all for your thoughts.
Once the dust settles, I would love any recommendations for a breeder that would Sell a healthy hatchling. Previous to the pet store purchase, we had looked for almost a year to rehome an adult, but we live in a rural area and we could not locate one within hours of us.
We built this beautiful indoor and outdoor enclosure, it would be a shame to not let my son take care of a tortoise, which has been his dream.
Such an unfortunate ending to our first experience with a tortoise.
Thank you all for you advice and thoughts and I would certainly take any suggestions you have to move forward.
 

KronksMom

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Oct 7, 2019
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Tortoises are wonderful animals, but they are very different from mammals or even from other reptiles. I'm so sorry that you had to learn first hand just how hard it is to get them set up right. I'm glad that you are still open to having another when you find the right one. I would definitely recommend going through one of our reputable breeders here if you're looking for a hatching. I believe @Carol S breeds russians and I know she has a good reputation. If you're looking for an adult, there are sometimes some here that people are looking to give away for various reasons. They tend to do well shipping as long as you do the process right and there are quite a few people on here who could help you with that. @TechnoCheese just recently shipped a tortoise for the first time and quite a few people chimed in to make sure he had the best possible experience.
I'm so sorry about Moe's death. But try to learn from everything that happened with him and hopefully even though he is gone, he can help you to give your next tortoise an even better life.
 

Wavypuma

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Jan 13, 2020
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I’m so sorry that you lost Moe, as these lovely little creatures make you love them very quickly.
my feelings are that he was on the decline before you even got him so please don’t beat yourself up as you’ve tried really hard but I think you got him a little to late.
well done for caring and trying to give him the beat life x
 

Steviemonty

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Apr 9, 2020
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Norwich uk
We woke up this am and found Moe dead under his log hide. My poor sons are devastated- we all are as we have gotten attached to him.
I’m just baffled and feeling so defeated as we tried so hard to make everything perfect for him.
Oh iam so so sorry that is heartbreaking.you must remember you did your very best for Moe and you will never forget them..sending all my love ...
 

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