Hello

[Eloise's mommy]

I'm Eloise's mommy my name is Melissa. I met Eloise about 4 days ago in a petsmart here in Utah. She is a 4 1/2 inch long Russian Tortoise. not sure how to identify her age though...anythoughts? Her diet this week is Kale, Oregano, and a bit of redleaf lettuce.. I bought pellets at the pet store but she will not touch them. I do have
few questions: 1. Do torts usually like to Cuddle? Eloise does. 2. Is it normal for her to dislike going potty in her tank? 3. why wont she sleep in her hiding spot? she likes the spot but pushes the little house out of the way. 4. Did she really ask to be taken our of her tank tonight? I walked up to check on her and she crawled across the tank to me and stuck her adorable little head straight up as high as it would go and cuddled right in when I picked her up...she likes to snuggle under my chin. 5. how much am I supposed to feed her? in quantity not time..20 mins a day doesn't help me how much food is right if she's a grazer I don't want to limit her to once a day I'd rather limit to small quantities a couple times a day is that okay?

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome to the Forum, Melissa.

 

[MyrnaBren]

Welcome, I'm rather new so I don't have a lot of answers for you. But it sounds like your tort sure is something special!

 

[Eloise's mommy]

I'm hoping to get some answers this is my very first tortoise ever and I am really enjoying getting to know her but I would like her to grow healthy and live for a long time. and I am shocked by some of her behavior like cuddling with me and I swear she seriously asked to be taken out of her tank last night she did!!

 

[kanalomele]

Welcome to you both! Im a Melissa also with a bunch of russians. Russians are a fabulous species. I have had mine for many years now and all of their little personalities are different. Big personality in a small package I always say. Your girl sounds super sweet! Some of mine seem far more adventurous than others and will roam far and wide. While others prefer to be shy and stay in a certain area. My male is my buddy and I can always expect him to come find me. He will even chase everyone else away if they get to close to me. Enjoy getting to know her, and she will be your friend for many years.
The most important thing to remember about Russian diet is Variety! As strict vegetarian species they need a wide variety of plants to have a balanced healthy diet. There are many threads here that discuss Russian diet. Take some time and read, read, read!

 

[Eloise's mommy]

Thank you Kanalomele......as for diet I can certainly handle variety...I'm having trouble pinpointing the correct amount to feed....she always seems hungry unless I give her pellets and then she acts like there isn't anything in the cage except maybe a new place to lay...she really seems to enjoy her Kale and gets a green beard from eating it!! lol I love the green beard it's so funny!!

 

[Jacqui]

She sounds like the type for whom it is going to be best to give several small meals throughout the day. How much have you been giving her each day would you guess?

 

[Eloise's mommy]

Jacqui- In the morning when I turn on her light and refresh her water I give her about a handful of her staple for the day...this week it's Kale....then I live close to home so I go home on lunch and give her a snacky snack of either Oregano..red leaf lettuce (she doesn't like this as much but the piggy eats it) or I have a bit of coleslaw mix that I have given her twice.. this is a much smaller amount than her morning feed like less than half a handful. I havn't been sure how much to feed her so i've been giving her different amounts each day to see what keeps her happy....I notice that she is calmer at night with the morning feed and snack time then she was the first few days when I tried only feeding once for 20 min. also she gets about an hour out of her pen a night on the landing of my stairs where it's warm and I can lay down news paper because she doesn't like to poo in her cage....also is bathing nightly okay?? I hate to put her back in her cage after she goes potty with out soaking her because she gets poo and stuff on her and I wouldn't want to go to bed with that gunk on me!

 

[Jacqui]

While I doubt she cares about going to sleep with gunk on her, if it makes you feel better, by all means give her a nightly soak. It will not harm her. Just be sure she is dried before her night temps can chill her.

She may have not been getting enough to eat before you got her. Also keep in mind, in the wild Russians eat as much as they can each day because they will have months of brumation without food. So those are two reasons she may be giving you the starving tortoise act. In captivity, they can get fat. It does not sound like she is getting too much, I would stick with what is working for you now and see how it goes.

 

[Eloise's mommy]

thanks jacqui!! I will keep with the current routine...and I do pat her dry with a paper towel and put her right under her light after her soak...and she only soaks for about 10 min since she doesn't seem to mind passing poo or urates on the newspaper....also I can see where she would not have eaten well with the petstore since they only had pellets in her dish and that dish was full when I picked her up....and the man who sold her to me was not very tortoise savvy either and I do not like the bark he sold me or the pellets and he didn't mention that she needed a UVB/A light.