New to the site

[symplestytches]

Hi all,

Just wanted to introduce myself!

Currently live in the PNW, and own an adopted Russian via craigslist from a family that decided to get a dog instead. Estimate him to be about 10 years old, had him for 3.5 years now. We also have two cats and two house rabbits. A'tuin our tort lives in a 2'x4' diy table that we plan to rebuild one day into a larger more aesthetically pleasing habitat.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using TortForum mobile app

 

[Kathy Coles]

Welcome. This is the best place to learn all things tortoise. Can you tell us more about him? Oh and pictures, we love pictures.

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome.

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

Welcome. Post pictures of your tortoise, ask lots of questions, and read. I'm in the PNW as well. South of Portland east of Salem. I've got 8 russian tortoises and they do very well up here. Will you be able to provide a secure, safe,outdoor space as well?

 

[mainey34]

Hello and welcome...

 

[shanu303]

Hello and welcome to TFO!!!

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

Have you discovered the specie specific section of the forum and the russian tortoise sub-forum there?

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi SympleStytches, and welcome to the Forum!

 

[symplestytches]

thank you all for the warm welcome! As requested, here are some pics of him and the habitat we made him:

-- the little plant tray has been replaced with a large plastice paint tray instead --

To answer CowboyKen's question: Currently we do not have a place for him outside, except to roam the balcony supervised during the summer. In the next year or so we plan to move out of our condo into a house, and I have ideas for an outdoor pen/kennel situation for him and the rabbits to come and go as they please from the house to outside. I did notice the species specific section and will perusing it later today =)

More about A'tuin: We call him Atu (Ah-too) for short. We got him from a family whose 8 year old daughter was the owner, and had decided that she wanted a dog instead, so he was posted on CL for rehoming. the DH had mentioned in passing that a tortoise would be a cool pet, which to me interpreted as "You may have a pet tortoise immediately!" So i came across his ad and we drove the hour to Bainbridge Island from the Tacoma area and rescued him. He was living in one of the standard glass aquarium get-ups, and had half a dozen lights that he didn't need. He was also being fed broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, and romaine lettuce. So off to the vet he went to get dewormed and now he eats a spring mix with TNT sprinkled on top. When I don't kill them, I have some seeds that I plant for him to eat as well, which is a Russian mix of weeds and such that he can eat. He knows when dinner time is and if we are late, he starts pacing and scratching the glass of his cage to remind us =)

Even though I am fairly new to the game of tortoise owning, I try to keep up on care/health/behavior stuff, and refresh myself regularly. One of the main reasons I joined this forum was because he decided to give me a scare by tearing off his tail hook somehow. Don't freak out though, it seems to have healed nicely and there is only a bit of pinkish healing skin where it came off. Good thing his tail is so long though, otherwise now people will think he's a she!

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

Nice tortoise and nice habitat as well.