What kind of tortoise is this?

[HenryTheTortoise]

His name is Patrick Hernerald Vanguard. I recently purchased him for a little over a hundred dollars at PetSmart ( I don't know if he was WC) but it said he was a testudo tortoise. I have never heard of this. When I looked it up it brought up pictures of other tortoises. So thanks if you can help me!

 

[HenryTheTortoise]

Henry for short!

 

[bouaboua]

It is a Russian Tortoise. Or Horsfield's tortoise.

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

welcome to the forum! that is a russsian tortoise. can your tell us what is the care you are providing him, so we can see if it needs any improving?
here is a really good care sheet. http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

 

[bouaboua]

Yes! ! !Welcome to the forum, Good to have you here!!! Welcome.

 

[HenryTheTortoise]

Lighting is a Zoo Med Mercury Vapor bulb. Substrate is wood chips. He has a waterbowl that fits his whole body. I feed him romain lettuce, a small slice of apple, and cut up broccoli mix with calcium supplement. His caging is a bout 3 feet by 1-2 feet.

 

[HenryTheTortoise]

I soak him every Saturday and let him out of the cage and put him on my patio and monitor him for about 10 minutes

 

[WillTort2]

Hi and welcome.

The apple should only be offered as a rare treat; fruits have too much sugar for the Russian torts. The romaine is fine as a small portion of his diet. The broccoli should be only a tiny part of his diet less than once a month.

Dandelions, radicchio, collards, kale, escarole, belgian endive, endive, cactus, grape leaves, mulberry leaves, and a wide variety of weeds will allow you to provide a more balanced diet.

Good luck.

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

lots of variety in torts diet will make them nice and heathy! russians don't need that much much humidity but they need around 50%+, just make sure the substrate has some moisture to it. the cage is way to small he needs at least a 4ft by 8ft cage. is it possible for you to make an outdoor enclosure?

 

[HenryTheTortoise]

Possibly in the future around 5-6 months from now

 

[HenryTheTortoise]

Could I feed him squash? Do I need to cook it or warm it up form him? My dads friend did that with his greek tortoise. Also for the outdoor enclosure I live in Texas so it is somewhat warm and hot most of the year but during winter it snows and last year we had a 2 week ice storm so would I also need a indoor enclosure?

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

squash is also is a once in a while food if you are going to feed it to your torts you don't need to cook it. i would say yes to an indoor and outdoor enclosure, if it goes below 60 i bring my torts inside.

 

[HenryTheTortoise]

What do you feed your tortoises on a daily basis?

 

[leigti]

You can give him a piece of squash, you don't have to warm it up or anything. You can grated if you want to. I just gave mine to chunk of pumpkin for her to eat as a treat. But not very often. You should have a large outdoor enclosure for most of the year but you will definitely need an indoor one some of the time in the winter. They cannot handle the ice storms and snow. I usually bring mine indoors when it gets below 55° and cloudy. I have a temperature gun to measure the temperature in the outdoor pen and if the sun is shining and it is much warmer out there than you think.in the summer when it gets hot I will spray down the pan with the garden hose, she loves that comes out to takes a shower and I make sure the substrate is deep so she can dig a nice little borough to get out of the heat.

 

[HenryTheTortoise]

But couldn't they did out of the enclosure?

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

What do you feed your tortoises on a daily basis?

mostly weeds and a bit of grasses and lettuces. my torts favorite weeds are mallow and dandelion

 

[HenryTheTortoise]

Do you grow them or do you go purchase them?

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

But couldn't they did out of the enclosure?

my Russians enclosure have about 2 feet of dirt then a wire bottom, but i have never seen them really dig burrows, mine just go under the grass and hide

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

Do you grow them or do you go purchase them?

i just find them in my yard

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]