Hi, brand new to the site, glad to be here. Just wanted to share the story of my family's first Tortoise pet. It's actually my nephew's Tortoise, he came home one day roughly about a year ago with a 3 year old Russian Tortoise in a small glass tank. We didn't think much of it as we were never really pet owners, and we just figured it would be his charge and we wouldn't really notice the little guy. He named him RJ and set about setting him up. Soon, after a vet visit and some research, and the rest of us kind of becoming curious and involved as we met and saw this Tortoise in action, RJ was upgraded to a homemade all wood open roof mini-run. It can be indoor in the winter and outdoor in the summer. He has critter pellets and sand for the ground, plenty of straw to bed in, heat lamp, water dish, food dish, gets his baths once a week. Nothing truly remarkable about all of this, except when it comes to RJ himself. Over the course of the past year RJ has become an important part of everyone's life. He doesn't bite, isn't skittish, or anything like that. He loves to be held, talked to, and let's you rub his head gently. We let him out to walk around once a day to get his exercise, inside for now, outside once it becomes warm enough. I never knew how closely attached one could come to an animal such as RJ, and I am happy to say that he has become an irreplaceable part of our lives in his short time with us, and we hope for many many years of having him as part of our family. He is very dear to all of us. He is very healthy and strong, eats well, and gets his vet visit every 6 months. I am looking forward to posting pics and stories of RJ as time goes on. I am definitely interested in anyone's stories or advice if they wish to share them. Thanks for reading and take care. RJ says hello!
RJ our friendly Russian Tortoise
- Thread starter Poslitech
- Start date
Hello and Welcome. I know you have done your best for him. Now let's get it changed up to be even better. No hay or critter pellets as substrate, too drying. Also no sand, can cause impactions. Plain dirt, coconut coir or orchard bark is best. No roaming on the floor, too many accidents or things he could eat. Both could be deadly, and we have seen too many injured torts from roaming the floor. Accidents happen and they can really hurt or kill a small tortoise.
Hello and welcome. It is amazing how a tortoise can capture your heart isn't it? I was very surprised to discover the personality of my first.
Will most definitely take your advice, the last thing we'd ever want is to do anything to harm him or make his life substandard.
Yes they are something else. I have a friend who has one as well I am more attuned to him now that I have one close to me.
