Gertrude the Russian tortoise.

[AriNass]

I rescued Gertie during early Covid from people who no longer wanted her. She eats and then eats then eats some more. She is growing and active and funny. She is thriving and I am so happy.
That said I purchased a wild caught (never again I now understand the issue with that) female Russian as a companion. Her name was Henry.
She was overnight shipped and seemed in rough shape when she got here. I had her for less than two weeks and she died yesterday. RIP Henrietta. I don’t know what I did wrong. She didn’t seem to recover from the shipping. I soaked her. I tried leaving her alone. She never ate a thing and barely moved. I’m 95% sure she is dead with Rigor Morris. Her limbs don’t move at all. Eyes sunken in. Is shipping the worst thing!? I can’t believe I did that now. Heartbroken that I caused this.

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

I rescued Gertie during early Covid from people who no longer wanted her. She eats and then eats then eats some more. She is growing and active and funny. She is thriving and I am so happy.
That said I purchased a wild caught (never again I now understand the issue with that) female Russian as a companion. Her name was Henry.
She was overnight shipped and seemed in rough shape when she got here. I had her for less than two weeks and she died yesterday. RIP Henrietta. I don’t know what I did wrong. She didn’t seem to recover from the shipping. I soaked her. I tried leaving her alone. She never ate a thing and barely moved. I’m 95% sure she is dead with Rigor Morris. Her limbs don’t move at all. Eyes sunken in. Is shipping the worst thing!? I can’t believe I did that now. Heartbroken that I caused this.

This is one of the many problems with wild caught critters. They typically come with a gut load of parasites. Ultimately they succumb to the parasites and you can’t do anything to help at that stage. You did your best with what you were dealt with. Don’t do business with them any longer.

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

This is one of the many problems with wild caught critters. They typically come with a gut load of parasites. Ultimately they succumb to the parasites and you can’t do anything to help at that stage. You did your best with what you were dealt with. Don’t do business with them any longer.

And on a side note, they have a tendency to infect the others. Try to find a good vet that knows how to treat tortoises and have a sample checked.

 

[AriNass]

This is one of the many problems with wild caught critters. They typically come with a gut load of parasites. Ultimately they succumb to the parasites and you can’t do anything to help at that stage. You did your best with what you were dealt with. Don’t do business with them any longer.

Thank you. I get it now. Thing was they said they had her for 4 or so years. I figured that by that amount of time she would have already died if she was going to be sick. :-( Turtlesandtortoises.com or maybe it was .org

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

I’ve been out of the tortoise loop for some time. I’m sure there is a vendor review type section where you could ask about the vendor.

 

[AriNass]

I tried but couldn’t find one.

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

I tried but couldn’t find one.

Maybe in the Russian tortoise section and just ask if anyone knows of them?

 

[Sarah2020]

Sorry for your loss. I expect it had underlying issues which were not visible and the shipping did not help. They also hate change. . There is a chance that the other one could be infected with whatever if they co-habitated. There may be advise given on here or just observe also it may be good to deep clean and add new substrate for the remaining to avoid cross contamination etc...... Avoid getting another they are happy alone.

 

[AriNass]

Sorry for your loss. I expect it had underlying issues which were not visible and the shipping did not help. They also hate change.

Sorry for your loss. I expect it had underlying issues which were not visible and the shipping did not help. They also hate change. . There is a chance that the other one could be infected with whatever if they co-habitated. There may be advise given on here or just observe also it may be good to deep clean and add new substrate for the remaining to avoid cross contamination etc...... Avoid getting another they are happy alone.

. There is a chance that the other one could be infected with whatever if they co-habitated. There may be advise given on here or just observe also it may be good to deep clean and add new substrate for the remaining to avoid cross contamination etc...... Avoid getting another they are happy alone.

Thanks! I’m happy to say I was smart enough at least to keep them separate. Gertie is still a chow hound. I’m taking the second enclosure outside dumping everything in the woods and bleaching it out. And I hate it but yes I think I’ll keep her alone. I really wanted another but I do t think it’s best for her. Follow her on Instagram-Gertie the Russian Tortoise. Thanks for your input.