My wife and I have had 2 male Russians for about a year and they have been a joy to have in our home. I have already begun work on their outdoor enclosure for spring.
We saw an ad on craigslist a couple weeks ago that was disturbing. A high school kid was selling a Russian with tank and supplies for real cheap. He mentioned in his ad how hardy they are, and that they are almost impossible to starve. I immediately knew we had to get that tortoise out of that house, so we went over that night and got it.
I could tell right away that she(?) was underweight. Our two torts are very healthy and heavy. This one was quite hollow feeling. Her skin was also very pale and she has separations on her shell. Also on her belly, there is a hole in the outer shell. Her eyes were open though and very clear so that was about the only good sign. The food in the tank was leaf lettuce and bananas (very bad!).
We ARE keeping her quarantined. I replaced her filthy substrate with a soil/sand mixture, gave her water and light, which was probably the first she has ever had. The first 3 days she stayed in her log house. On day 3, I took her out and soaked her. She seemed to LOVE that. She sat in there a good 20 min, dipping her head in and out and cleaning her face off with her feet. She LOVES her basking light and spends most of the day under it. In fact, she climbs into her food bowl to get as close to it as possible. I really don't think she ever had a light before.
As for food, I put her on the diet of my other torts, a salad made of mustard and collard greens, endive, and peppers. The first couple days she didn't approach it. Over the last week, she has turned into an eating machine. I can hardly get the food in the bowl before she is in it chowing down and she doesn't stop until it is gone. She has put on some weight, and is a lot more alert and downright feisty.
My questions are:
1) is this a female?
2) Any idea about the hole on the belly?
3) Any idea about the separations on the top of the shell?
4) Any other things we can do to help her recover?
Pics enclosed.
We saw an ad on craigslist a couple weeks ago that was disturbing. A high school kid was selling a Russian with tank and supplies for real cheap. He mentioned in his ad how hardy they are, and that they are almost impossible to starve. I immediately knew we had to get that tortoise out of that house, so we went over that night and got it.
I could tell right away that she(?) was underweight. Our two torts are very healthy and heavy. This one was quite hollow feeling. Her skin was also very pale and she has separations on her shell. Also on her belly, there is a hole in the outer shell. Her eyes were open though and very clear so that was about the only good sign. The food in the tank was leaf lettuce and bananas (very bad!).
We ARE keeping her quarantined. I replaced her filthy substrate with a soil/sand mixture, gave her water and light, which was probably the first she has ever had. The first 3 days she stayed in her log house. On day 3, I took her out and soaked her. She seemed to LOVE that. She sat in there a good 20 min, dipping her head in and out and cleaning her face off with her feet. She LOVES her basking light and spends most of the day under it. In fact, she climbs into her food bowl to get as close to it as possible. I really don't think she ever had a light before.
As for food, I put her on the diet of my other torts, a salad made of mustard and collard greens, endive, and peppers. The first couple days she didn't approach it. Over the last week, she has turned into an eating machine. I can hardly get the food in the bowl before she is in it chowing down and she doesn't stop until it is gone. She has put on some weight, and is a lot more alert and downright feisty.
My questions are:
1) is this a female?
2) Any idea about the hole on the belly?
3) Any idea about the separations on the top of the shell?
4) Any other things we can do to help her recover?
Pics enclosed.
