oliviaabrah
New Member
Hello!
I've owned my Russian Tortoise, Russell, for a little over a year now. He is always a great eater and enjoys the many veggies that I give to him, such as kale, spring mix, escarole, mustard greens, etc. I switch up the greens almost every week and combine some greens together to make a nice salad. I will dust with calcium on Wednesdays and Fridays and give him a multivitamin on Mondays (Tuesdays and Thursdays are no dust days). His temperature is maintained by a heat lamp, and is always a steady 90 degrees on his warm side and 80 degrees on his cool side. He has a UVB strip across his tank, too. I provide him with coco-fiber substrate mixed with some coco-husk. Additionally, his humidity is at 60%. Alongside this, I give him warm baths for 15 minutes 3x weekly. He always has a shallow terracotta saucer filled with water and also has two hides on each side of his enclosure available. It's important to note that this same exact thing happened last year - I took him to the vet thinking he may be constipated. Turns out there was no constipation, but he did have pinworms, so he was treated for that. I also think it's important to note that he is growing quite a bit - there is a new growth ring around his carapace and some of his scutes are separated a bit. I really don't know what else to do, but I'm thinking that maybe this is a habitual thing?? Or a growth thing?? Any help would be appreciated! Thank you!
I've owned my Russian Tortoise, Russell, for a little over a year now. He is always a great eater and enjoys the many veggies that I give to him, such as kale, spring mix, escarole, mustard greens, etc. I switch up the greens almost every week and combine some greens together to make a nice salad. I will dust with calcium on Wednesdays and Fridays and give him a multivitamin on Mondays (Tuesdays and Thursdays are no dust days). His temperature is maintained by a heat lamp, and is always a steady 90 degrees on his warm side and 80 degrees on his cool side. He has a UVB strip across his tank, too. I provide him with coco-fiber substrate mixed with some coco-husk. Additionally, his humidity is at 60%. Alongside this, I give him warm baths for 15 minutes 3x weekly. He always has a shallow terracotta saucer filled with water and also has two hides on each side of his enclosure available. It's important to note that this same exact thing happened last year - I took him to the vet thinking he may be constipated. Turns out there was no constipation, but he did have pinworms, so he was treated for that. I also think it's important to note that he is growing quite a bit - there is a new growth ring around his carapace and some of his scutes are separated a bit. I really don't know what else to do, but I'm thinking that maybe this is a habitual thing?? Or a growth thing?? Any help would be appreciated! Thank you!
