Testudo Tortoise Help

kxg91227

New Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2020
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2
Location (City and/or State)
DOWNEY
Hello!

I am in need of help! I work for Petsmart and my husband and I just adopted a tortoise from the store bc it was not being cared for properly by the other employees. We have had him for 3 days and he already seems to be more active than in the store. At the store, the workers were putting on artificial tears per the vet and supposed to be giving him a dark leafy green diet but weren't. We've been giving him romaine lettuce and alfalfa, which he doesnt seem to be eating and trying different veggies such as cucumber. He doesnt really move around his tank much, and we think his back legs look weak. I soaked him today for a little over ten mins because he seemed dehydrated and I think he was drinking water bc he urinated directly after (which smelled fishy, idk if that's normal). We're a little in over our depth and hopeful to get some advice.
We have separate UVB and baking lights for the day and a heat emitter at night. Hes in a 40 gallon tank with coconut fiber substrate.
Hes starting to open his eyes much more often but not interested in eating and not as active as I would think he should be.
Thank you for any advice or input in advance!

20200331_123743.jpg

Kiersten
 

Yvonne G

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Hi Kiersten, and welcome to the Forum!

That's a VERY nice-looking Russian tortoise you have there, but notice his eyes? They're slightly sunken, which tells us he's (or she's) dehydrated. So keep up the daily soaking for about 30 minutes each day. Use a container he can't climb out of.

Pour some water over the substrate, mix it up with your hand, then pat it down to make a more solid walking surface.

See if you can find some edible weeds - clean of any kind of sprays or pesticides. Wash them off before offering them to the tortoise. Look for dandelion, fillaree (crane's bill), clover, prickly lettuce, in fact, do a Google search for edible weeds.

If you're not able to offer weeds to your new tortoise, then buy dark leafy greens from the produce section of your grocery store - endive, escarole, radicchio, turnip greens, collard greens, mustard greens. You don't have to buy all of these at once, but buy something different each time you shop for him so he gets a nice variety.

***Yvonne shivvers and says in a shaky voice, "Ew-w-w-w-w!!!" when she notices the snake in the background***
 

kxg91227

New Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2020
Messages
2
Location (City and/or State)
DOWNEY
Thank you so much Yvonne!! I'll do this.
The snake in the background is just packaging ???
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
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Hello and welcome.

Read these care sheets for more housing info. I'm glad that you've got him and are caring for him, but you'll soon see that the care tips and products offered and promoted by your employer are inadequate at best. This makes me super happy you are here to learn more, and you can pass on what you learn to customers.

Check these linked threads out for more info. In particular, I think you need a much larger enclosure. I'd swap substrates, but that's not required. Adult Russians don't need night heat. And if your UV bulb is the screw in cfl type, I'd get rid of that ASAP.


Questions and conversation are welcome.
 

Charlie's pal

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Jan 22, 2020
Messages
43
Location (City and/or State)
Atlanta, GA
Hi Kiersten,

I joined the forum recently after getting two tortoises, a Russian and a Hermann's, from Petsmart. I buy a lot of supplies for my other pets there and have enjoyed talking to the employees about the tortoises. You are right though, the employees give a lot of conflicting information and outright bad info such as, "feed them plenty of fruit, they love it'. Yes, they do love it but it is terrible for them! You are fortunate that two very experienced tortoise keepers chimed in early to your post. I rely heavily on the information and advice they give. The care sheets are wonderful. There is a wealth of information on diet and I now have pots of broadleaf weeds growing all over my house and yard. The reptile manager at Petsmart lets me bring weeds to her to feed the store tortoise. Good luck with your little guy/gal. It is such a beautiful tortoise.

P.S. - My tortoises live in separate enclosures......learned that here from the experts!
 
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