rs104418
New Member
So, long story short, we bought a supposedly russian tortoise and I believe that's what he is, but I don't know if he is captive bred or wild and I definitely don't know if hes 8 months old as the vendor said. I am a snake person, but had a RES as a kid living with parents (that is still just as awesome as he was 15 yrs ago!). I went to a local convention to acquire a new pet such as a gecko and had my research and setup done for this species. Now my oldest son fell in love with this tortoise and I decided to buy him and all necessary cage supplies with plans to build table (which I purchased wood today). Now as I liked to think I am a good reptile mama I feel completely dumb for purchasing an animal to appease my son without having proper knowledge to even give the animal a good health check first. Or that this animal is likely not captive bred or as young as I thought and what else could the man have lied about. I feel horrible for the little guy and am determined to give him the best habitat and diet as possible. He's had a good soak last night and ate his greens. He has coconut coir mix tortoise sub that another vendor sold for tortoises specifically. He has a wooden hide and water dish that is not too deep or big. His cage (for my original gecko plan) is too small hence the table plans which I want to make 4x3 feet provided that he is a russian tort and thats a good bit of space for him. I am good at wood working and this will not take me long. His basking temp is about 97 and ambient is 75 (which I may need to correct I just keep finding conflicting temo info). He sleeps all day basically though, and I've had to wake him up to get him to eat or move about. He also seems to like nestling in my shirt and hanging out while I relax with the TV which is really cute. I am worried for him, kind of kicking myself but determined to make it right and give him a great quality of life. But hoping I don't have to make the drive to my far away exotic vet but if need be I will.
Any thoughts on general health by appearance would be so greatly appreciated! His shell measures about 5 inches vertically and 4 across with the best measuring attempts I could get while he was moving. Have no clue how old he is. Also, we've had him for three days.
Any thoughts on general health by appearance would be so greatly appreciated! His shell measures about 5 inches vertically and 4 across with the best measuring attempts I could get while he was moving. Have no clue how old he is. Also, we've had him for three days.