Russian Rescue

drew54

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So, I was contacted by a guy who is giving me a free aquarium. How awesome is that?!? But he also wanted to me take his daughters Russian. Long talk with this guy and I'm going to rescue this little dude. Anyway, I have to make a lot changes to his current living quarters and diet. His beak and nails are quite long. Once I get him this weekend he will have propper feeding stone and rocks and what not to help file everything down.

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Do you think I will need to have his/her beak filed or do you think after using a stone for feeding it will file down just fine?
Only close ups I have right now of the tort.
 

daniellenc

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It’s not too bad. If he’s not having trouble eating leave it and let the stone slowly do its thing maybe.
 

drew54

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It’s not too bad. If he’s not having trouble eating leave it and let the stone slowly do its thing maybe.

Ok awesome! I will post pics of his plastron this weekend just to make sure it's a Russian.
 

RosemaryDW

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He's a Russian, no question. Lighter colored then some wild caught on the newer growth rings but definitely Russian.
 

LaLaP

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I rescued a Russian in a similar situation a few month ago and I trimmed his beak. I was nervous to do it but it wasn't hard at all. If you decide he needs a beak trim and you want to do it yourself I could give you some tips.

So many of these poor things out there that aren't being cared for properly, it breaks my heart. Thanks for taking one in! I hope it's as rewarding for you as it has been for me :)
 

drew54

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I'll get him Saturday or Sunday not sure yet. When I get him/her I'll observe its eating and see if there are issues. I hope not, but I'll definitely need tips if I have to trim it.

Since he/she is around 4 years old with no current substrate or uvb for two years. :( how often should I give supplements with d3?
 

T Smart

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I'll get him Saturday or Sunday not sure yet. When I get him/her I'll observe its eating and see if there are issues. I hope not, but I'll definitely need tips if I have to trim it.

Since he/she is around 4 years old with no current substrate or uvb for two years. :( how often should I give supplements with d3?

Great question. Hopefully someone can elaborate, but my guess is that you wouldn't want to over supplement accounting for the lost years.

Anyways it good to see he/she is going to a good home.
 
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drew54

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Great question. Hopefully someone can elaborate, but my guess is that you wouldn't want to over supplement accounting for the lost years.

Anyways it good to see he/she is going to a good home.
Thank you. Oh no, that wouldn't be a good idea to do i agree. im wondering if the tort has every seen anything else other than a fake reptile grass mat. those ones you can get from petsmart for different reptiles. Im not sure if i should use just orchid bark or a combination of orchid bark and coco coir. What is your thoughts on the substrate? for my sulcata i have 6'' of coco coir topped with a 1/2 inch of orchid bark.
 

RosemaryDW

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He spent four or five years in the while so he’s seen dirt and gravel!

We use plain dirt in our nightbox. Our Russian is a digger so if we weren’t using dirt we’d use the coir. People use straight bark and their tortoises get along just fine, it just doesn’t seem to me best suited to a tortoise that Is built for so much digging.
 

drew54

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He spent four or five years in the while so he’s seen dirt and gravel!

We use plain dirt in our nightbox. Our Russian is a digger so if we weren’t using dirt we’d use the coir. People use straight bark and their tortoises get along just fine, it just doesn’t seem to me best suited to a tortoise that Is built for so much digging.

Since he is 4 years old could he live outside for the summer months as long as I have a night box and a secure pen?
 

RosemaryDW

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Since he is 4 years old could he live outside for the summer months as long as I have a night box and a secure pen?

Yes, so long as you have an appropriate enclosure.

As you can see in my avatar, our Russian also has a burrow, which she dug herself. We added the roof for stability as that soil is pretty sandy and loose. When it gets warm she wants to be outside, not in her box; in our mild California weather the box is for spring and fall. You should have a box, to be sure. Just know it may not always be in use when the nights are warm. We let our tortoise “keep” the burrow as she just kept digging down in different spots when we tried to close it up.
 

drew54

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Yes, so long as you have an appropriate enclosure.

As you can see in my avatar, our Russian also has a burrow, which she dug herself. We added the roof for stability as that soil is pretty sandy and loose. When it gets warm she wants to be outside, not in her box; in our mild California weather the box is for spring and fall. You should have a box, to be sure. Just know it may not always be in use when the nights are warm. We let our tortoise “keep” the burrow as she just kept digging down in different spots when we tried to close it up.
Good to know thank you so much!
 

RosemaryDW

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I believe males dig less than females so maybe he’ll be perfectly fine with just the basics. One never knows with a tortoise. :eek:
 

drew54

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I believe males dig less than females so maybe he’ll be perfectly fine with just the basics. One never knows with a tortoise. :eek:

The current owner was very quick and pushy for me to take the tort. He said it's 4 years old and he has had it for two. The whole time the tort has been on reptile carpet, so I think anything that he/she can dig in and be a tort will be good. I have a lot of coir and fir bark not being used so I may use that for now and see how that works out.

How long is too long with the nails? I watched a video of it walking and it seemed to have issues actually walking on the bottom of three padsnv it was walking on the sides of the pads of its feet. I'm thinking I will need to trim them down, but I'm not sure how far and how to recognize the quick.
 

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