# I Did Not Quarantine My New Tortoise



## ChloeCrull (Dec 6, 2014)

Hello, everyone!

Recently, I have learned that a tortoise should always (I think) be quarantined after adoption. However, I adopted my female Russian on September 19 and have not quarantined her. I immediately homed her with my male Russian. 

Fortunately, I have seen no health issues.

I feel terrible that I have increased the potential of diseases and illnesses arising. Should I begin the quarantine process, even though she's been in the home for two months? Is she still considered "healthy"? 

*Note: I purchased my little girl from Whitie's Pets. She was being housed with a Leopard Tortoise (I know to never mix species, so that concerned me).*

*Please ignore the sand in the enclosure. I will be replacing it with coconut fiber soon!*


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## phebe121 (Dec 6, 2014)

I think it would be to late at this point shes already been around him i think itshould be ok but someone that knows more about this will answer im sure


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## Tom (Dec 6, 2014)

If the new or old one had anything contagious, then it has already likely been passed between them. If neither had anything, then you are fine. If one did have something and they are both still fine, then its something they can live with. Many diseases are not easily diagnosed.

No point in quarantine now.

However, they should not be living as a pair. Tortoises in general should not be kept in pairs, but especially not russians. They should be housed separately and introduced for breeding in the spring and fall. Groups with one male and several females will sometimes work okay in large well designed enclosures, but even that fails sometimes.

Have you read these? Might help.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/forums/russian-tortoises.81/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/


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## ChloeCrull (Dec 6, 2014)

Tom said:


> If the new or old one had anything contagious, then it has already likely been passed between them. If neither had anything, then you are fine. If one did have something and they are both still fine, then its something they can live with. Many diseases are not easily diagnosed.
> 
> No point in quarantine now.
> 
> ...




Thanks for your response, Tom! 

I'm relieved that the quarantine mistake has not harmed them (although it is not certain until I take them to a vet for disease diagnoses etc). Additionally, I agree that Russians should not be kept in pairs. I have been hunting around for another female Russian in pet stores and websites like Pet Classifieds, Pet Finder, and Craigslist. I have not had any success yet.

Unfortunately, my outdoor enclosure is still in the "brainstorming" stage and I cannot separate them yet (for another 2 weeks or so until it is complete). Do you believe that my tortoises will be okay living together all the time if I have two females and one male?

Thanks again!


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## Tom (Dec 6, 2014)

ChloeCrull said:


> Thanks for your response, Tom!
> 
> I'm relieved that the quarantine mistake has not harmed them (although it is not certain until I take them to a vet for disease diagnoses etc). Additionally, I agree that Russians should not be kept in pairs. I have been hunting around for another female Russian in pet stores and websites like Pet Classifieds, Pet Finder, and Craigslist. I have not had any success yet.
> 
> ...



In my opinion there is no need to go to a vet in this case. If they are healthy, eating and behaving normally, then I think you dodged a proverbial bullet. Most of the diseases that would be of concern to you are not diagnosable in a typical vet check up.

If you are not hibernating then an outdoor enclosure won't do a whole lot of good this time of year anyhow. The new one will need to be quarantined for several months, and there is no guarantee that they will get along. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. If you pick up a third, be prepared to to make and maintain three separate enclosures.

You can make a separate indoor enclosure for them. The stress of being kept in a pair can hamper the immune system, not to mention the outright possibility of injury. Most people have to learn this lesson the hard way at the expense of the torts. I hope you are not going to be one of those people. Check this out: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...together-a-lesson-learned-the-hard-way.94114/


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## Yvonne G (Dec 7, 2014)

Chloe:

You haven't evaded the bullet yet. It sometimes takes months for a tortoise to show sickness.

Your new Russian (or, at least, the russian pictured above) looks to be captive bred. So what you keep an eye out for is something wrong with her. If a disease were to pass between them it would be from the wild caught male to the captive bred female.

Be prepared to separate them. Male Russian tortoises are very aggressive breeders, and he may pester her so much that she just stays hidden all the time. Her being stressed out like that also opens her up to be more receptive to disease. So be on your toes and don't let the harassment continue for any length of time.


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