New Member

[Dena]

Hi Everyone,

I am a proud “mom” to Sheldon, a Russian Tortoise. He is about 15 months old! I would love to connect with other Russian Tortoise owners on how to make sure he is happy & healthy. so far, he is growing a lot, & eats a variety of greens. I’m in NY. I am afraid of giving him things I never heard of before, but try to rotate his diet, so he isn’t always eating the same thing everyday. Any input is greatly appreciated. I am attaching a baby picture (when we first got him). For the record, he doesn’t eat strawberries since I heard they aren’t good for him. In the pictures, he only had a few bites of it.

 

[Merilyn (Tortoise lover)]

Hi and welcome to the community!! I’ve had a Russian for 1 year and since he was a baby. I’m having some problems myself with diet lol but I have no problem with anything else.
I think the most important things are natural sunlight, diet, and humidity. Since I live in AZ it’s kinda hard to get the moisture up but make sure the enclosure is at 40-60% humidity to avoid pyramiding. Also when the weather is good, bring ur tort outside for sunlight but make sure it is predator proof and escape proof. That’s all I can think off the top of my head right now.

 

[LaLaP]

Hi! And welcome to the forum. I'm a new "mom" to a Russian tortoise too! Mine is an adult and his name is Diego. It's been really fun figuring out what to feed him. I live in Oregon so there are lots of plants and weeds everywhere so he's a pretty lucky guy. I've been using the website tortoisetable.com to identify weeds. It has good photos and will tell you if a plant is harmful. I guess it is very conservative and they err on the side of caution so some members here feed some of the plants they warn about with no problems but for a newbie like me it's been a great resource. So here are a few weeds that grow in my yard profusely that my Diego likes... plantain weed (both narrow and broad leaf), sow thistle (several types), dandilion, hawksbit, lambs quarter, clover, shaggy soldier. Also my Diego likes the succulent called hens and chicks and these seem to grow everywhere and multiply like crazy. Probably his favorite food is cactus pad (nopales in a Mexican market). The cactus is the only food I buy for him otherwise I just gather from my yard.
What is your setup for your tort like? I just built my indoor enclosure and I'm still adding finishing touches. Another fun tortoise project!
Your little guy is adorable by the way!

Oh did you read the care sheet? I'll try to link it. It's great

 

[LaLaP]

Here it is...

https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

 

[Dena]

Hi! And welcome to the forum. I'm a new "mom" to a Russian tortoise too! Mine is an adult and his name is Diego. It's been really fun figuring out what to feed him. I live in Oregon so there are lots of plants and weeds everywhere so he's a pretty lucky guy. I've been using the website tortoisetable.com to identify weeds. It has good photos and will tell you if a plant is harmful. I guess it is very conservative and they err on the side of caution so some members here feed some of the plants they warn about with no problems but for a newbie like me it's been a great resource. So here are a few weeds that grow in my yard profusely that my Diego likes... plantain weed (both narrow and broad leaf), sow thistle (several types), dandilion, hawksbit, lambs quarter, clover, shaggy soldier. Also my Diego likes the succulent called hens and chicks and these seem to grow everywhere and multiply like crazy. Probably his favorite food is cactus pad (nopales in a Mexican market). The cactus is the only food I buy for him otherwise I just gather from my yard.
What is your setup for your tort like? I just built my indoor enclosure and I'm still adding finishing touches. Another fun tortoise project!
Your little guy is adorable by the way!

Oh did you read the care sheet? I'll try to link it. It's great

Thank you!

 

[Dena]

Hi and welcome to the community!! I’ve had a Russian for 1 year and since he was a baby. I’m having some problems myself with diet lol but I have no problem with anything else.
I think the most important things are natural sunlight, diet, and humidity. Since I live in AZ it’s kinda hard to get the moisture up but make sure the enclosure is at 40-60% humidity to avoid pyramiding. Also when the weather is good, bring ur tort outside for sunlight but make sure it is predator proof and escape proof. That’s all I can think off the top of my head right now.

Thanks!

 

[LaLaP]

Oh and this thread called Beginner mistakes is really helpful too.

https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

I wish I had read that sooner! I had a lot of bad information in the beginning and made some mistakes. Thankfully we all lived!

 

[Dena]

Great info.! Thanks! The only thing i’m Struggling with is a variety of foods. I am terrible at growing anything, & some of the things mentioned to feed I never heard of, and don’t know where to find them.

 

[Dena]

Here it is...

https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

Thank you!

 

[LaLaP]

Great info.! Thanks! The only thing i’m Struggling with is a variety of foods. I am terrible at growing anything, & some of the things mentioned to feed I never heard of, and don’t know where to find them.

I felt that way too. It's totally overwhelming. Just pick one or 2 weeds from those I listed and either google them or look them up on the tortoise table. Then go on a treasure hunt for them.
Or another way to do it is find a weed growing (somewhere that pesticides weren't used) and either use plant identification apps or post a photo here. Chance are fair that it's edible.

Just one at a time

Plantain weed is very common. You could start there.

 

[LaLaP]