Hello from Iowa!

[sarah n sheldon]

Hello everyone, I am a new Tortoise owner as of December. My kids talked my husband into getting me a tortoise for Christmas! I had no idea!! They went to petco with a box turtle in mind and ended up with a male russian. Had I known they were getting me a turtle/tortoise I would have researched adoption but they didnt know any better and went to petco.... I had to do some quick research and have been learning a lot. I just joined this site, but have been reading some of the posts for a while.
I have previously owned paint turtles, but sadly they ran away.....people always look at me funny when i say that! But yes, they ran away. I had them in what i thought was a secured garden pond for a day and never saw them again I believe they escaped to the farm pond down the hill in our pasture, I guess they were dreaming of bigger water. I had the 3 paints for about 8-10 years so I decided to take a little turtle break until the kids surprised me this Christmas.
Right now I have Sheldon in my 75 gal aquarium and he is content. He loves his little log hiding place and rearranges it to where he wants it. I am looking into an outdoor enclosure for this summer (but definatley escape proof)! And wanting to plant a 'tortoise' garden so I can have fresh food all summer for him, also our bunnies will benefit from that too.

One question I have is how can you tell how old a tortoise is?

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome. Sorry about your turtles running away, I understand I had a couple RES do the same, ungrateful turtles. You can't tell the age of a tort. However, most likely, coming from Petco, it's possibley wild caught and approx. 5-7 years of age.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello and welcome to the TFO from AZ . Caution torts are like "Lays Chips " you cannt eat just one . 15 years ago I had just one RES now I have 7 tort enclosures , box turtles , and a pond . But they are great !

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Sarah, and welcome to the Forum!

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hello and welcome to the forum Sarah and Sheldon.
We love photos here, so please post pictures of your tortoise and enclosure if you can.
We can't tell the age of a tortoise, but may be able to tell if it's an adult or not.
Nice to have you here.

 

[Itort]

Welcome fellow Hawkeye.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Welcome from south Florida to your family!

 

[Jacqui]

Hi! *waves* What part of Iowa are you from?

 

[TortsNTurtles]

Welcome !

 

[bouaboua]

Hello, Hello and Welcome! ! ! ! Good to have you here! !

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome.

Sorry to hear about your turtles. Is there a possibility that they were removed from the pond? Raccoons are quite fond of turtles...

Here is some russian info for you. 75 gallons is a bit too small.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

 

[pam]

Welcome