I purchased a Russian tortoise hatchling from Southern Reptiles in September.
Ryan was extremely responsive to my emails.
My tortoise arrived in perfect health, and was very active from the moment I unboxed him 🤣
He is an excellent eater and eats a wide variety of foods. He doesn’t mind his...
I have a new Russian tortoise hatchling with coco coir as his substrate. He loves to burrow in it, but this morning I found mold in several places!
I’ve kept it pretty damp, but never had an issue with mold with my previous tortoise and his coco coir substrate…
I know it’s not food rotting or...
I have a Russian hatchling arriving this week, so I’m trying to get my temps figured out asap.
I have a 65 watt incandescent flood bulb (Sylvania BR30) but it’s only getting hot enough directly under the bulb (over 95°) if I have it like 7 inches away from the substrate. Is this too close?
I...
I am moving from California to Florida. We will be taking a 4-day road trip to get there, and my 5-year old Russian tortoise will be coming with!
When I originally moved to California, I shipped Nelson overnight, hopped on a plane, and was there when he was delivered the following morning...
It's been a while since I posted pictures of Nelson!
He is a "real" tortoise now and lives outside. :D He has lost a little bit of weight recently, so I need to make sure to get him high quality greens, weeds, cactus, etc. I have unfortunately been relying too much on grocery store greens...
My 4-year old Russian currently lives outside in an 8x2 enclosure. The substrate is just the dirt ground, and he doesn’t burrow.
We’re moving to the upper unit of a house, near the beach. There is a large second story patio with plenty of room for an enclosure, but I need help...
I've never had a full-time outdoor tortoise until about a month ago, so bear with me while I ask some stupid questions!
It's 72 and cloudy today, and Nelson never came out of his burrow. He hasn't eaten at all this week. He could be moving around during the day while I'm at work, but when I...
What am I doing wrong??
I am trying to send a PM to Kristina...I sent one and when I checked my outbox, under "Sent To" it says "N/A (not sent)". So I sent it again. Same thing!
I bring Nelson in at night because his enclosure isn't predator proof. He sleeps in a container in my closet, and since he doesn't have the natural sunlight to slowly wake him up, I end up waking him up when I carry him outside in the morning.
And this is the face I get:
:D
I'm new to having a tortoise live outside all day every day!
It has been warm and sunny here lately, but today it is cloudy and only about 70 degrees.
Nelson's enclosure is 75 degrees. Should I bring him in and set him up under a heat lamp? Or let him be a real tortoise and stay outside...
Nelson is enjoying his new temporary hide :D
Cali Nelson is stayin' classy! :cool:
He also pooped on his mustard greens today to let me know how he really feels about them...he's developing quite the attitude out here!
I glanced into Nelson's enclosure today and saw this...
Upon closer inspection I wasn't sure if he was stuck ? Or what he was doing...
He slowly started to turn...
???
My boyfriend built Nelson a lovely new home. :D
Back in Chicago his enclosure was 4x2. His new one is 8x3. :D
I don't know who is more excited- me or Nelson!
It's simple, not beautiful, but it's PERFECT!!
Now I get to decorate! Add some sight barriers to break it up, a few plants...
For those of you who don't know, Nelson and I moved from Chicago to California two days ago. He is lovin' life. :cool:
He quickly recovered from his traumatizing journey in a box and has spent the past two days running around the patio.
I let him explore the grass area outside of our fenced...
I'm moving from Illinois to California on Wednesday, and I will be overnight shipping Nelson.
I originally picked up this container to ship him in- seriously misjudged how BIG he has gotten!
I read in egyptiandan’s shipping post that a larger tortoise (not a hatchling) should be in a...