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Hullo. I'm a newbie Russian Tortoise owner, and I'm fairly concerned about the health of my new baby, Om Nom Nom.

She(?) came from a PetCo, which means she was likely a wild tortoise (she has a bit of shell damage.) Anyway, I've taken her to a vet to be de-wormed and checked for parasites, but I'm still a little concerned about the state of her shell. Her shell is flaky and, a while ago, she even lost a small chunk. All the damage appears to be superficial - and the vet wasn't terribly concerned - but I guess I can't help being a bit worried. She behaves normally and runs around doing normal tortoise things, so, whatever it is, it isn't affecting her everyday life so far.

Her skin and face seems a bit dry as well.

We live in Minnesota, and, as such, the air is currently very, very dry. She has a shallow water dish for bathing although I've kept the overall cage humidity pretty low. Would this affect anything?

Here's an image of the tort in question:

Hi,
She/he looks good to me If you post a plastron picture we can give a go at sexing.
You can run a humidifier in the room with her. Russians can take air humidity very well, they just don't want to be on a constantly damp substrate.

Danny

Here's a picture of Nom Nom's plastron. She/he(?) was a mite upset at being flipped over for the image so it's a little blurry as she was kicking a lot.

It's on the plastron that a large chunk of shell came off... you can kinda see the spot.

Was I wrong on calling my little baby a girl?





Thanks for the suggestion... we probably need a humidifier anyway... MY skin is getting dry.

Do you soak her outside of the cage on a regular basis? I soak mine (that are a wake) twice a week outside of her enclosure. But I also keep warm water in her enclosure. Just a thought. I am not the best at sexing but looks female to me.

It does look like a female, but (hate to keep asking ) could we get a picture of her tail to be positive.
I can see the pinkish spot. What fell off was some dead bone, of which there is still a piece there. It looks like it healed just fine.

Danny

I do soak her outside of her enclosure, but only once a week. She crawls into her own dish as well, although she rarely spends more than a few minutes in there (usually to poop.)

Sorry about the image! I'm at work currently, but I'll get a closer shot of the tail when I get home.

I just don't think she likes people looking at her....... well you know what! A lady always crosses her legs, or so they say.

Not much of a baby , but very nice! I love russian torts. They have so much personality. Those nails might need a trim down the road.

she does look lovely... u should be very proud of her...