Hi all, to start off I want to clarify that the tortoise I’m asking about doesn’t technically belong to me, she’s an educational animal from my work that I recently got primary care of. I’m working on improving her care and increasing my knowledge of tortoises.
First off, updates for anyone who remembers my other thread:
I talked to my boss and she agreed we should build Tesla a properly sized tortoise table, but unfortunately that will have to wait until I’m able to actually bring her back to the facility. It will happen though! For now she is living in a 4ft glass tank, which is at least better than the 40 gallon tank she was in before.
Increasing her temperatures and soaking her every other day have brought her around with a vengeance; she eats like a pig and spends her days tromping around instead of just burying herself like she was before. I’ve changed up her diet so she’s now eating more chicories and various leafy greens instead of just kale, supplemented 1-2 times a week with calcium. I’m trying to identify edible weeds in my area (thank you PlantSnap and tortoise table!) but so far most of what I’ve been seeing close to me has been inedible. I’ve got some tetsudo mix seeds sprouting in containers but so far it’s been slow-growing with those.
Seeing her so active makes me extremely happy, but it also makes me realize I don’t really have a baseline for what a happy, healthy Russian looks and acts like, so that’s why I’ve come here for help. I’ve posted some more close up shots of Tesla; does anything about her look abnormal? If so, is there anything I can do to change or fix it? If not, is there something that could’ve been done in the past to prevent it? She has a known history of MBD (which was corrected long before I knew her) so I know her shell is deformed in places, but is there anything else abnormal about her?
Also, if anyone wants to post pictures of their own happy Russians for reference, I would appreciate it! I’d do a google search, but I don’t want to accidentally take a picture of an unhealthy tortoise and start thinking it’s normal!
Thanks for helping me and Tesla out, I know she definitely appreciates it.
First off, updates for anyone who remembers my other thread:
I talked to my boss and she agreed we should build Tesla a properly sized tortoise table, but unfortunately that will have to wait until I’m able to actually bring her back to the facility. It will happen though! For now she is living in a 4ft glass tank, which is at least better than the 40 gallon tank she was in before.
Increasing her temperatures and soaking her every other day have brought her around with a vengeance; she eats like a pig and spends her days tromping around instead of just burying herself like she was before. I’ve changed up her diet so she’s now eating more chicories and various leafy greens instead of just kale, supplemented 1-2 times a week with calcium. I’m trying to identify edible weeds in my area (thank you PlantSnap and tortoise table!) but so far most of what I’ve been seeing close to me has been inedible. I’ve got some tetsudo mix seeds sprouting in containers but so far it’s been slow-growing with those.
Seeing her so active makes me extremely happy, but it also makes me realize I don’t really have a baseline for what a happy, healthy Russian looks and acts like, so that’s why I’ve come here for help. I’ve posted some more close up shots of Tesla; does anything about her look abnormal? If so, is there anything I can do to change or fix it? If not, is there something that could’ve been done in the past to prevent it? She has a known history of MBD (which was corrected long before I knew her) so I know her shell is deformed in places, but is there anything else abnormal about her?
Also, if anyone wants to post pictures of their own happy Russians for reference, I would appreciate it! I’d do a google search, but I don’t want to accidentally take a picture of an unhealthy tortoise and start thinking it’s normal!
Thanks for helping me and Tesla out, I know she definitely appreciates it.
