Got my first tort!

[jennw47]

Hello! My name is Jenn. I am from the western US. I recently got a Greek tortoise from the pet store. To be honest, I got her for my partner because she has been wanting a reptile and I can deal with a tortoise better than a snake! We brought her home and I immediately fell in love! I had no knowledge or received any from the pet store which shocked me. So I of course started researching. I found out that there is a lot to make sure a totortoise is healthy! And it made me very sad to look at my poor girl I got from a pet store and can tell that she has been mistreated by her shell. Anyway, we named her Lilly. She is 4 in and weighs about 240 grams. Like I said I fell in love and so of course, a 20 gallon tank doesn't do justice for her so I am currently building a tortoise table for her. 4 feet by 2 1/2 feet. Two floors. I am beyond excited! Well thanks for letting me gush about my new tortoise! Excited to be apart of a forum finally


not the best pictures right now but will get more later!

 

[mike taylor]

Nice! Welcome to TFO! I don't keep Russian torts so I'm no help but there's alot of good keepers here that do . Be careful torts are addictive .

 

[leigti]

Congratulations on your new tortoise. Welcome to the forum!

 

[stojanovski92113]

Congrats & torts rule...we all love our tortoises to pieces!!! I also don't keep Russian tortoises but there will be someone to give you some advice soon

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

welcme to the forum! thats is not a greek tortoise, its a russian tortoise. read this entire care sheet. http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

 

[Tom]

Hi Jenn. Welcome to the forum.

That is not a greek tortoise, Testudo gracea. It is a Russian tortoise Testudo horsfieldii. It is common for pet stores to have no idea what they are talking about. They probably gave you all sorts of bad advice and bad equipment too.

Here is some care info for you that will actually be good for your tortoise:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/semi-underground-russian-box.98590/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello Jen welcome to the TFO from AZ . Your getting a lot of advice about your new tort .

 

[jennw47]

welcme to the forum! thats is not a greek tortoise, its a russian tortoise. read this entire care sheet. http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

Thank you so much! If only I had known that pet stores are that ridiculous and not helpful what so ever, I would have never bought from there. However, I am glad we have Lilly. Thanks for your advice and I'm excited to keep learning about tortoises and may invest in another one, of course housed seperatley! Look forward to more advice!

 

[pam]

Welcome

 

[Tyanna]

Welcome!

 

[the_newzie]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome!

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome to the Forum, Jenn!

 

[katfinlou]

Hi and a warm welcome. You've come to the right place for lots of helpful advice from people who really know their stuff. Torts have a way of making you fall in love with them lol. Congratulations on your new addition

 

[tortdad]

Hello and thanks for sharing pics. I love looking at torts pics. You'd think that if you've seen one you've seen them all but I love all the pics we share her.

Welcome aboard.

 

[ChloeCrull]

Welcome to the forum, Jenn!

Lilly has such a precious, little face! I used to own a chinchilla named Lilly.

As mentioned a few times already, she is actually a Russian tortoise (quite a common mixup for a pet store). Make sure that you keep the receipt for all of the equipment that you purchased for Lilly, as you will most likely be returning 75% of the items you originally purchased. Here, you'll find a lot of cheap (and better) substitutes for supplies.

I'll try to give you a brief summary of what I would recommend. Let me begin by introducting myself.

My name is Chloe and I was born in Canada, but I am currently living in California. I am the mother of three Russian tortoises: Harold (wild-caught, 5-10 years), Hazel (captive-bred, 1-2 years), and Hatti (wild-caught, 5-8 years).

Russian tortoises are very solitary, territorial creatures. Nonetheless, they each have their own unique personality and can be surprisingly affectionate! I would definitely advise to never house them in pairs. Have a ratio of at least 1:2 or 1:3+ if you have the necessary space. 1:2 means one male and two females, and 1:3+ means one male and three or more females.

The diet is fairly simple for Russian tortoises. You will (almost) always be able to find the necessary foods at a local grocery store. I typically go to Vons or Food4Less. I usually feed my tortoise a mix of collard greens, mustard greens, kale (small amounts on occasion), mint (small amounts on occasion), thyme, riddichio (small amounts on occasion), and endives.

You can also visit a gardening center and get a few succulents to liven up the habitat. Make sure they are edible, and keep in mind they can cause excessive pooping (my tortoises don't pay too much attention to their plants for it to be a problem). These can be found at OSH or Lowe's and a dozen others, but those are the two ones I frequently visit. There are also some aloe vera (the main succulent I feed Russians) outside of Vons, Food4Less, or SaveMart right before you walk through the entrance. They're around $5.00 for a juicy plant that will last you anywhere from a week to a few weeks, depending on your tortoise's tastebuds and appetite.

For the indoor enclosure, I would suggest getting a larger area that does not have see-through glass or plastic. Tortoises will run into the wall and get confused as to why they cannot advance forward. This will cause them to stress and grow ill. I have a wooden cage constructed from putting two Zoo Med Tortoise Houses together. In total, my habitat is 6ft x 2ft, with the depth being about 10 inches. I line the bottom with a vinyl plastic to prevent water damage.

For the outdoor enclosure, I have a simple pink kiddie pool that I purchased for $7.99 from Toys R Us. It has an aloe vera plant, a small food dish, and a cave. My tortoises usually receive 1-2 hours of natural sunlight a day (if they are awake!) from 10 A.M. - 12 P.M. each day.

For the lighting, I would suggest to have a total of 4 different areas. One area for basking, one area for daytime heat, one area for cooling down, and one area for a nighttime temperature (the coldest of them all). The basking spot should be anywhere from 90-100 degrees, the daytime heat around maybe 84-89, the cooling area around maybe 78-83, and the nighttime can be as low as 70 degrees. Please note that these temperatures are not 100% accurate, and I'm sure that a more knowledgeable member will correct me soon! Also, avoid coil bulbs. They cause irritation and even blindness.

For the substrate, I would suggest coconut coir (coconut fiber). Make sure to add a bit of water to hydrate the dirt. Also, please avoid any sandy or grainy bedding, as it can get wedged in the tortoise's armpits and cause skin irritation. Also, for my outdoor enclosure, I use a bag of Pathway Bark Mulch from Lowe's. You get an enormous bag and it is $4.00 or $5.00 at most.

For the humidity, Russian tortoises typically stay at about 60% (more important for babies, I merely hydrate the substrate for mine and spray them with a spray bottle every once in a while). For humidity, you can make a closed chamber. More detail on this is in the forum somewhere. I'll link it to you if you'd like later. I'm not a tablet now, so I'm not very functional at the moment! Lastly, plants and foliage help to maintain humidity as well.

Wow. I thought this would be a brief post. I'm sorry, Jenn! I hope it wasn't annoying to read, and I hope it helped you and Lilly. Cheers

 

[tortadise]

Welcome

 

[Earth Mama]

Welcome to the forum. Russians are great little torts. Your love for Lilly will continue to grow.