Last Minute Adoption of an almost homeless Russian!!

[SamanthaGolden]

Hello, I'm Sam and live in the south of England near Salisbury. A friend of my daughter had to move away suddenly and needed to re-home her 5 year old Russian called Norman and couldn't find a new home for him... we stepped in at the eleventh hour and offered him a home and now hope that we're able to give him a better life. Norman has been re-homed several times and we want this to be his 'forever home'... He's never been into hibernation, he has always lived indoors in a large rabbit cage and has eaten shop bought mixed lettuce and nothing else. So far we've introduced a few hours each day in our greenhouse which he seems to really love, we have a big kitchen garden and have varied his diet slowly adding more leaves and flowers every few days and he is loving his new exciting diet. He seems to really dislike his cage and keeps trying to climb out and then falls on his back, he seems totally miserable inside but we're novices and this might be normal. We're planning on letting Norman live in our garden in a purpose built enclosure but think that we shouldn't do this until next Spring - we're worried he'll be cold? We have got some amazing ideas on here thank you!! We're very rural (for England) and already we're getting a frost most nights. Is it sensible to keep him inside until the spring with daily outings to the greenhouse and give him the spring and summer to get used to outdoor living or do we do it now but build in a heat source? I have spent days looking through your posts and each day realize how little I know... we're desperate to make this little chap happy and would really welcome any feedback. Thank you all so much. Sam

 

[Hamiltondood]

welcome to the forum!
you should definitely keep him indoors for bit, at least until its not too cold.
here are some caresheets in case u need them :

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

Russian Tortoise Care Sheet

Russian tortoises have great personalities, are very hardy, tolerate a wide variety of enclosure parameters, stay small, and are generally a good "starter" tortoise in my opinion. Here is how I like to set them up: Indoor Enclosure type and size: Most people want to know the minimum size...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[crimson_lotus]

yeah keep him indoors. when you know he is healthy you could potentially start to brumate (hibernate) him, but that could be deadly for a sick tortoise.

For now keep him warm. not sure how large his current enclosure is, but perhaps you could invest in a grow tent or build something indoors for his temp stay this winter. if you take pics I am sure other russian tort owners can give you advice on the setup.

also good on you for taking this tortoise! If I were able to choose my species of tortoise, it would probably be a russian. They are just so chunky looking and have a lot of spunk. my redfoot is a sweetheart but I do feel bad about her spending most of her time indoors due to my climate..

 

[SamanthaGolden]

welcome to the forum!
you should definitely keep him indoors for bit, at least until its not too cold.
here are some caresheets in case u need them :

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

Russian Tortoise Care Sheet

Russian tortoises have great personalities, are very hardy, tolerate a wide variety of enclosure parameters, stay small, and are generally a good "starter" tortoise in my opinion. Here is how I like to set them up: Indoor Enclosure type and size: Most people want to know the minimum size...

tortoiseforum.org

Brilliant, thank you these sheets are wonderful....

 

[SamanthaGolden]

yeah keep him indoors. when you know he is healthy you could potentially start to brumate (hibernate) him, but that could be deadly for a sick tortoise.

For now keep him warm. not sure how large his current enclosure is, but perhaps you could invest in a grow tent or build something indoors for his temp stay this winter. if you take pics I am sure other russian tort owners can give you advice on the setup.

also good on you for taking this tortoise! If I were able to choose my species of tortoise, it would probably be a russian. They are just so chunky looking and have a lot of spunk. my redfoot is a sweetheart but I do feel bad about her spending most of her time indoors due to my climate..

Thank you, I'll take a photo!!