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  1. ethan508

    New Russian tortoise parent- diet!

    A large variety of leafy green foods is your best bet to have a healthy tortoise. I love https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/ to give me ideas on different plants I can feed my tortoise and warning for which plants I need to avoid. Petunia, zinnia, roses, hosta, lilacs, grape vines (just...
  2. ethan508

    Not Eating!

    If you see him soaking himself regularly then he's probably okay. Are the soaks deep enough to reach the base of his tail or is he just dipping his feet? Is he having bowel movements at all? When I bring mine out of hibernation I always feel a lot better once they start doing regular 'business'.
  3. ethan508

    Can Russian Tortoises Live Outdoors 24/7?

    You can create some minor micro-climates variations with a bit of landscaping. You can create areas that are a little more cool and humid by adding plants, wind blocks (rocks, plants, dirt hills), and water saucers in shady low areas that collect moisture. Hotter and drier areas will exist...
  4. ethan508

    Do Russian Tortoises Shed Skin?

    Yes tortoise shed skin a bit. It isn't like a snake that will do a full shed, but almost exactly how you described. Just little white/translucent flake here and there. I've noticed mine shedding a bit more when the weather is drier. Not sure if that is because they actually shed more, or if...
  5. ethan508

    Need help, new owner with russian tortoise

    Is this logic sound? I'm not sure I believe the premise that store bought greens are so nutrient dense that tortoises should regularly skip a day of eating. In the wild a tortoise could graze on food whenever they wanted. Outside of a higher fiber content, are broad leaf weeds much different...
  6. ethan508

    New Russian Outdoor Enclosure Questions.

    The biggest thing is to avoid soils with chemical fertilizers and pesticides or soils heavily enriched with lots of manure, guano, or other high nitrogen materials. A basic topsoil or garden soil without amendments will do. Buying bulk rather than buy the bag will be cheaper and easier to find...
  7. ethan508

    What kind of fresh food can i give Leo

    https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/ has provided me excellent guidance.
  8. ethan508

    Son to be Newbie from Illinois

    I have a similar problem with weather. In the springtime temperatures can fluctuate widely. For the outdoor enclosure, I build a little tortoise house and put a thermostat controlled Ceramic heating element in it, so that if the weather gets iffy they can retreat a warm space (oftentimes I end...
  9. ethan508

    First time outdoors

    I like your set up. If you keep the substrate moist/warm he can stay out longer than if he is just out in a dry coir, desiccating in the sunny breeze. More dappled shade here and there would help add some extra margin of error, so that during his exploration time he isn't getting quite as...
  10. ethan508

    Rescue Tortoise... Many Questions

    Agree with the above, he's a male, he needs his beak trimmed, and keep offering salad and he will get used to the new food eventually. As far as your set-up, spend a little more time/money on getting temperature correct. Be very careful with the heat pad under the tank. Tortoises naturally...
  11. ethan508

    Need help, new owner with russian tortoise

    I plant edibles flowers in my flower beds around my house and the weeds plant themselves naturally. Petunias (from starts) and zinnias (from seed) are both easy to grow for first timers, and could be grown in large pots on a porch. If you have hard time finding weeds/plants outside, then there...
  12. ethan508

    Russian Tortoise Care in Virginia?

    I keep my adult russians outside in Utah (except wintertime), and we have very low outside humidity (25-50%). Do keep a water dish (mine is more like a very shallow pond) available so they can soak when needed. If you keep your torts indoors then electrical heating (lights, CHE) is very...
  13. ethan508

    My tortoise won’t eat

    Hard to tell from the pics, but it looks like you've been feeding a spring mix salad. That is pretty good but I found early on that my tortoises will not touch the baby spinach. I read on the thetortoisetable that spinach can cause some mouth agitations. So maybe pull the spinach out prior...
  14. ethan508

    Russian tortoise “minimum” temperatures?

    Because they have a place to dig into the ground for the night, I've had my Russian tortoises outside at nights as low as 45 °F. The real danger for them is a freezing temperature or a prolonged cold/damp spree. I bring them inside if the forecast calls for lows below the 40s or if there are...
  15. ethan508

    Eggs?

    Could it be your male? Or the timing of the male's exposure to the females? Cooler weather means they are spending more time hunkered down have less time and energy for getting down to business. I borrowed a neighbor's male tortoise this spring for a couple weeks. The first week was...
  16. ethan508

    Russian Tort. refuses to eat- what do I do?

    What do you mean by bowl? A picture would help here. A deep bowl would be bad as it is a roll over accident or a tortoise stuck in the bowl. Any container shallow enough that a tortoise can crawl in and out of without climbing is okay (think bread plate rather than soup bowl). 2'x6' is a...
  17. ethan508

    My Simple Home Made Incubator

    Good to know. What humidity range should I aim for? A closed water box has pretty high humidity. I think I could achieve lower humidity by leaving the lid open but then temperature control becomes more difficult. Hum...
  18. ethan508

    My Simple Home Made Incubator

    I added a 'slightly used' pair of Russian tortoises via classifieds a few days back. When I picked them there were eggs in the vivarium. I doubted the eggs viability, but figured it wasteful to not try incubation. If nothing else getting an incubator built and running would be good practice...
  19. ethan508

    Russian Tort. refuses to eat- what do I do?

    I'd skip the bucket and let the tortoise eat in the environment that he is familiar and comfortable in. He might have built a slight association between eating and the stress of being handled and placed in uncomfortable surroundings. Add a flat rock, a ceramic tile, or a shallow terracotta...
  20. ethan508

    Safety of rocks in your yard

    Rain and sunshine would remove most pesticides and herbicides in a season but washing is cheap insurance. Are you talking about native rocks or imports? Lava rock is popular in some landscapes in my neighborhood and it is really abrasive and really porous. But in general I wouldn't worry much...
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