New Russian tortoise-adult female adopted TODAY

RussianVT

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Today I adopted an adult female Russian! I had been planning to adopt a baby, but after reading that so many adults need to be adopted, and I found one locally on Facebook, I thought that this was the right way to go. After doing research for a few months, my husband and I are so sad to see this girl in this inadequate enclosure, full of rotting lettuce and feces. They fed her banana and lettuce, and had her in here for years with a male, who died. I'm glad we adopted her but I'm concerned about next steps.
I let her spend the afternoon and tonight in this enclosure, so she wouldn't go into shock. Under the lamp she's at 85 degrees.
Tomorrow I plan to put her into a zoo-med tortoise house which I had bought when I was planning to buy a baby. I know she'll need something bigger, but it's an improvement for now.
We live in Vermont. I plan to have her inside must of the year, and make a safe shelter for her outside in the summer. I have reptibark, uvb lamp, heat lamp, hides, mister, pellet food and some cactus pads, a laser temp gun, shallow dishes, powdered calcium, and salad greens.
How does her shell health look?
What can I do about her beak?
Any immediate concerns I haven't thought of?
We have a toddler who loves watching her. I'm assuming we can teach her to look but not touch, and only pet her shell with adult supervision and wash hands after. That's my idea of safe toddler reptile interactions, so please guide me if I'm off base.
Thank you for your advice and support!IMG_20170326_220310.jpg IMG_20170326_220151.jpg IMG_20170326_220233.jpg
 

teresaf

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So glad you didn't get a baby for a first tort. They are such a huge amount of work. High humidity and heat requirements...You dodged a bullet.
This ones beak is horrible. Needs a vet to trim it down or do it yourself with a Dremel. You can keep it trimmed down naturally by feeding her on a flat piece of slate, concrete or sandstone. I'm not a fan of the fake plants. I always think they'll eat it. Russians are escape artists. They are active, fearless climbers and diggers. Just putting that out there for when you make your outside pen. Also it's recommended here for habitats to be at least 24 square feet. 4x6 or 3x8 or a cool L shaped 2x12? The clamp on the light isn't recommended here because of too many that fell into box and had potential of harming the tortoise. You aren't using the coil shaped bulbs are you? They have done SERIOUS damage to tort eyes in the past. Remove immediately if so. Her shell looks like she has/had mbd from lack of proper lighting. Can we see a pic of her underside? We can verify if she's a she.... and that everything on her belly looks right. My daughter bought a cute little female dwarf bunny which grew into a normal sized male rabbit. Like since it's small and cute as a button it has to be a dwarf and a female! Pet stores don't know Jack about tortoises either. They still sell ramped water dish death traps and coiled bulbs to new tort owners. I'm glad she found a good home.
 

RussianVT

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Thank you! I'll get a pic of her belly today and work on building a larger enclosure. The bulb is a round red one, but I ordered a new one since I have no idea how old this is. I'll call our vet and see how much it will cost to trim her beak. Thank you!
 

RussianVT

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What are the dangers of the long beak? Is it painful or does it interfere with feeding? Can you tell me more about the mbd?
I stand corrected about the light. One that they have us is round, the other is a coil, and a third is a bar. I'm concerned that she was exposed to this coil lightbulb and how to tell if it damaged her eyes.
 

Yvonne G

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You won't need a mister with an adult Russian tortoise - and that one picture that shows the tail makes me wonder if this isn't a male Russian

The danger of allowing a beak to be too long is that if it breaks off by itself it may break off to close to the 'quick' and it would be very painful.

If your house stays above about 65F at night, there's no need for night time heat, And for the day you need a good UVB light (not the coil-shaped bulb). If you get a Mercury Vapor Bulb then it provides heat and UVB in one fixture, but if you go with the tube-type fluorescent UVB bulb, you'll also need a heat bulb.

The tortoise needs a hiding place, a feeding tile and a waterer.
 

teresaf

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Thank you! I'll get a pic of her belly today and work on building a larger enclosure. The bulb is a round red one, but I ordered a new one since I have no idea how old this is. I'll call our vet and see how much it will cost to trim her beak. Thank you!

The red ones aren't a fav here either. Changes the color of their food and other reasons...A ceramic heat emitter with a fixture that has a ceramic Bass that the CHE plugs into is great for night heat but may not be needed at night since yours is an adult... A zoomed uvb bulb for day(same shape as the red bulb).
 

teresaf

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What are the dangers of the long beak? Is it painful or does it interfere with feeding? Can you tell me more about the mbd?
I stand corrected about the light. One that they have us is round, the other is a coil, and a third is a bar. I'm concerned that she was exposed to this coil lightbulb and how to tell if it damaged her eyes.

Yes. It interferes with eating. Watch it eat. How far open the mouth has to go to get just a piece of greens let alone a thick cactus pad...
 

teresaf

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You won't need a mister with an adult Russian tortoise - and that one picture that shows the tail makes me wonder if this isn't a male Russian

The danger of allowing a beak to be too long is that if it breaks off by itself it may break off to close to the 'quick' and it would be very painful.

If your house stays above about 65F at night, there's no need for night time heat, And for the day you need a good UVB light (not the coil-shaped bulb). If you get a Mercury Vapor Bulb then it provides heat and UVB in one fixture, but if you go with the tube-type fluorescent UVB bulb, you'll also need a heat bulb.

The tortoise needs a hiding place, a feeding tile and a waterer.

That's also why i ask for a plastron picture! DANG! That tails huge! Pet stores get it wrong most of the time.
 

RussianVT

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Thank you so much for the information.

If I don't need a mister for an adult, do I have to keep the substrate damp?

How about soaking? I'm sure the previous owner never soaked. What temperature water and how long do you recommend soaking an adult?

I've ordered uvb and heat bulbs to be delivered tomorrow, as well as two hides. I've also contacted a local vet who specializes in exotics so hopefully he can help with her beak and mbd.

Based on the pictures, what can you tell me about the gender, age, health status, mbd?

Is there anything that can be done about mbd in adults? Or is it too late once it reaches full size?IMG_20170327_130939.jpg IMG_20170327_132234.jpg IMG_20170327_130944.jpg
 

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teresaf

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Nothing can be done about mbd now. She's fine though. It's not severe. She looks old too me but I'm not an expert...That button thermometer/hygrometers is junk. Very inconsistent. I use these it's below for my torts....The clay plant pot saucers work well for water and food. Sink them into the substrate so the tort doesn't have to climb over them. For the water dish though make sure it's big enough the tortoise can get inside it. For the soak about 3/4 inch water. 95-100f. Human baby bath water temp. If she has water available in enclosure I would soak just a few times a week. Honestly, just use my kitchen sink. It's washable.... Shhhh! Don't tell anyone. ; )
 

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Yvonne G

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It's female, and pretty much overweight. She really needs a large habitat where she has room to wander.
 

RussianVT

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Wow I didn't realize that tortoises could get overweight. She's in her new habitat now and I'll be finding a way to expand it as soon as I can. Going to the vet soon too! Thanks for your support and knowledge!
 

RussianVT

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Update: after going to the vet and getting her beak and nails trimmed, she's eating more greens. I'm giving her calcium supplement powder because the vet said her shell is too small for her body. I'm getting supplies to make an outdoor enclosure for summer. She tested positive for pinworms but the vet said it's only a concern of she develops diahrea. Thanks for the help and support. Any other advice is always welcome.
 

leigti

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Update: after going to the vet and getting her beak and nails trimmed, she's eating more greens. I'm giving her calcium supplement powder because the vet said her shell is too small for her body. I'm getting supplies to make an outdoor enclosure for summer. She tested positive for pinworms but the vet said it's only a concern of she develops diahrea. Thanks for the help and support. Any other advice is always welcome.
Check out the species specific section for a Russian care sheet. It will tell you everything you need to know. I'm glad you got her out of those terrible conditions that she was in. I'm sure she's happy to be able to eat more easily now that the beak is trimmed. And once you put her in an outdoor enclosure you will see a brand-new tortoise :) there is a pretty steep learning curve when you first get a tortoise and you will continue to make adjustments for a long time, I know I did. But you are on the right track. Keep us posted on her progress.
 

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