RobP67
New Member
Hello everyone, I hope all is well. My name is Rob and I am a beginner tortoise owner. my friend gave me a Russian tortoise for my bday back in August. He said he got it from underground reptiles. Decided to name him Putin since he’s Russian, I know a bad joke... Putin and I have had our ups and downs but overall he’s been a joy to take care of. I soak him twice a week and do my best to let him go outside my backyard and exercise. He doesn’t really care for me and is still shy when I’m around but knows when food is there haha. I have him in a 32in long, 15in tall aquarium as it was all I could afford and fit in my room. I have a basking/uvb light and use the reptile dirt(I forgot the name) from petco as substrate. I also usually feed him romaine lettuce and spring mix from the grocery store. Recently I went on a week vacation and when I got back I noticed Putin’s shell looked very dry. I asked my brothers to look after him but what can you expect from teenagers. Its not completely their fault but it’s an issue I would like to get more info on his condition and fix it ASAP. His edges of the shell look sharp and I’m not sure it looks right. Since I got back I’ve bought supplement for him and started humidifying the dirt. The temperature is around usually 80 degrees and humidity is between 50-60 degrees. Even got him a cuttlefish bone but he hasn’t touched it yet. I’m worried it might develop into shell Rot. Any advice?