Little Russian Rescue

[W Shaw]

This is Ronan about a week after I took him in, in October. You can see how scrawny he was, and the spinal depression on his shell & the deformity of his forelimbs from the conditions he was living in. Nothing I can do about the deformities, but he's much stronger now and putting on weight and will hopefully grow more normally from here on out. I have no idea how old he is. I guessed maybe 3 or 4 so they put 3 on his vet record, but then the vet looked at the record and said he looks small for 3, so maybe he's younger.

 

[Jodie]

Very cute. Glad you found him, and can give him what he needs to grow strong.

 

[mike taylor]

Follow Tom's care sheet and he will be a beautiful beast in no time .

 

[W Shaw]

I hope so! He's getting proper UVB and heat now, and as widely varied a diet as he'll take, and regular baths (which he HATED initially). He needs a bigger enclosure, but that will come in time.

 

[Oxalis]

He's pretty cute!

 

[W Shaw]

He's pretty cute!

Thanks! I think so, too.

 

[Yvonne G]

He's probably more like 8 or 9. In order to sell them in this country the tortoise has to be 4" minimum from front to back. When a Russian tortoise finally reaches 4" he's at least 4 or 5 years old.

 

[W Shaw]

He's probably more like 8 or 9. In order to sell them in this country the tortoise has to be 4" minimum from front to back. When a Russian tortoise finally reaches 4" he's at least 4 or 5 years old.

Thanks! The vet thought he was small for 3 years, but I wondered if he was just small from malnutrition. So... he's probably fully adult and not likely to get any bigger?

 

[Yvonne G]

They get up to 6 or 7 inches front to back (straight line). A few get bigger, but not many. But he's probably close to full grown.

 

[W Shaw]

They get up to 6 or 7 inches front to back (straight line). A few get bigger, but not many. But he's probably close to full grown.

Thanks!

 

[Kori5]

Sooo cute. I'm in love . Love baby tortoise big heads.

 

[Oxalis]

Sooo cute. I'm in love . Love baby tortoise big heads.

Maybe he'll be a smartie pants when he grows up!

 

[W Shaw]

Maybe he'll be a smartie pants when he grows up!

I think he already is. Knows how to manipulate me already. Actually Yvonne's thinking he's already an adult or nearly so. I took him in with no idea of his age other than that he wasn't a baby, Guessed him at 3 or 4 because he's smallish. Yvonne's guess is going to be way more accurate than mine, so he may well be an adult whose rearing in bad conditions has just left him small.

 

[Oxalis]

I think he already is. Knows how to manipulate me already. Actually Yvonne's thinking he's already an adult or nearly so. I took him in with no idea of his age other than that he wasn't a baby, Guessed him at 3 or 4 because he's smallish. Yvonne's guess is going to be way more accurate than mine, so he may well be an adult whose rearing in bad conditions has just left him small.

I sort of felt similarly with my Russian, especially since I had never before owned a reptile. I didn't know where to begin guessing his age!

 

[Kori5]

How is lollipop doing?

 

[W Shaw]

I sort of felt similarly with my Russian, especially since I had never before owned a reptile. I didn't know where to begin guessing his age!

The posts about tail size have been helpful there. I think Ronan's tail looks mostly mature, even though the vet says he's smaller than the average 3 year old. I think he's just stunted overall from the conditions of his early raising.

 

[Lyn W]

What a gorgeous little tort. Well done for helping him to thrive.

 

[W Shaw]

What a gorgeous little tort. Well done for helping him to thrive.

Thanks Lyn! I HOPE I'm helping him to thrive. Off to the vet with him tomorrow to find out. I've had him for 2 months now, so I want to have the vet look him over and see how he's doing now compared to his condition when I got him. I know he's a lot stronger, walking better, eating well, and socializing well, considering I'm the meanie who grabs him and puts him in to soak every night. But I don't know how long it should take for the shell issues to resolve, so I want a vet to look and tell me whether it's progressing as it should be.

 

[W Shaw]

Yay! Yay! Yay!!! I just got back from taking Ronan to the vet for his follow-up. I had him in 2 months ago to assess how bad off he was when I got him, and it was all bad news. The vet was guarded about his chances of survival. Today's visit was just for my own benefit, to see whether what I'm doing with him is working, and it was all good news. The vet was actually quite surprised to see how much he'd improved in a fairly short time. His weight has increased by ten percent. His shell is totally sound. The area I thought wasn't right is fine. It just sounds a little hollow because of the natural air space where his lungs expand. The skin issue I was worried about is partly what I thought it was -- turning the heat up in the apartment has the air a little dry, BUT... the vet thinks it's also because now that he's getting good care, he's growing rapidly -- catching up, so to speak, because he was so stunted before, so that's a good sign. So in the 2 months I've had him, he's gone from a desperate case to a healthy tortoise despite all my newbie mistakes with my first ectotherm ever. So thanks @Tom and @Yvonne G everyone else who's been helping me to get him to this point!

 

[Oxalis]

Yay! Yay! Yay!!! I just got back from taking Ronan to the vet for his follow-up. I had him in 2 months ago to assess how bad off he was when I got him, and it was all bad news. The vet was guarded about his chances of survival. Today's visit was just for my own benefit, to see whether what I'm doing with him is working, and it was all good news. The vet was actually quite surprised to see how much he'd improved in a fairly short time. His weight has increased by ten percent. His shell is totally sound. The area I thought wasn't right is fine. It just sounds a little hollow because of the natural air space where his lungs expand. The skin issue I was worried about is partly what I thought it was -- turning the heat up in the apartment has the air a little dry, BUT... the vet thinks it's also because now that he's getting good care, he's growing rapidly -- catching up, so to speak, because he was so stunted before, so that's a good sign. So in the 2 months I've had him, he's gone from a desperate case to a healthy tortoise despite all my newbie mistakes with my first ectotherm ever. So thanks @Tom and @Yvonne G everyone else who's been helping me to get him to this point!

So great to hear! I love these heart-warming tortoise stories!! Thank you for sharing -- and for all your hard work! Ronan will certainly have such a better, happier life now!!! Would love to see more photos!