Best Christmas present EVER!

Mrs. Cornejo

New Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2017
Messages
7
Location (City and/or State)
Oxnard, Ca
Hi! So after many yrs of non discreetly giving hints, my wonderful husband & kids FINALLY gave me the best Christmas present EVER! Meet Leonidas aka "Leo" my Greek Testudo (pictured in my profile pic). I'm in Love! Any who I've been feeding him roses, clover, & dandelion from my yard (the benefits of living on the coast of So Cal is they still grow in the winter months).So my question is, is there a certain amount to feed him? He's a baby roughly between 4-6 months old. He's eating a LOT, and I don't want to overfeed him. Being a mom I know I'm in control of his intake, and I just want to make sure he's not eating too little or too much.
 

Attachments

  • 1514415795902-828310447.jpg
    1514415795902-828310447.jpg
    885.3 KB · Views: 62

Bambam1989

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2017
Messages
3,112
Location (City and/or State)
East Texas
Welcome to the Forum!
As long as your offering the proper foods and a wide variety of foods to cover dietary needs and have a large enclosure, it's good to let him eat as much as he wants.
I also believe your tort is an adult. Pet stores often sell wild caught torts, but tell you it's a baby. We have a great care sheet that I recommend reading, if you have questions we will happily answer them.
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
 

Mrs. Cornejo

New Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2017
Messages
7
Location (City and/or State)
Oxnard, Ca
Welcome to the Forum!
As long as your offering the proper foods and a wide variety of foods to cover dietary needs and have a large enclosure, it's good to let him eat as much as he wants.
I also believe your tort is an adult. Pet stores often sell wild caught torts, but tell you it's a baby. We have a great care sheet that I recommend reading, if you have questions we will happily answer them.
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
Thank you! Do you think he's an adult from his size? Here's a pic of his table top enclosure. It's still needs some adjustments since I just got him, but he seems to like it.
 

Attachments

  • 15144207905911776147701.jpg
    15144207905911776147701.jpg
    1.7 MB · Views: 51

Mrs. Cornejo

New Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2017
Messages
7
Location (City and/or State)
Oxnard, Ca
Oh and can they eat succulents besides caucus and prickly pears? I had a few succulents in his enclosure & he tried to eat one, but I caught it just in time. I was worried it could be poisonous. Here's a pic of the ones I had in his enclosure. He tried to eat the one on the left.
 

Attachments

  • 1514421097069280834109.jpg
    1514421097069280834109.jpg
    707.4 KB · Views: 33

Bambam1989

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2017
Messages
3,112
Location (City and/or State)
East Texas
Oh and can they eat succulents besides caucus and prickly pears? I had a few succulents in his enclosure & he tried to eat one, but I caught it just in time. I was worried it could be poisonous. Here's a pic of the ones I had in his enclosure. He tried to eat the one on the left.
It's hard to judge size from a picture. The reason I believe that he is older is because you rarely see captive bred torts for sale in chain pet stores, which is where I assume yours came from.
Most succulents are safe as long as other foods are included in the diet. Here is a great website to help you decide what is safe for your tort.
http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/index.php#.WkQ_nEOIbqA
 

Mrs. Cornejo

New Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2017
Messages
7
Location (City and/or State)
Oxnard, Ca
It's hard to judge size from a picture. The reason I believe that he is older is because you rarely see captive bred torts for sale in chain pet stores, which is where I assume yours came from.
Most succulents are safe as long as other foods are included in the diet. Here is a great website to help you decide what is safe for your tort.
http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/index.php#.WkQ_nEOIbqA
His shell (& just his shell) is 4 1/2 inches long. I don't know if u can tell
It's hard to judge size from a picture. The reason I believe that he is older is because you rarely see captive bred torts for sale in chain pet stores, which is where I assume yours came from.
Most succulents are safe as long as other foods are included in the diet. Here is a great website to help you decide what is safe for your tort.
http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/index.php#.WkQ_nEOIbqA
I don't know if u can tell by the size of his shell if he's a baby or adult, but his shell ( & only his shell) is 4 1/2 inches from front to back
 

Bambam1989

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2017
Messages
3,112
Location (City and/or State)
East Texas
That is about the usual size for importation, they are old enough to handle the stress of shipping but still small enough that they can pack more into the crates.
The good news is that your tort will still double in size.. think of him as a teenager! There is no way to tell his exact age though.
Because it is extremely likely to be wild caught, I recommend taking a fecal sample to a vet to check for parasites. He is a hibernating species, and because it's not recommended to hibernate a new tort, make sure he is getting 13hours(about) of good light.
It sounds like he is taking to his new home quite well. If you would like any advice on his enclosure, I will leave that to others that keep Russians and can speak first hand. (I keep a Sulcata)
 

Carol S

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Jun 2, 2009
Messages
2,721
Location (City and/or State)
Alta Loma, CA
Welcome to the Forum. Leonidas is very pretty. What a great Christmas present. I think she is a Russian Tortoise, not a Greek Tortoise. I would add a couple of fake or real plants to the enclosure, which will give her a place to hide and also act as a site barrier which will make her feel her enclosure is even bigger. Plus I think either fake plants or real ones make an enclosure look nice.
 
Joined
Apr 28, 2017
Messages
97
Location (City and/or State)
Northern California
My Greek Tortoise is named Leonidus, too :D, and they're around the same age. Unfortunately, I am almost certain from your pictures that your Leo is really a Russian. Here's a picture of what a Greek tortoise of that age (who happens to be named Leonidus) looks like at your torts age:
 

Bambam1989

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2017
Messages
3,112
Location (City and/or State)
East Texas
It didn't dawn on me that you called it a Greek, I saw the picture and thought Russian... Yeah I'm so observative today, I put my cell phone in the fridge earlier [emoji15]
 

Mrs. Cornejo

New Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2017
Messages
7
Location (City and/or State)
Oxnard, Ca
I guess my Leo might be a Russian instead of a Greek. Thankfully their diet is the same and housing is almost the same. But I'm definitely taking him to a vet to make sure because I don't want to risk mis caring for him.
 

Mrs. Cornejo

New Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2017
Messages
7
Location (City and/or State)
Oxnard, Ca
My Greek Tortoise is named Leonidus, too :D, and they're around the same age. Unfortunately, I am almost certain from your pictures that your Leo is really a Russian. Here's a picture of what a Greek tortoise of that age (who happens to be named Leonidus) looks like at your torts age:
I wasn't able to pull up your picture
 

Mrs. Cornejo

New Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2017
Messages
7
Location (City and/or State)
Oxnard, Ca
It didn't dawn on me that you called it a Greek, I saw the picture and thought Russian... Yeah I'm so observative today, I put my cell phone in the fridge earlier [emoji15]
Actually you were probably more observant than u thought because from my feed back and more research I believe you were right and he is a Russian. Lol
 
Top