Rhea Calypso my new 1yr old female Russian Tortoise

[SweetP]

 

[wellington]

Did you buy it from a store or breeder?
She looks older than a year.
Get rid of the water dish and replace with a low sided clay saucer. Those water dishes are a flip and drown hazard and not easy for a tortoise to use
The enclosure is much too small of your tort is actually older like I think. They need a minimum of a 4x8 foot.
What type of lighting are you using? Mercury vapor bulbs and the coil type bulbs are bad, do not use.
There needs to be a uvb light and a incandescent flood bulb that reaches 95-100 at tort height to for basking and digesting it's food.
Please read the care sheet on this forum for the Russian.

 

[SweetP]

Did you buy it from a store or breeder?
She looks older than a year.
Get rid of the water dish and replace with a low sided clay saucer. Those water dishes are a flip and drown hazard and not easy for a tortoise to use
The enclosure is much too small of your tort is actually older like I think. They need a minimum of a 4x8 foot.
What type of lighting are you using? Mercury vapor bulbs and the coil type bulbs are bad, do not use.
There needs to be a uvb light and a incandescent flood bulb that reaches 95-100 at tort height to for basking and digesting it's food.
Please read the care sheet on this forum for the Russian.

Well hi and thanks for friendly greeting as a new member to this forum.

She was given to me and all that she has literally 2 days ago. She's my first and thought joining would be fun and exciting way to share and learn about my new little girl.

THAT was NOT what friendly or fun .. just critical and judgmental.

I'll find another forum to share and learn from that doesn't make me feel like a terrible new owner

✌️

 

[SinLA]

Hi SweetP, and welcome to the forum. This is one of the best places to learn, its just a lot of people come on here wanting a "just the facts, ma'am" input.

So first, congrats on your tortoise!

I do recommending reading this page: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/info-for-new-people-please-read-this-first.202363/#post-2036954

which will have the best info you can read. THere is a lot of bad info out there, but this is a good place to get the best information.

however Wellington *is* correct - that water dish is a death trap so you should remove it ASAP. You can just use a plant saucer, they are like $2.50 at DIY stores.

The space you have is also not big enough for an adult and *most* people that sell or give away tortoises truly have no idea their age. They may think its 2, they may have been told it was "one year old" when they got it at Petco, or whatever (that's the normal process) even tho Petco sells wild-caught adults that can be decades old at the time.

This forum will try to help you, sorry if you felt badly, but the most important info is what will help your tortoise. Even if you leave this forum, please get rid of that water bowl its really dangerous.

 

[AmandaF]

View attachment 358849

Welcome to the Forum
Ernie 🐢 & Amanda

 

[wellington]

Well hi and thanks for friendly greeting as a new member to this forum.

She was given to me and all that she has literally 2 days ago. She's my first and thought joining would be fun and exciting way to share and learn about my new little girl.

THAT was NOT what friendly or fun .. just critical and judgmental.

I'll find another forum to share and learn from that doesn't make me feel like a terrible new owner

✌️

Sorry I didn't make your time so fun here. I'm here to help tortoises live a better life, not waste my time making people laugh and have fun. Other things to do in my day then that. I get to the point so you can learn faster and your tort can start living a better life faster!

 

[jsheffield]

View attachment 358849

Welcome!

This is a great place to learn about your new tortoise. I live with five Russians and would be happy to answer any questions you might have.

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

Is a great general thread, definitely worth reading.

I hope you stay and keep sharing pictures of your tort.

Jamie