Congrats!!! He's adorable!!!
He looks to be about the size of my R-tort, Morla, and she's estimated at about 10 years by my vet. (I adopted her from Petsmart this past Sept. She was a turn-in from a home that didn't care for her properly so she has health issues we're working thru. )
One suggestion I would give is make sure he is staying hydrated! Because Morla wasn't kept with enough humidity or proper access to water, her scutes are somewhat malformed (retained, so lumpy in spots) and she has chronic kidney disease (CKD). My vet saved her life from acute complications of this, but her life over all will be drastically shortened, as there is no cure for CKD.
Since I've been tube feeding her supplemental water and keeping her enclosure at 50-60% humidity, her skin, shell, and energy levels have started to improve immensely. Be careful to keep it warm enough too--humidity in cold settings can cause respiratory infections!
Welcome to our world--youll love it here!!!
thanks so much for the adviceCongrats!!! He's adorable!!!
He looks to be about the size of my R-tort, Morla, and she's estimated at about 10 years by my vet. (I adopted her from Petsmart this past Sept. She was a turn-in from a home that didn't care for her properly so she has health issues we're working thru. )
One suggestion I would give is make sure he is staying hydrated! Because Morla wasn't kept with enough humidity or proper access to water, her scutes are somewhat malformed (retained, so lumpy in spots) and she has chronic kidney disease (CKD). My vet saved her life from acute complications of this, but her life over all will be drastically shortened, as there is no cure for CKD.
Since I've been tube feeding her supplemental water and keeping her enclosure at 50-60% humidity, her skin, shell, and energy levels have started to improve immensely. Be careful to keep it warm enough too--humidity in cold settings can cause respiratory infections!
Welcome to our world--youll love it here!!!
It’s a cypress- forest floor bedding with eco earth mixed in ... I will get some sand/soil today! ThanksNice looking Russian.
I’d be cautious about using that substrate. Looks to me some kind of wood chippings. That’s the kind of stuff (but dampened) Id use for more forest-type tortoises. Russians live in sandy soil habitats, into which they would naturally burrow to avoid the heat of high summer, and the cold of a long winter.
The “standard” 50:50 soil:sand mixture has a lot to recommend it. Some would advocate something a bit bulkier that would hold its shape if they did burrow. I “cheat” by providing a mini log roll tunnel covered in soil for mine to retreat into: my rescued Russian climbs more than digs down, actually.
Do they really sell wild caught Russians? Does Petco actually admit that? It breaks my heart...Petco sells wild caught Russians so there's no way to tell the age but he is an adult. His shell looks excellent for a wild caught Russian so maybe he's on the young side. They tend to get more lumps, bumps, scrapes and such as they get older.
A high fibre diet, and maybe being fed from a flat dish or a slate, would minimise the risk of accidental ingestion and impaction if any sand particles were consumed. Just thinking that their natural habitats can be quite dry, free draining soils, so a sandy soil mix would be ok for them in captivity?Sand is not good to add as it could cause an impaction in the digestive tract.