# How often should my family and I take our tortoises to the vet?



## SnapperAndShelldon (Jun 21, 2017)

We have two Russian Tortoises, Snapper and Shelldon. Shelldon is a new lil' guy, we've had him for about one month. We've had Snapper for about five years, and believe it or not, he has never been to the vet. I use resources such as this site and others to closely monitor my tortoise's behavior, to make sure they're healthy.

How often should Russian Tortoises be taken to the vet?


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## Markw84 (Jun 21, 2017)

SnapperAndShelldon said:


> We have two Russian Tortoises, Snapper and Shelldon. Shelldon is a new lil' guy, we've had him for about one month. We've had Snapper for about five years, and believe it or not, he has never been to the vet. I use resources such as this site and others to closely monitor my tortoise's behavior, to make sure they're healthy.
> 
> How often should Russian Tortoises be taken to the vet?


I only take a tortoise to the vet when I see a problem that needs treatment. I you feel yours is not acting "normal", take action. Biggest thing is get the care, food and setup correct. Refer to the care sheet in the forum section on Russians.

I would recommend fecal test for parasites every year. If your Russians are wild caught, I would do a fecal right away. Most all Russians sold in pet stores In the US are wild caught.

Be sure to keep the new tortoise quarantined and avoid cross-contamination. Russians don't do that well together in pairs though, anyway, so they should be kept separately.


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## SnapperAndShelldon (Jun 21, 2017)

Thank you! Although my russians have seemed to be pretty good together, i'll keep an eye out for that, too. Thanks!


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## wellington (Jun 21, 2017)

I have had my first tort a leopard since 2011. Never been to a vet. None of my other ones since my first too, has not seen a vet. If they ever need to be seen by one, that's when they will go.
As for your in pairs, the bullying isn't always obvious. One eating the food before the other can get any, hogging the best sleep and basking spot. Not letting the other near things. Etc, etc. it's almost 100% going to happen, specially with Russians unless they are housed in a big enclosure, the size of a good sized room or yard, with lots of sight barriers, couple hides, two feeding stations, two water dishes, two basking spots, etc. By the time the one being bullied shows it, it might be too late for it. We see it all the time on this forum. Your better off taking the advice now and separating them now and not after your tort pays for the advice being ignored.


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## SnapperAndShelldon (Jun 21, 2017)

Thanks for sharing! I will talk to my parents about a second enclosure. Just curious about the pairs, is there a lot of physical harm done? I'd still get the second enclosure, but I'm just curious.


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## Taylor T. (Jun 22, 2017)

Read this:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...together-a-lesson-learned-the-hard-way.94114/

It is usually even worse with two males.


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## Aunt Caffy (Jun 28, 2017)

I take my tortoise annually to the vet. If I hadn't taken him for his annual last year, I would never have known he had pneumonia since I didn't see any symptoms. 

However, if you do decide to take your torts to the vet, make sure they're a reptile vet.


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## ZEROPILOT (Jun 28, 2017)

I never bring an outwardly healthy tortoise to the vet. And keep in mind that most vets that claim to "do" tortoises actually shouldn't.
There seems to be a knee jerk reaction to finding parasites. It is so common and usually not much of a concern.
Find one that actually knows about them. My vet owns a Sulcata. And visit when there is an issue only.


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## Samantha Fritsch (Jul 1, 2017)

Unfortunately my tort is a rescue and was severely malnourished before I got her, so we take her quite often to make sure she's still strong towards a full recovery


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