How to safely leave my Russian Tortoise

[logankendell]

Hey everyone!
I'm leaving on my honeymoon in a few weeks and will be gone for 10 days.
I don't really have anyone local who can care for my russian male (mikey) while I'm gone. What can I do? here are the options I've considered, please tell me which to choose or give me a better one:

1. Drive him 2-4 hours to the closest relative's home where he will live with two frighteningly curious and mischievousness pre-kindergarden aged children.
2. Put a live plant of some kind (suggestions?) in his enclosure to feed him while we're gone. (I'm leaning this way so if you've done this successfully please give me details)
3. Hire a stranger to care for him.
4. overfeed him before we leave and possibly convince a coworker to drive out here to feed him once mid week.

Here's some other potentially helpful information:
Male
age unknown (at least 5 years)
Kept indoor
Never hibernates
currently fed daily on collard greens or Romaine Lettuce
extremely active.

As a sidenote what's your take on turning heatlamps off for safety (home temp will remain at least 70*f)?

 

[Yvonne G]

Or a 5th option, ask a neighbor to come in the morning, turn on the light and toss in some already prepared food to be found in the fridge, then back at night and turn off the light.

Hi Logan:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

Where appx. in the world are you? Maybe there's someone on the forum here close to you who would be willing to care for the tortoise.

 

[Tyrtle]

Are the children really "frighteningly" mischievous or enthusiastically curious? More importantly, what is their supervisor like? Will the adult be sure not to let them bring your tort any harm? Having kids myself, I guess I'm a bit biased. I think kids are great caretakers if they are informed and properly supervised.

I don't think I'd leave our torts alone for 10 days without someone checking on them and feeding them some fresh greens at least every other day. We do have our lights on timers even when we are here so that's a thought. But I'd still want someone to check on them.

 

[Ashliewood]

Well I would not leave it for that long. I couldn't find anyone to care for mine so he went on our road trip with us.... But doesn't sound like you are going on a road trip. You could try a vet? Maybe they will board it?

 

[Kerryann]

We have a timer that turns on and off the lights for our tortoises. You could even use a xmas light programmer for that short period of time.
I went out of town for a few days and I had my assistant just drop by and put some food in her tank when I was gone. You don't have a friend who can just drop by once a day to fill the water bowl and throw in some food? I also had food in a bag already cut up so it was easy for him.
If those ideas wont work, I would seriously be looking to board my tortoise.

 

[Laura]

Im sure there are bonded pet sitters in your area that could come and do some basics..
I think Id add more variety to the diet too..maybe at least add Spring Mix , Dark leafy greens,,, and less romaine..

You can plant things.. but you really should have someone check in on him...

 

[JoeImhof]

Im sure there are bonded pet sitters in your area that could come and do some basics..
I think Id add more variety to the diet too..maybe at least add Spring Mix , Dark leafy greens,,, and less romaine..

You can plant things.. but you really should have someone check in on him...

Yeah, timer and a neighbor to come in and change water and food every couple days should be fine.

Or like someone else said, my vet also has facilities, he would board them for me, but I think the timer and neighbor much better for tort

 

[Tom]

I agree. Leaving him unattended should not be an option. Too many things can go wrong. Personally, I would want the peace of mind of knowing that someone competent is watching him so I could enjoy this special time without worrying.

Where are you? We have members all over the country. I'm sure one of our experienced members from your area would volunteer to help out and babysit for a few days. Then you know he is in capable experienced hands, plus a forum with 15,000+ members all standing by to help.

 

[Kerryann]

Hopefully you are in metro detroit and I could watch him. Then I could have hubby mikey and torty mikey.