Hello from Illinois!

[Andrea Emshousen]

Hello!

My name is Andrea. I am turning 20 years old in June and live in Southern Illinois. I have a Russian Tortoise who was the first tortoise I've ever owned. His name is Marley and he's around 5 to 6 years old, but I've only had him for almost a year now. I also have a Sulcata tortoise who I've only had just about a month and is still considered a hatchling, and can fit in the palm of my hand. I've named him " Little Foot " and we also call him Sully since he is a Sulcata tortoise.

We are very excited to be a part of this forum and cannot wait to meet lots of new tortoises and friends.

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

welcome to the forum! can you post some pics of them?

 

[Andrea Emshousen]

Yes! My profile picture is actually the sulcata tortoise I have and I will upload some pictures of my Russian tortoise tomorrow hopefully. He is the main reason I joined the forum because I do not think his shell is in as good of condition as it should be and also was wanting to get more information on their diets so I can help improve their lives as I am new to tortoise keeping.

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome.

Here is some russian info:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

And sulcata:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.78361/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

Yes! My profile picture is actually the sulcata tortoise I have and I will upload some pictures of my Russian tortoise tomorrow hopefully. He is the main reason I joined the forum because I do not think his shell is in as good of condition as it should be and also was wanting to get more information on their diets so I can help improve their lives as I am new to tortoise keeping.

it looks like you sulcata has some bad pyramiding, do you keep him dry?

 

[Andrea Emshousen]

I've only had him for about a month, but I spray his enclosure once a week and soak him about 2 times a week like I've read to do. I'm not experienced with tortoises so I've been trying to read all I can about them and also watching Youtube videos, which is why I wanted to join this forum. I'm actually going to post some pictures of my Russian tortoise that i've previously uploaded on my instagram.

 

[Andrea Emshousen]

This is Marley. The russian tortoise I have had for about a year but he is around 6 years in age

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello Andrea welcome to the TFO from AZ . Do we get to see a pict of Sully and its enclosure ?

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Welcome, Andrea from south Florida.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hello Andrea,Marley and Little Foot Sully.
Welcome to Tortoise Forum.
More pictures of the enclosures would be useful and appreciated.
What are their diets?

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Andrea, and welcome to the Forum!

Your Russian tortoise is not the youngster you thought it was. It's almost full grown, and more than likely over 10 years of age. I don't see anything wrong with the shell.

 

[Andrea Emshousen]

Hi Andrea, and welcome to the Forum!

Your Russian tortoise is not the youngster you thought it was. It's almost full grown, and more than likely over 10 years of age. I don't see anything wrong with the shell.

Oh my gosh, really? How can you tell he is that old? Due to size? I'm so curious about all of this.. I'm new to the " tortoise world " as you can probably tell. Haha.

 

[Andrea Emshousen]

Hello Andrea,Marley and Little Foot Sully.
Welcome to Tortoise Forum.
More pictures of the enclosures would be useful and appreciated.
What are their diets?

I will get pictures of their current enclosures uploaded soon. Sorry guys I didn't have the enclosure pictures on hand. :/ I feed them both mainly hay such as timothy and orchard grass. They don't seem too thrilled about it though and I reaally have to encourage them to eat it. I sprinkle it on their veggies to try and get them enough fiber and everything they need. I also have herbal tortoise hay mixture I purchased from the Tortoise Supply website along with cactus pads I cut up for the Sulcata. I feed veggies such as collard greens, green leaf lettuce, kale, spring mix, and a tiny bit of shredded carrot. I almost never give fruit because I've read its bad and I also don't feed them tortoise pellets that they sell in pet stores because I read that is bad as well. I sprinkle calcium on their food multiple times a week and also have multi vitamin powder for tortoise i sprinkle on their veggies one week out of the month as well. Again, I have no real resources for tortoise care information and have had to read random articles and web pages for any bit of info because my library had no recent or up to date books on tortoise care and I hadn't found this forum until yesterday. If I am wrong in anything that I do or if I'm not doing something that I should be, then please tell me! I don't mean to come off as neglectful or not caring because I do care about all of my animals. The russian tortoise was the first I got out of my two tortoises and it was around last May when a girl I went to high school with contacted me about rehoming her tortoise because I am a huge animal lover and she knows how well I take care of my other pets, so I adopted him and did a ton of research but I found a lot of the articles I was reading were based on opinion and everyone had a different opinion on what " the best way to care for tortoises " was so I ended up extremely confused and still doing never ending research until I'm confident that I can provide the best care possible. Sorry that this was long. I just felt like I needed to explain myself.

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

Oh my gosh, really? How can you tell he is that old? Due to size? I'm so curious about all of this.. I'm new to the " tortoise world " as you can probably tell. Haha.

its impossible to know the exact age but yours is most likely wild caught.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Russian's don't really go for hay and grasses, as with most of the Mediterranean group of torts. They prefer broad leafed greens like dandelion, see the diet section on Tom's excellent Russian tortoise care sheet, click on the link a$in Tom's message. The sulcata has a different diet and if you look under Tom's care sheets and also the diet list under African tortoises, sulcata diet sheet, you will see that sulcatas eat a lot more grasses and hay type foods.
They do not have the same dietary requirements.
Cactus pads and prickly pear fruit would be good for the Russian too.
Calcium can only be absorbed if the torts are getting enough uv light and I would say a couple of times a week is plenty, they should get the rest from their diet.
You have done the right thing in coming here for your information. This is, quite simply, the most up to date tortoise information to be found. Anywhere.
Please continue to ask if you have any further questions, as our knowledgeable keepers like Tom, Yvonne and many more have a great deal of knowledge and experience.
I might add that most of what I know about Russians and sulcatas has been learned from them and others and this forum in general, as I have experience mainly of greeks myself.
Hope this helps.
We don't think you're neglectful and uncaring. You are here, doing your best, asking questions and trying to learn (as we all still are).
Thank you.

 

[DawnH]

You could spend a great deal of time on this site, gathering all sorts of great info (my husband has to gently remind me to get off at times...lol) The fact that you are here and wanting to get as much info as possible to give your babies the BEST life PROVES what a wonderful tortoise owner you are. Knowledge is power. Welcome!!

 

[Andrea Emshousen]

Thank you so much to everyone who commented on here and has helped so far! I am doing the very best I can to learn everything about giving both of my torts the very best lives possible. Its mind blowing how much information there is to learn on them as well, and I am eager to learn as much as possible. I've already gotten started on improving their lives! I've sprayed my sulcata's enclosure to get the substrate ( coco coir ) damp and also made sure his hide log is damp/humid. I'm leaving his heat on overnight as well and soaking him everyday. I also went out and found some of the approved foods I found on the lists and I'm going to get seeds to plant my own weeds an such in the back corner of my yard. Thank you all again!

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

And slowly we all learn and give our torts better lives...
Fair play.!

 

[Carol S]

Welcome to the Forum.

 

[pam]

Welcome