Recent content by Rusky

Massive respect, great to have a platform like this where people of all different backgrounds like this can interact. Do you think that the majority of those impaction cases were tortoises with "average" inexperienced owners? E.g. as a result of incorrect diet and the tortoise ingested...

- Wow that's a huge number I'd be interested in seeing those studies - So is topsoil digestible? - That makes a lot of sense about the risk of the wrong composted material Seems like nearly every substrate is a compromise to some level! I'm a very particular person and aesthetics and...

I understand, and I want to make sure it will be safe before making any decisions. One question: I often see that for outdoor enclosures, the native ground or just topsoil is recommended. However, when topsoil is discussed in relation to indoor enclosures, it's usually dismissed as an impaction...

In this video you can see it used at the turtle conservancy - I'm unsure if just for the burrow or for the entire enclosure. Skip to 9:50

DG is a substrate that can be packed hard if moistened and loose if dry. It's often used in landscaping. I feel like it is very similar to what Russians would have in their natural environment.

Do you foresee any issues in using a mixture of topsoil and DG? He's an adult Russian

What do the folks have to say about using decomposed granite or some type of mixture with a Russian indoors? I know plenty of people use it in outdoor enclosures and Chris Leone (I can't figure out how to tag on mobile) does in a mixture for his Egyptians. I've been using a mixture of cypress...

Pet stores are a disgrace. To be fair to the people with the whole turtles thing though, scientifically tortoises are under the larger category of turtles, i.e. all tortoises are turtles. It's just that the way some of us use the words, it makes it seem like they are separate creatures. For...

That is a very shiny shell though lol ... can you see yourself in it?

WC is usually pretty smooth from what I've seen. 3-13 years is very suspicious if they said she was CB - I don't really buy it. I once saw a Russian for sale at an expo as a Greek, so there are people who have no idea what they're talking about or don't really care.

I'm assuming you mean damage-wise rather than pyramiding-wise. You could definitely be right. I've probably gotten too used to jumping to conclusions. @Lark_Tortoise Where did you get Tabitha?

Hello and congrats! Probably a wild-caught adult, but she still has some growing to do. I assume you've checked out the care sheets, etc.?

Congratulations! They are so beautiful. Do you keep the eggshells in their tub for calcium?

@Will This sounds like a really interesting idea. So this could just be used instead of a pelleted diet? I only have one tortoise, but I do take care of some chickens. Also, does the hibiscus water soaking serve a purpose besides the red being appealing to tortoises?

Russian tortoises should definitely not have veggies, fruit or protein as a major part of their diet. Animal matter is an absolute no-no, and veggies and fruit should be once a month at most. I actually didn't know about rfs eating meat, but I looked it up and you're right.