Help identifying species of a tortoise I found in my garden

Danijar

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May 25, 2020
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Bedfordshire, uk
Hello, I found a tortoise in my garden, can someone confirm what species it is? I’ve looked at photos on the internet and I think maybe it’s a Russian or a baby Greek. I’ve put him in a cardboard box with newspaper and straw in for the night.

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Danijar

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May 25, 2020
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Bedfordshire, uk
Thank you ? my family have a Greek tortoise and he sleeps in a cardboard box with straw at night, is it ok for a Russian to do the same? He was eating dandelions in my garden this afternoon and I fed him cucumber this evening, which he ate a bit of.
I’ve checked with neighbours and it’s not theirs. I’m thinking of asking on local fb page if anyone missing a tortoise but I don’t want someone to pretend it’s theirs if it’s not.
 

nicoleann2214

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Thank you ? my family have a Greek tortoise and he sleeps in a cardboard box with straw at night, is it ok for a Russian to do the same? He was eating dandelions in my garden this afternoon and I fed him cucumber this evening, which he ate a bit of.
I’ve checked with neighbours and it’s not theirs. I’m thinking of asking on local fb page if anyone missing a tortoise but I don’t want someone to pretend it’s theirs if it’s not.
super cute! You may want to get a bigger space for him and you may need to provide heat depending on your temps! :) @Tom can help you!
 
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Kim&Tim

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Thank you ? my family have a Greek tortoise and he sleeps in a cardboard box with straw at night, is it ok for a Russian to do the same? He was eating dandelions in my garden this afternoon and I fed him cucumber this evening, which he ate a bit of.
I’ve checked with neighbours and it’s not theirs. I’m thinking of asking on local fb page if anyone missing a tortoise but I don’t want someone to pretend it’s theirs if it’s not.
He looks like 4/5 year old russian, the size of my russian. That's pretty exciting to find eating in the yard? what you could do is maybe put some flyers up in neighborhood without a picture on it. If people react they have to show a pic of the tort. They all have their own shell pattern and other things. I'm sure they have pics of the tort, like I said, it's prob 4/5 at least. Are you going to keep him if you can't find an owner?
 

Danijar

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He looks like 4/5 year old russian, the size of my russian. That's pretty exciting to find eating in the yard? what you could do is maybe put some flyers up in neighborhood without a picture on it. If people react they have to show a pic of the tort. They all have their own shell pattern and other things. I'm sure they have pics of the tort, like I said, it's prob 4/5 at least. Are you going to keep him if you can't find an owner?

thank you for replying ? that interesting to know he is likely that old, I thought he was still a baby. Yes I was excited! At first I wondered if I was imagining things ? I’ve put it on the local Facebook page for my town, without a photo, and I’ve asked for anyone missing a tort to message me along with a photo of missing tort. If I don’t find the owner that way I’m not sure whether to take him to the vets to scan for a microchip but if he doesn’t have one I don’t think they will give him back to me and then he will go to a rescue. If I can’t find the owners I’d like to keep him but would rather find them if someone missing him
 

Kim&Tim

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thank you for replying ? that interesting to know he is likely that old, I thought he was still a baby. Yes I was excited! At first I wondered if I was imagining things ? I’ve put it on the local Facebook page for my town, without a photo, and I’ve asked for anyone missing a tort to message me along with a photo of missing tort. If I don’t find the owner that way I’m not sure whether to take him to the vets to scan for a microchip but if he doesn’t have one I don’t think they will give him back to me and then he will go to a rescue. If I can’t find the owners I’d like to keep him but would rather find them if someone missing him

He or she could even be older than that. The males are smaller than the females, in general males could grow to be 15/16 cm and the females bigger, 20/22 cm but they both usually stay smaller. It's a small tortoise. Do you know how big he or she is? You need to put the tortoise facing a wall so it retracts its head, then measure the shell straight, so not the curve.

You're a good person for trying to find the owner! I would be so sad but happy if someone tried to find me. I'm not sure if that's the policy at the vet with tortoises. But I'm not sure either tbh. I do understand you want to keep it in your care and you don't want people to mess with it even more.
 

Danijar

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He or she could even be older than that. The males are smaller than the females, in general males could grow to be 15/16 cm and the females bigger, 20/22 cm but they both usually stay smaller. It's a small tortoise. Do you know how big he or she is? You need to put the tortoise facing a wall so it retracts its head, then measure the shell straight, so not the curve.

You're a good person for trying to find the owner! I would be so sad but happy if someone tried to find me. I'm not sure if that's the policy at the vet with tortoises. But I'm not sure either tbh. I do understand you want to keep it in your care and you don't want people to mess with it even more.

thank you ?
He’s been reunited with his owner now. She lives a few doors down, he had gone missing the same afternoon I found him. She didn’t send me a photo but asked if he still had paint on his shell, which he did so I took that as proof he was hers. It was various colours of paint (art type not wall paint) all over his shell in the lines (you can see if zoom in on this picture). Which worried me slightly that they have been painting him. It was nice having him for his little trip out, I hope he enjoyed his stay! Thank you for your help ?
 

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Kim&Tim

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thank you ?
He’s been reunited with his owner now. She lives a few doors down, he had gone missing the same afternoon I found him. She didn’t send me a photo but asked if he still had paint on his shell, which he did so I took that as proof he was hers. It was various colours of paint (art type not wall paint) all over his shell in the lines (you can see if zoom in on this picture). Which worried me slightly that they have been painting him. It was nice having him for his little trip out, I hope he enjoyed his stay! Thank you for your help ?

Oh well I'm glad that everything turned out ok. In a way it's probably a little disappointing too maybe? ? But in the end he wasn't yours, I'm glad you made the efford. Well, the paint is a bit weird, some people do make markings when they go out, in case they walk of. But usually it's a dot, not all over. Did you ask why? What was his name and did you ask how old he was? Just curious? I think he enjoyed his little holiday.
 

Sarah2020

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Suspected it was an escapee as they love to explore. Pleased owner found and reunited as i would be devastated and great you were able to shelter it for a while as they need heat and care.
 

Danijar

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Oh well I'm glad that everything turned out ok. In a way it's probably a little disappointing too maybe? ? But in the end he wasn't yours, I'm glad you made the efford. Well, the paint is a bit weird, some people do make markings when they go out, in case they walk of. But usually it's a dot, not all over. Did you ask why? What was his name and did you ask how old he was? Just curious? I think he enjoyed his little holiday.
I was a little bit disappointed but at the same time I found looking after him a bit of a worry, I didn’t feel I could go anywhere other than my garden or lounge for more than a few minutes when he was in the garden, incase he managed to escape (even though I had blocked all gaps off I was worried he would dig in the borders and under the fence if I didn’t keep an eye on him and I also had to keep an eye on my dog as he was very interested in the tort and kept sniffing him and pushed him up the bum with his nose!
I didn’t ask why they painted him or his age (I should have but it was a quick handover), I did ask his real name and it’s Trevor!
 

Kim&Tim

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I was a little bit disappointed but at the same time I found looking after him a bit of a worry, I didn’t feel I could go anywhere other than my garden or lounge for more than a few minutes when he was in the garden, incase he managed to escape (even though I had blocked all gaps off I was worried he would dig in the borders and under the fence if I didn’t keep an eye on him and I also had to keep an eye on my dog as he was very interested in the tort and kept sniffing him and pushed him up the bum with his nose!
I didn’t ask why they painted him or his age (I should have but it was a quick handover), I did ask his real name and it’s Trevor!
Yes loose in the garden doesn't work, so you would have had to make an enclosure, like big planter or something. But I understand you didn't because you knew he was someone else's tortoise. Ah Trevor is cool ha ha and he looked good, so they prob do take good care of him.
 

NandoC68

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Thank you ? my family have a Greek tortoise and he sleeps in a cardboard box with straw at night, is it ok for a Russian to do the same? He was eating dandelions in my garden this afternoon and I fed him cucumber this evening, which he ate a bit of.
I’ve checked with neighbours and it’s not theirs. I’m thinking of asking on local fb page if anyone missing a tortoise but I don’t want someone to pretend it’s theirs if it’s not.
I hear you there's a lot of dishonest people out there to bad there isn't a way to mark your tort without harming it in case something like that happens that they escape from their enclosure
 
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