'Nother BIG female Russian

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Kristina

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I was going to wait until I had a good pic to post, but oh well ;)

On the 3rd I got another BIG female Russian. She is as big as Innya. (http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-My-newest-rescue-Russian#axzz1zwjXFvYL) She has the same "stuck" scutes from being raised too dry, but she does not have the sloped hips associated with MBD. She appears to have at least gotten some outdoor time (they said that she did) as her color is relatively dark.

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She needs a beak and nail trim as Innya did also. Her previous family had her for 10 years, so she is probably about 20. They drove from Chicago to bring her to me.

I have decided to call her Pavla. So she joins Vanya, Fyodor, Innya, Sveta, Darya, Ananya, and Nurai as part of my Russian army ;)
 

kanalomele

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Congratulations! My girls are big as well.
 

dmmj

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Nice looking one, if you ever run out of room up there you can always send a female or two my way.
 

Kristina

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lynnedit said:
Congratulations! Do you keep all of your Russians in the same outdoor enclosures?

I do. I have two males, so at this point I won't be able to take any more unless I build another enclosure. I doubled the size of mine earlier in the year.

I do quarantine, but that I kind of play by ear. I can tell when someone is telling me the truth, stretching it a little, or are just plain lying. If I believe that a tortoise has been kept solitary for a year or more, I will introduce them to the others after I perform a fecal and it comes back negative. This particular tortoise had not been in contact with others for a decade. Her fecal was clean, so she was introduced pretty quickly to the group.

I don't recommend that people be lax with the quarantine process. Kind of a "do as I say, not as I do" situation. Not necessarily hypocritical, just that those that are newer to tortoises be a little more cautious.

dmmj said:
Nice looking one, if you ever run out of room up there you can always send a female or two my way.

I'll keep that in mind David ;) But realistically, you are SOL :D :D :D

Thanks everybody! She is really friendly and sweet, and seems to be very happy outdoors.
 

TortoiseBoy1999

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Kristina said:
I was going to wait until I had a good pic to post, but oh well ;)

On the 3rd I got another BIG female Russian. She is as big as Innya. (http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-My-newest-rescue-Russian#axzz1zwjXFvYL) She has the same "stuck" scutes from being raised too dry, but she does not have the sloped hips associated with MBD. She appears to have at least gotten some outdoor time (they said that she did) as her color is relatively dark.

She needs a beak and nail trim as Innya did also. Her previous family had her for 10 years, so she is probably about 20. They drove from Chicago to bring her to me.

I have decided to call her Pavla. So she joins Vanya, Fyodor, Innya, Sveta, Darya, Ananya, and Nurai as part of my Russian army ;)

How do you trim there nails? Because my Russians nails were overgrown when I got him (way overgrow) and they still ate because I don't know how to cut them.
 

Kristina

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It is similar to trimming the nails of a dog, cat, rabbit, etc. You want to make sure to use a nice SHARP pair of nippers, because their nails are thick and strong. Dog clippers work perfect, but they have to be SHARP or they can split or shatter the nail and that is not good. You do not want to cut too much initially, because just like with a dog or other animal, the longer the nail gets the longer the "quick" is. The quick is the part in the center of the nail that contains nerves and blood vessels. Animals can literally bleed to death from having the quick cut into. It is best to have some styptic powder on hand to stop any bleeding that occurs.

Trim a little at a time, allowing a couple of weeks in between trims. Feed your tortoise on a rough piece of slate or cement, and this will help wear down the beak and nails.
 

Kerryann

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She is a beauty :)
Do you hibernate them in the winter?
I file my tortoises nails with a nail file in addition to the things mentioned above. They tolerate it pretty well, especially if they are getting a snack.
 

dmmj

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No wonder I can't find any females out here on the west coast, now I know.
 

Kristina

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As of now, I do not hibernate. I will eventually, but it will be indoors, in a controlled environment. My climate has long, cold, really wet autumns and long, cold, really wet springs. Too much risk for pneumonia and other respiratory infections. Plus, their current enclosure is built on a concrete base to prevent escapes ;)

Once my smaller females get larger and I get serious about breeding, I will hibernate them indoors in a refrigerator.

dmmj said:
No wonder I can't find any females out here on the west coast, now I know.

yup, you got me, I'm having them all trucked over to MI ;) Actually, I would like three more females and one more male eventually.
 
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