A Russian tortoise walks in our yard...

awelker

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So last week my mother and brother found a turtle thing as they were doing some yard work. We have lived here about thirty years and have never seen a shelled creature, plus we live near Seattle so were pretty confused by our new arrival. My brother did some quick research and discovered it was a Russian tortoise. We made a little enclosure for it in the back yard, but recently we moved it to our greenhouse and it seems happy there, I have done a little research on what they eat, but it has only really eaten the iceberg lettuce we gave it and loves the green beans from our garden. We have put a shallow water tray out but I don't think any of us has seen it in the water. We know we have much to improve, but we are cat people and have always been cat people - ironically our two are Russian blues - and don't really know what to do from here.

(I am severely hanicapped so mostly my mother and brother interact with it. Also I am slow to respond)

Doesn't appear to be in poor health at all. We have no idea of the age or sex.IMG_4863.jpg
 

Tom

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Hello and welcome.

Here is the care info you need:
 

Carol S

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It is somebody's pet, If you have NextDoor.com in your area look to see if anybody has posted that they are missing their tortoise. You can also post a found ad. You can post some signs in your neighborhood. However, do not put a picture or description of the tortoise on the signs, just state found tortoise with a contact phone number. When a person calls ask questions to make sure it is the true owner.
 

awelker

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It is somebody's pet, If you have NextDoor.com in your area look to see if anybody has posted that they are missing their tortoise. You can also post a found ad. You can post some signs in your neighborhood. However, do not put a picture or description of the tortoise on the signs, just state found tortoise with a contact phone number. When a person calls ask questions to make sure it is the true owner.
Been thinking about found posters - just really basic information like he digs and is fast - but more immediately we have just been trying to make it livable for a tortoise and not kill it. But definitely posters because it didn't look like it had been out for very long.
 

KarenSoCal

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If you could swing by a vet's office or shelter, they could scan for a microchip. Not likely he has one, but more people are chipping tortoises.
 

Ink

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Thanks for helping!
 

Maro2Bear

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If you could swing by a vet's office or shelter, they could scan for a microchip. Not likely he has one, but more people are chipping tortoises.

I really doubt it has a micro chip. We need to fo a poll here on TFO and see how many folks actually microchip their torts. I’ll bet the percentage is <5 %. Posters at the mail boxes, Craigs List. Neighborhood “lost n found” seem better options.

Hope the original owner is found.!
 

CinSonoma

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So last week my mother and brother found a turtle thing as they were doing some yard work. We have lived here about thirty years and have never seen a shelled creature, plus we live near Seattle so were pretty confused by our new arrival. My brother did some quick research and discovered it was a Russian tortoise. We made a little enclosure for it in the back yard, but recently we moved it to our greenhouse and it seems happy there, I have done a little research on what they eat, but it has only really eaten the iceberg lettuce we gave it and loves the green beans from our garden. We have put a shallow water tray out but I don't think any of us has seen it in the water. We know we have much to improve, but we are cat people and have always been cat people - ironically our two are Russian blues - and don't really know what to do from here.

(I am severely hanicapped so mostly my mother and brother interact with it. Also I am slow to respond)

Doesn't appear to be in poor health at all. We have no idea of the age or sex.View attachment 302687
We inherited a Russian T. a year ago and her best friend, an Eastern Box Turtle. They have been together for over 25 years (I was told.) I share our kale, spinach, pineapple sage, and spring mix salad with Svetlana and because, like yours, she doesn’t seem to want to head into the water trays we have for them both, I add about 1/2 inch of water to the pie tin I serve her daily food in. She often crawls through it to eat and gets her belly wet at the same time.
 

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awelker

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We inherited a Russian T. a year ago and her best friend, an Eastern Box Turtle. They have been together for over 25 years (I was told.) I share our kale, spinach, pineapple sage, and spring mix salad with Svetlana and because, like yours, she doesn’t seem to want to head into the water trays we have for them both, I add about 1/2 inch of water to the pie tin I serve her daily food in. She often crawls through it to eat and gets her belly wet at the same time.
Do those accidental ingestions of water seem to be enough? Ours will tolerate iceberg lettuce but I think that is the only way they get their water. I'll try that food mix though, sounds good! (not for me)
 

Maggie3fan

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I really doubt it has a micro chip. We need to fo a poll here on TFO and see how many folks actually microchip their torts. I’ll bet the percentage is <5 %. Posters at the mail boxes, Craigs List. Neighborhood “lost n found” seem better options.

Hope the original owner is found.!
HA! I only have 3 tortoises now, however, 2 are chipped. That at least gives some chance of getting your tortoise or turtle back after a successful escape hopefully
 

CinSonoma

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Do those accidental ingestions of water seem to be enough? Ours will tolerate iceberg lettuce but I think that is the only way they get their water. I'll try that food mix though, sounds good! (not for me)
Well, we have the two “ladies“ in a 50 ft. x 5’ run in our back yard...since April 2019 (Sonoma County, CA). They were in San Jose all those other years loose in a man’s backyard. I never met him and had no real details about what he supplied for them so I read a bit, supplied an igloo dog house with rice straw, upside down boxes, cardboard, wood...Also have a drip system that keeps two shallow dishes filled with water. I NEVER see either of them in the water. When the turtle surfaces I will set her in one and she immediately crawls out...same with Svetlana. They seem to be fine and they made it through our winter that probably got as low as 35 or 40 degrees....now in the 80s and 90s. Currently, Svetlana is burrowed into the soil under a flattened cardboard box. Sometimes they are together under a board setting on bricks. I’ve read that the Russians should have a good mixed dark greens diet. I’ve set her in a raised planted bed before and she went right for the strawberries (a girl’s gotta have some fun) but I kept THAT little party at just two.
 

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Yvonne G

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"A russian tortoise walks into our yard. . . "

I've been trying for a couple days to complete the joke that goes with that line. ". . . crosses his arms and starts doing the squat dance."

but that's as much as I can come up with.
 

awelker

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"A russian tortoise walks into our yard. . . "

I've been trying for a couple days to complete the joke that goes with that line. ". . . crosses his arms and starts doing the squat dance."

but that's as much as I can come up with.
Same tbh. I feel like it would be the start to a really funny joke, but I don't know the punchline.
 

Srmcclure

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HA! I only have 3 tortoises now, however, 2 are chipped. That at least gives some chance of getting your tortoise or turtle back after a successful escape hopefully
So, probably a stupid question, but where do they put the chip? By the front legs?
 
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