Please help! (trying to change my ways!!)

[Gina]

I got my male Russian tortoise (Bubba) about 4-6 years ago. My dad had brought him home as a surprise gift. I have no idea if the Russians sold at that pet store were wild caught or not. The employees at the pet store told my dad that all he needed was a tank, heat lamp, water bowl, and food (they only said romaine lettuce) For most of his life we had him in a small glass tank with rabbit pellets (critter litter) a small water bowl and a normal light bulb. He was pretty active, walking back and forth a lot. He always ate his food, and it seemed like he even hibernated (as in the colder months he was not active, and barely ate his food). We Cleaned out his tank every 2 weeks, and soaked him in warm water. I could kick myself for not researching tortoises before I asked for one. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. His beak had grown long, so my dad took him to the place where he got him and they used a dremel tool to file it down, telling my dad to come back in 2 months (as they didn't trim it all the way). Last year we lost my dad unexpectedly(He took the most care of Bubba). My dad had repeatedly told me to give up my tortoise because I never played with him. Once he passed, I just didn't have the heart to get rid of my tortoise. So I began researching, trying to take better care of him. I realized I had been doing every thing all wrong.


Things I've changed:
Diet: I now feed him a variety of green leaves (changing it up every day)

• Romaine lettuce, Mustard Greens, Collard Greens, Dandelion, Kale (I do 3 diffent types a day changing the quantity of each)
• I also sprinkle repti calcium over his food every day.

Habitat:

• 50 gallon rubber-maid tub
• Basking lamp uva/ubv (though I've heard this doesn't count as his sunlight)
• Water bowl, that he can climb in and out of
• Substrate is now 60% coconut fiber/40% cypress mulch (I spray it every day)
• cuttle bone (he doesn't ever touch this by the way)
• hiding spot
• I also use a tile, which is where I put his food

General:

• I soak him about 3 times a week (He poops every time)

• I should add that his tub is in the basement because our house is quite small.

Things I'm worried about

• His nails used to be quite sharp, they always used to hurt me, and now they are much softer.

• His shell. I've noticed it has started to dip in certain places and curl on the outer part. I've also noticed what seems to look like crates. His shell is hard and he is quite heavy. (Pictures attached)

• His beak. Unfortunately I never knew where my dad got him, so I can't take him back to that pet store to get it trimmed. I tried the cuttle bone and the rough surface to eat his food, but nothing is helping. I am too afraid to do it myself. He has no problem eating, in fact, he is quite a pig. (Pictures attached)

• He's afraid of me. He always goes into his shell when I'm around him and hisses. I try to petting his head every so often, but for some reason he is not trusting me. I should note that he doesn't stay in his shell the whole time. I've walked over to his tank and always see him sleeping with his head and legs out. How do I get him to be more trusting of me. A friend I had had a female Russian tort and the tortoise was so active and never afraid of her.

• I live in Illinois, and we have long winters, so he doesn't have an outdoor hut so I used to take him outside, more often than now, at that time he was exploring like crazy. This year I've taken him outside a few times but he never wants to explore anything anymore.

• Lastly, and one of the biggest things is, I don't have a vet that specializes in tortoises anywhere near me. I live in a small town (most of the vets only specialize in dogs and cats). I am in desperate need to find one.

Please help. I have no idea what to do. I seriously feel like crying right now. Please give me all of your suggestions/advice on what I can do to make things right, even if you think it would be best to give him up, since I'm not sure if I can meet his needs.



Thanks

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/ here is the russian care sheet i recommend reading all of it.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Gina, and welcome to the Forum!

I'm so sorry you've lost your dad. That's a pretty tough thing to have to go through. But I'm happy that you've decided to research care for Bubba and try to correct what you've been doing wrong.

You're right...the beak is pretty over grown.

I don't remember reading what kind of light you have over Bubba's enclosure. He needs UVB, so you'll have to get either a Mercury Vapor Bulb (MVB) or a tube-type fluorescent bulb. If you decide to have the tube, then you'll also need some sort of heat source. Tortoises need a hot side and a cool or room temperature side so they can warm up and cool down as they wish.

The shell doesn't look too bad. It just shows the effects of living on the dry substrate for such a long time. Now that you've changed substrate, you can moisten it a bit to have some humidity in his habitat.

There's a pretty good care sheet here:

http://russiantortoise.net/care_sheet.htm

And be thinking about getting Bubba outside when the good weather rolls around next year. They do much better when kept in a safe outdoor habitat.

 

[Jodie]

Welcome to the forum. Sorry about your dad. My story with my 1st Leopard is similar. Don't beat yourself up too much. You can fix this. Mine is now very happy and healthy. Read the care sheets and ask all the questions you have. There are a lot of people here very ready to help you.

 

[Tom]

Hi. We are glad to help you with your goal here. Read that care sheet, and here is another thread that will offer some help:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

You will see these things mentioned in the links, but here are some specific tips:
1. Get rid of that water bowl. They are literally death traps for tortoises. Get an 8" terra cotta plant saucer from the hardware store for a couple of dollars and sink it into the substrate.
2. A 50 gallon tub is better than a small tank, but still much too small. They need a lot of space to move around. I recommend 4x8' for an indoor enclosure. If you can't go that big, just go as big as you can.
3. I understand your climate will not allow him to be outside all the time, but have a large outdoor enclosure that is escape proof, and use it for fair weather as much as you can.

 

[smarch]

This shows the resiliency of Russians, I mean after so long without proper care he's still doing pretty good.
As for shyness, sounds like its a possibility he was wild caught from whatever store he came from, my Nank will not let me pet his head (he's WC, and often when reaching to pick him up he sucks into his shell) my advice on that is if he doesn't like his head touched listen to him, I "pet" Nank's shell instead, they can feel things on their shell he'll feel that, and Nank doesn't mind that.
Honestly all tortoises have different personalities and it sounds like your guy is shy so he may never be as outgoing as your friends female tortoise, but that doesn't make him any less cool, you'll get to know him and his likes and dislikes through experience.
I second Tom in saying get the terra cotta saucer, its the best thing to have, I used to use a somewhat shallow Tupperware dish I used until Nank flipped himself in it and scared the crap out of me! then that thing got the boot, much safer with the dish.
Its good you're doing your research now, better late than never
I wish you the best with the little guy!