New mom of Dozer - the Russian Tortoise

[Aarmenio]

Meet my new baby! I will soon be in the process of building him a tortoise table. I will update with pictures. Any idea of how old he may be? I got him from petco and they didn’t know.. I found that they couldn’t answer a lot of my questions but I have learned so much from here already

 

[LaLaP]

Welcome to the forum! Dozer is a great looking Russian! 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.
Maybe you know this already but you should check all the care instructions they gave you against the caresheets here. They are notorious for giving bad information. Check these out if you haven't already.
https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

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

 

[Aarmenio]

Thanks so much!!!

 

[jsheffield]

Welcome to TFO!

This is a great place to learn about caring for Dozer. I live with a Russian Tortoise (among others), and was surprised by how much personality he has, how much I enjoy him.

Jamie

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome!

Your new tortoise is almost full grown. . . let's say. . . 10 years of age! (But, naturally, that's only a guess)

 

[Aarmenio]

Thank y’all!!

Amanda

 

[Aarmenio]

So I have this enclosure for my tortoise. What do y’all think of these. I am debating on how to build him a new and bigger enclosure.. just wanted yalls opinion. Thanks, Amanda

 

[Aarmenio]

Oh and don’t worry I just moved him to the table temporarily lol

 

[LaLaP]

Bigger would definitely be better. There are pretty easy ways to turn a bookshelf into an enclosure. Just lay it on its back and take out the shelves. You can line it with a shower curtain or other heavy plastic sheet.
I have 2 Russians and one is in a bookshelf enclosure and the other enclosure I made from a queen size bed frame. Check out the enclosure section of the forum for other ideas too.
Russians do a lot of walking in the wild so they really benefit from having space to roam. Do you have an outside space for Dozer? My torts really love being outside and I have large enclosures for them to use when the weather is good.

 

[Sa Ga]

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!!!

 

[jso]

Nice 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.

 

[Aarmenio]

I will bring him outside in the spring/summer but too humid in Louisiana in the winter

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!!!

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 advice

 

[Aarmenio]

Nice 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.

It’s a cypress- forest floor bedding with eco earth mixed in ... I will get some sand/soil today! Thanks

 

[Oxalis]

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.

Do they really sell wild caught Russians? Does Petco actually admit that? It breaks my heart...

 

[Blackdog1714]

The cypress is fine and as long as the eco earth doesn’t have fertilizers in it, it should be fine. My Russian lives the cypress mulch and easily digs down so that they are fully covered. With a little misting the cypress will help keep your humidity in the 50% range no problem. Mine lives getting a soak everyday! Sand is not good to add as it could cause an impaction in the digestive tract.

 

[jso]

Sand is not good to add as it could cause an impaction in the digestive tract.

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?

 

[Blackdog1714]

sand has too much of a down side for me to ever use in my enclosure. I love my torts but they are dumb and when they go for a big bite they don’t care what the substrate is. Even accidental ingestion can build up over time

 

[jso]

Fair enough!