Shalom.21
New Member
Hi everyone! My name is Shalom and I was able to bring home a class Tortoise pet for the summer. I was incredibly excited until I started doing research and realized that the poor Tortoise has been grossly mistreated. I only brought him home Friday and am slowly gaining knowledge. Merwin is a 7 year old Russian Desert Tortoise. He’s currently living in a glass tank (I have an enclosure on the way!) with bark chips, he was only getting fed once a week, no soakings and had a raised water bowl I think he can only drink out of when it is completely full. He was also only being fed sporadically. Here are my questions:
I’ve soaked him twice now but he acts like he just wants climb out of the glass bowl I’m using. Is that normal? Could my water temperature not be warm enough? I have been adding warm water during the soak and monitoring the water.
When the new enclosure gets here do I need to do anything before transferring him over? Is there any potential of shock? His current living situation is so poor I’m hoping he will just thrive in a new environment but I want to double check.
I have an outdoor covered pen he can go in but there is no outside source of heat beyond the sun - what temperature is it ok for him to be outside? Are there any signs to look for while he is outside to know if he is too cold or hot? I live in Oregon so when the sun is out it is beautiful but the overcast days feel cold.
Any other tips tricks are appreciated! I read through the “start here” and got a ton of great information, just want to make sure that I don’t shock this guy!
I’ve soaked him twice now but he acts like he just wants climb out of the glass bowl I’m using. Is that normal? Could my water temperature not be warm enough? I have been adding warm water during the soak and monitoring the water.
When the new enclosure gets here do I need to do anything before transferring him over? Is there any potential of shock? His current living situation is so poor I’m hoping he will just thrive in a new environment but I want to double check.
I have an outdoor covered pen he can go in but there is no outside source of heat beyond the sun - what temperature is it ok for him to be outside? Are there any signs to look for while he is outside to know if he is too cold or hot? I live in Oregon so when the sun is out it is beautiful but the overcast days feel cold.
Any other tips tricks are appreciated! I read through the “start here” and got a ton of great information, just want to make sure that I don’t shock this guy!