Russian tortoise always sleeping

Natalie6628

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Hello @Natalie6628,

Shipping tortoises is relatively safe if done by an experienced shipper who has done it many times. I say relatively safe because no matter how careful the shipper may be, there is always a chance of something going wrong. Flights can be late and connections missed, animals have been left in shipping boxes on porch steps in the sun, etc., etc.

Make sure that the tortoise is shipped to you on a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday to be safe. Also do not have it shipped if the temperature is over 90 degrees. It is also a good idea to have it shipped to you so it arrives on a day when you will be home to get the package directly from the driver of the delivery service. A lot of shippers now require that someone sign for the package to ensure it has been delivered safely. Most experienced shippers already know most of these things and will take precautions to protect their animals from any shipping nightmares.

Who is the breeder? Maybe I know him or her. What species of tortoise are you going to get?
Ok great! I wanted to get a spur thighed tortoise. Someone will definitely be home to get the tortoise if I’m not able to. The weather is pretty rainy right now and In the 70s. Do you know if Redfoot ranch is a good website to order from? They have hatchlings available for cheap.
 

zovick

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Ok great! I wanted to get a spur thighed tortoise. Someone will definitely be home to get the tortoise if I’m not able to. The weather is pretty rainy right now and In the 70s. Do you know if Redfoot ranch is a good website to order from? They have hatchlings available for cheap.
Hi. I have not heard anything negative about Bill Murray and Redfoot Ranch. I think it is fine to order from him. When you say Spur Thighed Tortoise, I assume you mean African Spur Thighed, aka Centrochelys sulcata, correct? Do you know how large an African Spur Thighed Tortoise will become when it is full grown? They are the third largest tortoises in the world, following the Galapagos and Aldabra giant tortoises. Males can be very close to 300 lbs. as adults. You might want to get a species which has a more manageable adult size such as a Redfoot, a Pancake, or a Western or Eastern Hermann's Tortoise.

Just wanted you to be able to make an informed choice.
 

Natalie6628

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Hi. I have not heard anything negative about Bill Murray and Redfoot Ranch. I think it is fine to order from him. When you say Spur Thighed Tortoise, I assume you mean African Spur Thighed, aka Centrochelys sulcata, correct? Do you know how large an African Spur Thighed Tortoise will become when it is full grown? They are the third largest tortoises in the world, following the Galapagos and Aldabra giant tortoises. Males can be very close to 300 lbs. as adults. You might want to get a species which has a more manageable adult size such as a Redfoot, a Pancake, or a Western or Eastern Hermann's Tortoise.

Just wanted you to be able to make an informed choice.
Hey thanks for helping me out! I did some research and it says that they will only grow to about a foot long. Is there a different kind of spur thighed tortoise that doesn’t get as large? If not, I will definitely make the space for it.
 

zovick

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Hey thanks for helping me out! I did some research and it says that they will only grow to about a foot long. Is there a different kind of spur thighed tortoise that doesn’t get as large? If not, I will definitely make the space for it.
Yes, there is another tortoise which is sometimes called a Spur Thighed Tortoise. They are a type of Mediterranean Greek Tortoise with the Latin name Testudo graeca. That spur thigh tortoise is the one which you found in your searches and will be an adult at a bit under a foot long.

To be sure you are buying what you actually want, you should ask the seller (Redfoot Ranch) before you send any money whether the "Spur Thigh Tortoises" he is selling are Testudo graeca or Centrochelys sulcata. That way you will be able to make the wisest choice and not unknowingly purchase a future behemoth.

Note: I have nothing against the African Spurred Tortoises (Centrochelys sulcata). In fact, the first two breeding pairs in this country were owned by me from 1972 to 1980. They got so large and ate so much that I had to loan them to a zoo to make my collection manageable at the time.
 
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Natalie6628

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Yes, there is another tortoise which is sometimes called a Spur Thighed Tortoise. They are a type of Mediterranean Greek Tortoise with the Latin name Testudo graeca. That spur thigh tortoise is the one which you found in your searches and will be an adult at a bit under a foot long.

To be sure you are buying what you actually want, you should ask the seller (Redfoot Ranch) before you send any money whether the "Spur Thigh Tortoises" he is selling are Testudo graeca or Centrochelys sulcata. That way you will be able to make the wisest choice and not unknowingly purchase a future behemoth.

Note: I have nothing against the African Spurred Tortoises (Centrochelys sulcata). In fact, the first two breeding pairs in this country were owned by me from 1972 to 1980. They got so large and ate so much that I had to loan them to a zoo to make my collection manageable at the time.
Ok I will ask him! Thanks so much. And that’s so cool, how big did they get (weight)?
 

zovick

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Ok I will ask him! Thanks so much. And that’s so cool, how big did they get (weight)?
The two males were getting up to around 90 lbs each when I decided to loan them to San Antonio Zoo. The females were a bit smaller, but I lived in the mountains of CT back then and they had to be kept indoors from Labor Day to Memorial Day each year. Even when the days were warm enough so they could go outside, it often got cold at night there (one year there was frost all 12 months) and I had to bring them in for the night. That meant carrying them in and out of my basement which required carrying those four tortoises up or down the stairs to the basement twice daily . It was a ton of work. Then in the winter, they would go through 6 or 8 heads of cabbage and/or a couple of big pumpkins and some huge zucchinis daily , etc., etc. In short, they ate a ton and it was very costly feeding them for months on end through the winters up north.
 

Natalie6628

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The two males were getting up to around 90 lbs each when I decided to loan them to San Antonio Zoo. The females were a bit smaller, but I lived in the mountains of CT back then and they had to be kept indoors from Labor Day to Memorial Day each year. Even when the days were warm enough so they could go outside, it often got cold at night there (one year there was frost all 12 months) and I had to bring them in for the night. That meant carrying them in and out of my basement which required carrying those four tortoises up or down the stairs to the basement twice daily . It was a ton of work. Then in the winter, they would go through 6 or 8 heads of cabbage and/or a couple of big pumpkins and some huge zucchinis daily , etc., etc. In short, they ate a ton and it was very costly feeding them for months on end through the winters up north.
Good god that is a lot of work. Do you know how they are doing in the zoo?
 

zovick

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Good god that is a lot of work. Do you know how they are doing in the zoo?
Well, they had a lot of babies at the San Antonio Zoo which were evenly split between me and the Zoo. Those babies were distributed all over the US by both the Zoo and by me. I often wonder how many of today's sulcatas could be traced back to my 4 original breeders.

The Zoo bought the 4 adults from me after a few years of the loan being in effect and after that, no longer kept me in the loop as to how the tortoises were or what the Zoo was doing with them. I recently asked the Zoo the current whereabouts of those 4 tortoises, but as far as I have been able to determine so far, no one there today knows whatever happened to them.
 

Natalie6628

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Well, they had a lot of babies at the San Antonio Zoo which were evenly split between me and the Zoo. Those babies were distributed all over the US by both the Zoo and by me. I often wonder how many of today's sulcatas could be traced back to my 4 original breeders.

The Zoo bought the 4 adults from me after a few years of the loan being in effect and after that, no longer kept me in the loop as to how the tortoises were or what the Zoo was doing with them. I recently asked the Zoo the current whereabouts of those 4 tortoises, but as far as I have been able to determine so far, no one there today knows whatever happened to them.
Oh my gosh that’s wild. That’s nice to know that they had babies. Gotta keep the family tree going!
 

zovick

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Hey thanks for helping me out! I did some research and it says that they will only grow to about a foot long. Is there a different kind of spur thighed tortoise that doesn’t get as large? If not, I will definitely make the space for it.
@Natalie6628 Did you place an order for a new tortoise yet? If so, what species did you decide to buy? Did it arrive yet?
Just curious what you decided to do.
BZ
 

Natalie6628

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@Natalie6628 Did you place an order for a new tortoise yet? If so, what species did you decide to buy? Did it arrive yet?
Just curious what you decided to do.
BZ
Hey! Yes I got a spur thighed Greek tortoise. He arrived healthy, active, and is already eating lots of greens!
 

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zovick

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Hey! Yes I got a spur thighed Greek tortoise. He arrived healthy, active, and is already eating lots of greens!
Hi Natalie. The tortoise looks nice, but it appears from the photo that you got an African Spur Thighed Tortoise, rather than a Greek Spur Thighed Tortoise. Did you ask the seller which species he was offering using the Latin names as I suggested?

Look at this link and scroll down nearly to the bottom to see a picture of some baby Greek Spur Thighed Tortoises: https://www.hermannihaven.com/t-graeca-ibera

You should follow the care recommendations for Sulcata Tortoises to raise this baby, not those for Greek Tortoises.
 

zovick

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Well son of a *****. I will start doing more research. Y’all must think I’m an idiot. Thank you!!!
[/QUOTE/


Did you read the middle paragraph of my post #24 from last Sunday? Didn't you ask the seller the question I said you should ask to be sure you got what you wanted? Did you buy that tortoise from the Redfoot Ranch?

Anyway, you should follow the instructions for raising a Sulcata Tortoise as I mentioned above and be prepared for it to get large with the proper care. In another thread there are pix of two 5 year old ones that weigh 50 and 90 lbs or thereabouts already.
 
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KarenSoCal

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Well son of a *****. I will start doing more research. Y’all must think I’m an idiot. Thank you!!!
No, no one thinks you're an idiot. Non Latin names can be very confusing, especially when two totally different species are called by the same name!

I hope that the resolution of your current predicament does not cause you sadness and pain. You've been through enough of that with Darnell. ?
 

zovick

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Something happened to my first response in post #34, so here it is again:

Did you read the middle paragraph of my post #24 from last Sunday? Didn't you ask the seller the question I said you should ask to be sure you got what you wanted? Did you buy that tortoise from the Redfoot Ranch?

Anyway, you should follow the instructions for raising a Sulcata Tortoise as I mentioned above and be prepared for it to get large with the proper care. In another thread there are pix of two 5 year old ones that weigh 50 and 90 lbs or thereabouts already.
 

KarenSoCal

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Something happened to my first response in post #34, so here it is again:

Did you read the middle paragraph of my post #24 from last Sunday? Didn't you ask the seller the question I said you should ask to be sure you got what you wanted? Did you buy that tortoise from the Redfoot Ranch?

Anyway, you should follow the instructions for raising a Sulcata Tortoise as I mentioned above and be prepared for it to get large with the proper care. In another thread there are pix of two 5 year old ones that weigh 50 and 90 lbs or thereabouts already.
Your response in post #34 was included into the OP's post...click it and your post is at the bottom.
 

Sue Ann

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Hey thanks for helping me out! I did some research and it says that they will only grow to about a foot long. Is there a different kind of spur thighed tortoise that doesn’t get as large? If not, I will definitely make the space for it.
Natalie, wrong research. My Sulcata is 1 yr old, 5 pounds and 11 inches long!
 
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