lauraberg28
New Member
Hello! I will be so incredibly grateful to any tortoise owners and experts that can weigh in on this issue. I am the caretaker of a 19 or 20-ish-year-old Russian Tortoise. Stanley is a female Russian that was named by the young children at my early childhood center thinking she was a boy before they knew that bigger Russians were actually female. Before I took over as a primary teacher in my classroom Stanley had subpar care at best- when the two Russians we have at our school were initially taken into our care they were residing together and did NOT get along. After that realization, the two were separated and Stanley was housed in a too-small aquarium on a table in a toddler classroom (which had been used to house the two tortoises together initially). Ever since then, I have moved Stanely into a large bin (which is still not big enough but better than the aquarium which can cause overheating and confusion) and over the Christmas break I took her home to my house.
It is now mid-February and Stanley is still at my house. It is so much work and stress for the tortoise to move back and forth! I have heavily considered talking to my boss and offering to buy Stanley from my school, however, this weekend I am adopting a cat which has made the issue more complicated. I have read on this website that cats can cohabitate with tortoises if the situation is handled correctly; though at first, I would want to somehow cover Stanley’s bin to protect her until I better understand how this relationship could go. I am looking for advice on whether Stanley should stay at my home, which is less overwhelming for me as she adds to the work I have to do at my job, or if I should bring her back.
What makes this complicated is that I am being pressured on both sides of the situation. My coworkers are fine if she doesn’t come back. I love having her and my roommate does as well (and there's the risk of Salmonella). I have done basically ALL of the work for this tort and love her dearly; I have even financially taken on this tortoise and paid for a lot of her care. I have read that toddlers and tortoises do NOT mix (duh) and should be kept separate because of the possibility of stressing out the tortoise. I have not talked to my boss about this as it makes me anxious to face all of the different opinions of people without knowing what to do. So, I guess I’m wondering what other people think is the best situation for my dear Stanley. Does she go back to the chaotic classroom where kiddos throw toys into her bin, kick the side of it, and scream often, but where she ultimately came from? Or do I keep her home where I feel SO much better about her well-being and with the person who is her caretaker anyway? To make it a little more complicated, the cat is being thrown into the situation this weekend. Does anybody have any thoughts for me? There are a few more details that make this situation complicated so feel free to ask questions and I can answer them below. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
It is now mid-February and Stanley is still at my house. It is so much work and stress for the tortoise to move back and forth! I have heavily considered talking to my boss and offering to buy Stanley from my school, however, this weekend I am adopting a cat which has made the issue more complicated. I have read on this website that cats can cohabitate with tortoises if the situation is handled correctly; though at first, I would want to somehow cover Stanley’s bin to protect her until I better understand how this relationship could go. I am looking for advice on whether Stanley should stay at my home, which is less overwhelming for me as she adds to the work I have to do at my job, or if I should bring her back.
What makes this complicated is that I am being pressured on both sides of the situation. My coworkers are fine if she doesn’t come back. I love having her and my roommate does as well (and there's the risk of Salmonella). I have done basically ALL of the work for this tort and love her dearly; I have even financially taken on this tortoise and paid for a lot of her care. I have read that toddlers and tortoises do NOT mix (duh) and should be kept separate because of the possibility of stressing out the tortoise. I have not talked to my boss about this as it makes me anxious to face all of the different opinions of people without knowing what to do. So, I guess I’m wondering what other people think is the best situation for my dear Stanley. Does she go back to the chaotic classroom where kiddos throw toys into her bin, kick the side of it, and scream often, but where she ultimately came from? Or do I keep her home where I feel SO much better about her well-being and with the person who is her caretaker anyway? To make it a little more complicated, the cat is being thrown into the situation this weekend. Does anybody have any thoughts for me? There are a few more details that make this situation complicated so feel free to ask questions and I can answer them below. THANK YOU SO MUCH!