Hay

[Imkeisme]

So how much Roman lettuce should I be feeding my tortoise a day? Hes I wanna say 2 years old, about a half a foot. I got him from a pet store. They we're feeding him Timothy hay also so should I be feeding him that along side the veggies and pellets?

 

[Rusky]

Russians don't really eat timothy hay, and they should not have too much romaine. Vegetables should make a tiny portion of their diet. Russians need a wide variety of leafy greens. Please show pictures of your pellets, as some are not suitable. Mazuri tortoise diet and ZooMed Grassland are good options. Take a look here for more care details, especially about diet: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

 

[Rusky]

Also, pet store Russians are almost exclusively wild caught, and if he's that long then he definitely is. It's hard to tell age by size, because they can grow at vastly different rates.

 

[RosemaryDW]

Welcome Imkeisme!

Your Petco Russian is indeed older than two years; at least five, probably more and pretty much as large as he’s going to get.

Most pet stores know very little about tortoise care; you’ll get much more up-to-date information on this site. If you haven’t ready it already, check out the beginner mistakes thread in addition to the Russian specific one mentioned above: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/.

Here is a looong list of information on foods, most of it put together by very experienced members of this forum. It's a ton of reading, for now you will probably want to focus on the section about grocery store foods that is under the first two link; I bolded the part that mentions spring mix, and the greens that go into it.

If you haven't already read it, check the Russian care sheet, it has a section on food near the bottom: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/.

You may need to rely on grocery store foods for now. Good foods for tortoises are "chicories," types of lettuce that are likely to be on the far side of the more common floppy green heads of lettuce most people buy. Anything labeled as simply "chicory"is good, as are radiccio, frisee, escarole, and endive; you might even find something labeled as dandelions. You may find a bag of "Spring" or "Spicy" mix that is good, just check the label to be sure it has some of the chicories I just mentioned.

The leaves (just the leaves) of turnips and radishes are also good, as are carrot tops. Collards, mustard greens, bok choy, and other dark, leafy greens are okay as well. If you have any kind of Mexican/hispanic market near you, they will sell cactus, labeled "nopales."

You don't need to feed all of these at one time, just make sure your tortoise is getting access to different types of food. As you get more experienced, you can find the better types of food listed on the care sheets.

Here are a whole bunch of non-grocery store suggestions.

Mulberry leaves
Grape vine leaves
Hibiscus leaves
African hibiscus leaves
Blue hibiscus leaves
Rose of Sharon leaves
Rose leaves
Geraniums
Gazanias
Nasturtium
Lavatera
Pansies
Petunias
Hostas
Honeysuckle
Cape honeysuckle
Leaves and blooms from any squash plant, like pumpkin, cucumber, summer squash, etc...
Young spineless opuntia cactus pads

Weeds:

Dandelion
Mallow
Filaree
Smooth Sow thistle
Prickly Sow thistle
Milk thistle
Goat head weed
Cats ear
Nettles
Trefoil
Wild onion
Wild mustard
Wild Garlic
Clovers
Broadleaf plantain
Narrow leaf plantain
Chick weed
Hawksbit
Hensbit
Hawksbeard

 

[Imkeisme]

These are his pellets I wanna say they are mazuri or zoo med I can't exactly remember I don't have them in the same packaging. W.e. these are he deff does not like them. Also sorry for the late reply. I'm going to read more into all the cmts now

 

[Imkeisme]

Just read over both forums they were both super helpful. I don't think these are grass land tortoise pellets so I'm going to switch these out and I also agree that Tank is probably alot older than I assumed. I also think I need to be adding more calcium I add cuddle bone pieces to his veggies once every two weeks I'm starting to this his weird looking shell might be lack of calcium. It's not soft but it's jagged and kinda flakey on the ends. Most people said he looks fine but most other shells I see are smooth .... I mean smooth in a sense of not sharp and choppy

 

[Imkeisme]

I also learned that the uv bulb I have can hurt his eyes (it's a swirly one) so I'm going to switch that out asap

 

[RosemaryDW]

I also think I need to be adding more calcium I add cuddle bone pieces to his veggies once every two weeks I'm starting to this his weird looking shell might be lack of calcium. It's not soft but it's jagged and kinda flakey on the ends. Most people said he looks fine but most other shells I see are smooth .... I mean smooth in a sense of not sharp and choppy

Wild caught Russians tend to have shells that are bumpy and dinged up; it’s from growing up in a dry area. I’ve seen your tortoise’s photo and he’s just fine. He’s full grown so the shell isn’t going to change much; it will never be smooth like that of some captive bred tortoises.

Adult male Russians don’t need a ton of calcium, at least not if the diet is good. You can just leave a chunk of cuddlebone in there and he’ll occasionally munch on it.

 

[Imkeisme]

Ok that makes more sense to me I didn't realize that there was a difference. Do the wild caught ones actually come from Russia? I wonder what his life was before I got him

 

[Rusky]

Ok that makes more sense to me I didn't realize that there was a difference. Do the wild caught ones actually come from Russia? I wonder what his life was before I got him

China, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan etc.

 

[Imkeisme]

Interesting I'm going to look into the tortoise carriers for Petco if I remember correctly thier shipper was ..... something rodent. the reptiles and frozen mice would come together separate boxes but I always thought that was interesting

 

[Stuart S.]

These are his pellets I wanna say they are mazuri or zoo med I can't exactly remember I don't have them in the same packaging. W.e. these are he deff does not like them. Also sorry for the late reply. I'm going to read more into all the cmts nowView attachment 229470

Those aren’t Mazuri pellets, probably why he doesn’t like them. Petco and Petsmart doesn’t carry the original recipe anymore they sale the small LS pellets which tends to be less popular among torts, try to find you some of the original recipe on amazon [emoji1362]

 

[TechnoCheese]

I agree, those are the dreaded “fruity pebbles” that Flukers and some other brands sell

 

[Yvonne G]

I agree, those are the dreaded “fruity pebbles” that Flukers and some other brands sell

Box turtles really love those!

 

[TechnoCheese]

Box turtles really love those!

Hmm, I’ll keep that in mind if I ever get one!

 

[Tort dude]

Hmm, I’ll keep that in mind if I ever get one!

my russians hate them. hahahaha

 

[Imkeisme]

I agree, those are the dreaded “fruity pebbles” that Flukers and some other brands sell

Yep I think that's the brand your right

 

[Imkeisme]

my russians hate them. hahahaha

My Russian hate them too I'll deff have to change it up. I kinda thought that maybe he just prefers lettuce and ect. But now I know it's the wrong food. I learn new things everyday on this forum I'm glad I joined!!!

 

[TechnoCheese]

My Russian hate them too I'll deff have to change it up. I kinda thought that maybe he just prefers lettuce and ect. But now I know it's the wrong food. I learn new things everyday on this forum I'm glad I joined!!!

I’ve been here for two years, and believe me, you never stop learning! That’s why I like the TFO