rescue tortoise - what now?

[nicoble]

I ordered the power sun - and a fixture plus a ceramic heat bulb as our house sometimes gets below 65 degrees at night.

Thank you for the tip with the discount!!!

She is getting soaked on a regular base and I will start growing a bunch of greens - they will be yummy for my birds too - they miss dandylion in winter too.

Thank you all for all your help and advise !

Oh - another thing - I remember that my German tortoise loved christmas cactus ( the succulent non toxic plant) - can I feed those to my russian? Yucca is non toxic for reptiles and birds- I am pretty sure - is there any reason not to give it to the Torties ( it growes in our yard)?

Nicolette

 

[Torty Mom]

PM me your address and I can send you dandelion seeds. I am growing some right now too.

 

[tortoises101]

Make the substrate a 50/50 mix of sand and topsoil. Give her a bit of timothy hay to burrow in, and landscape the enclosure with rocks, sight-breaking blocks, and maybe even a log or two. You could also consider using the UVB light to grow grass (in pots).

And yeah, the basking temp isn't hot enough. 96F is what I would consider adaquate for a russian. Use a MegaRay bulb or an Exo terra Solar Glo for the basking lamp.

Hand picked weeds such as dandelion, clover, sowthistle, vetch, plantain (weed, not fruit), etc should be the main component of her diet. Give her lots of cactus pads as well, she needs them for fibre and calcium. Feed flowers such as hibiscus, and leafy greens in the winter when weeds aren't available. Vegetables such as pumpkin should only be given as a treat, and same goes for fruit. The Tortoise Trust has lots of good feeding manuals and procedures, check them out!

 

[moswen]

you're welcome for the link!

unless maggie knows something i don't (which she probably does lol!) i have yucca listed on the "safe plants" plant list that i use here:

http://africantortoise.com/edible_landscaping.htm

christmas cactus is also okay, i've read of some people on the forum feeding it. but don't forget the cactus that you REALLY want is opuntia, or also called prickly pear. i know of at least 2 ppl on the forum that sell it to us members, just search opuntia on our for sale section and you'll find someone who would love to send you some! you should get some pads for growing and some for feeding, stick a few in some pots and put them out in full sun in the spring, you should get several good pads growing from the top of each before mid-summer even.

they will last forever in the fridge or on your floor in the garage for the winter, they'll probably last until you run out. they're good keepers.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Good Lord! You guys don't miss anything...Feed yucca if you want. I guess I am picturing a different plant.
I suggest soaking less then everyday because like cory said, it's not a hatchling and most adult Russians don't like water. If you raise it from a hatchling and it's used to soaking that's one thing. But from where it was living I doubt it was used to being soaked. A few times a week is good enough...
I'll look up Yucca so I will recognize it and not make that mistake again and have all you jumping on me...man!

 

[moswen]

oh sorry maggie i wasn't jumping on you, i'm sorry! a few posts up she was asking why she couldn't feed it, and i was just trying to not sound like i know more than you, cause you have way more experience than i do! that's all i meant, i apologize!

i do agree with you a tort that big doesn't need to be soaked every day...

 

[nicoble]

thank you both for the advice - Tortella does not like water so a bath once or twice a week will do. She does like to burrow and decided that she doesn't need a hiding spot as long as she can dig herself a burrow - she doesn't like yucca either - non toxic but also not delicious . The christmas cactus is a hit though.

I have to find a source for the opuntia cactus...

Do I have to worry about her wanting to hibernate? What do I do about it besides raising the temp? She avoides the heat lamp as much as she can and spends her day digging until she is completely covered in the coolest spot of the box. Should I leave her alone or make her come out once in a while?

 

[mattluck3]

Just a new guy here but as long as all the conditions are being met just let the tortoise figure out its new digs. It will come around with time. I learned the more you try to mess with it at the beginning the less it wants to come out (till they figure out you are the Bringer of the food) JMO

 

[nicoble]

oh - no - I don't want to mess with her at all if I can help it - she is no " petting" animal in this house- that's what the dogs are for - she had it pretty bad before she came here and it is fine with me if she wants to hide all day - she earned a bit of privacy after all those years on display. I just don't want her to go into hibernating " mode" before I know for sure that she is healthy...

 

[abra]

http://russiantortoise.org/edible_plants.htm here is a list of edible plants for Russian Tortoises, I don't see Yucca?

 

[tortoises101]

thank you both for the advice - Tortella does not like water so a bath once or twice a week will do. She does like to burrow and decided that she doesn't need a hiding spot as long as she can dig herself a burrow - she doesn't like yucca either - non toxic but also not delicious . The christmas cactus is a hit though.

I have to find a source for the opuntia cactus...

Do I have to worry about her wanting to hibernate? What do I do about it besides raising the temp? She avoides the heat lamp as much as she can and spends her day digging until she is completely covered in the coolest spot of the box. Should I leave her alone or make her come out once in a while?

Are you feeding christmas cactus blooms? If so, those are too high in oxalates. If your feeding the cactus, then fine.

About the digging, she's excavating a micro-climate. http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/microclimates.htm
Russians in the wild dig to get underground where it's cooler. Indoors, there's no way they can dig deep burrows like in the wild, so they have to choose the spot farthest from the heat. This probably explains her avoidance of the heat lamp.

 

[nicoble]

feeding the X mas cactus only - they were on sale for 90%off at Lowes - makes a nice treat and lasts forever ... I also ordered the opuntia and I am going to grow the DL
I am glad she is behaving normally - amazing - after all this time in this glas prison without subtrate. I changed her substrate to sand/topsoil/coconut husk mix - way deep enough for her to burry herself completely and she loves it...

thank you both for the advice - Tortella does not like water so a bath once or twice a week will do. She does like to burrow and decided that she doesn't need a hiding spot as long as she can dig herself a burrow - she doesn't like yucca either - non toxic but also not delicious . The christmas cactus is a hit though.

I have to find a source for the opuntia cactus...

Do I have to worry about her wanting to hibernate? What do I do about it besides raising the temp? She avoides the heat lamp as much as she can and spends her day digging until she is completely covered in the coolest spot of the box. Should I leave her alone or make her come out once in a while?

Are you feeding christmas cactus blooms? If so, those are too high in oxalates. If your feeding the cactus, then fine.

About the digging, she's excavating a micro-climate. http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/microclimates.htm
Russians in the wild dig to get underground where it's cooler. Indoors, there's no way they can dig deep burrows like in the wild, so they have to choose the spot farthest from the heat. This probably explains her avoidance of the heat lamp.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I was just teasing you silly!!! I don't know as much as you think I do...but I do know that some varieties of yucca are toxic, so she needs to know what kind she has...

oh sorry maggie i wasn't jumping on you, i'm sorry! a few posts up she was asking why she couldn't feed it, and i was just trying to not sound like i know more than you, cause you have way more experience than i do! that's all i meant, i apologize!

i do agree with you a tort that big doesn't need to be soaked every day...

nicoble...add some Spring Mix and dark leafy greens to her diet. I would get her up everyday to feed and keep her light on for 12 to 14 hours and that will keep her from wanting to hibernate.

 

[moswen]

it sounds to me as though she's just hiding. a new home, a new place, new people, new sounds, new smells, and new.... wonderful... wonderful... wonderful dig-able floor that she can hide in and feel secure in this new scary place!

in a few days she may start to feel comfortable and be nozy, as long as she's eating i don't think you'll have a problem with her trying to hibernate. i've heard they stop eating and start eating twigs and dead grass to clean out their system so food doesn't rot in their intestines during hibernation.

 

[nicoble]

here just a quick update for those of you who helped me during the " everything is new " period:

Tortella ( "Tortie" ) is quite a happy girl now - she loves her habitat and diggs around a lot - she ignores all hiding spots and hates water. She has her favourite spot under a pile of straw.
After about 2 weeks in hiding she is now quite personable - she runs ( as in a quick sprint - I had no idea tortoises could be that fast! ) to her feeding rock whenever she hears me closeby and tries to climb up the sides to beg for food - quite funny actually - she loves to eat - pretty much anything...
She also loves the power sun - never basks in an area over 86 degrees but seems a lot more active and happy.

I took her to my vet ( who specializes in birds and exotics including reptiles) and she is quite healthy and in good weight- maybe even a bit on the heavy side. No bone disease yet and the shell looks great.
Vet recommended a mixed diet - plenty of greens ( dandylion, spring mix, opuntia, christmas cactus, yummy weeds ...) and some grasland turtle diet and mazuri. Tortella loves to eat so diet doesn't seem to be an issue exept maybe overfeeding as she is constantly begging for more - are Tortoises allways that hungry ?

She amazes me - never thought that they would make interesting pets - even my husband likes her and he was absolutely positive that she would not stay ...

 

[Sweetness_bug]

She looks great!

 

[Sweetpea]

You did a great job, glad you were there when she needed someone.
I got my RT in August and I love having her. Hard to believe someone just wanted to give her away. I was thinking of getting a male for her someday.....

 

[coreyc]

You did a great job, glad you were there when she needed someone.
I got my RT in August and I love having her. Hard to believe someone just wanted to give her away. I was thinking of getting a male for her someday.....

Welcome to the forum Sweetpea can you post more pic's ?

 

[Yvonne G]

You did a great job, glad you were there when she needed someone.
I got my RT in August and I love having her. Hard to believe someone just wanted to give her away. I was thinking of getting a male for her someday.....

Hi Sweetpea:

Please take a moment to start a thread in the Introduction thread and tell us a bit about yourself and your tortoise.

 

[tortoisenerd]

Please don't feed plants from a nursery unless they are organic (or meant for human food...but organic is still better), as they put lots of pesticides in them (much more than plants meant for human consumption). For a tort eating 100% plants, the pesticides can affect them. I think you should either let it sit 6 months before feeding (washing & re-planting doesn't help), buy organic, or grow from feeds.

Good luck! A nice healthy varied diet and lots of exercise, and maybe you can even get her weight down too. She'll be happy without a male (they are solitary). Its so great you are letting her be--I totally agree with the no petting rule. Thats a really good vet, but limit those two commercial diets (although they are the only ones I'd feed). Did you get a fecal test on her for parasites? Usually thats the only thing done on a healthy tort besides the physical & weight & whatever. Most torts have parasites, but you want to treat them if they are in high numbers, as in captivity they can't handle them as well (enclosed spaces where they come in contact with their poop).

I'm guessing she was lucky enough to be wild caught at a young enough age she doesn't have the wild caught shell damage, but old enough to have done most of her growing before the lack of UVB? Any other guesses? Pure calcium powder every 2-3 days on the food is a good idea though.

I'd get an accurate thermometer like a temp gun to make sure you know the entire gradient you are dealing with. Cheaper ones can be way off, or not left in one spot long enough to measure temps. In the long run, yes you want a MVB like a Mega Ray, T-Rex Active UV Heat, or Powersun. $40+ online. Get a ceramic socket hood fixture and a lamp stand.

The digging is good as long as the enclosure stays 70-95 in the day, and 60-70 at night (all those temps are too warm for her to hibernate). If she doesn't get up on her own to bask and eat daily, then by all means get her up, but she seems to be settling in well. They loves hides in every temp zone, which can encourage basking especially (having that hide nearby to retreat to). Especially at first, and then every so often (in a "funk" I like to call it), a tort may decide to hide for a day or few...I don't like to let it be more than a day though.

Don't let yourself be overwhelmed and good luck!