Setting up for a Russian Tortoise - Constructive comments welcome

[Sarah2020]

New rocks look great and the initial video made me laugh out loud! Walter continues to be quite the flasher and this week he had a rather intimate moment with his wheel It's very easy to tell when there's getting ready to flash in the bath as he assumes what is now referred to as the Business Pose or his Power Stance. We assure him that everyone is very impressed and that the he would absolutely get all the ladies in the wild

The wheel is Speedys best toy and a rock with a small groove that his neck just nestles into for a sleep.

 

[David Steere]

@Tom @SinLA @wellington @Alex and the Redfoot @Ink @Cathie G @Yvonne G @jaizei @Pippen's Pal @Kala @ecachuh @The_Four_Toed_Edward @TechnoCheese @_The_Beast_ @EppsDynasty @LanaJoy @Jillgp @Anastasia 22 @SocialD @ZEROPILOT @Daffodil @Myrna the RES @er9m @zolasmum @Sarah2020

Got another question.

I been feeding Sandy Mazuri Original 5M21 Tortoise Food once a week now.

I put it in hot water to make it into a mash. During the day Sandy has it on the bottom of his shell, all over his face. I notice in the morning pill bugs are on him eating the food.

I want to start soaking him, clean him up for the night. Lights/Heat go off at 8:30PM so my question is when is the latest time I should soak him?

My concern is I do not want him to catch cold once the light is off.

 

[Tom]

@Tom @SinLA @wellington @Alex and the Redfoot @Ink @Cathie G @Yvonne G @jaizei @Pippen's Pal @Kala @ecachuh @The_Four_Toed_Edward @TechnoCheese @_The_Beast_ @EppsDynasty @LanaJoy @Jillgp @Anastasia 22 @SocialD @ZEROPILOT @Daffodil @Myrna the RES @er9m @zolasmum @Sarah2020

Got another question.

I been feeding Sandy Mazuri Original 5M21 Tortoise Food once a week now.

I put it in hot water to make it into a mash. During the day Sandy has it on the bottom of his shell, all over his face. I notice in the morning pill bugs are on him eating the food.

I want to start soaking him, clean him up for the night. Lights/Heat go off at 8:30PM so my question is when is the latest time I should soak him?

My concern is I do not want him to catch cold once the light is off.

Mazuri is messy. That's for sure. I'd let I'm eat it for a few hours and then soak him in the afternoon or early evening.

 

[Sarah2020]

@Tom @SinLA @wellington @Alex and the Redfoot @Ink @Cathie G @Yvonne G @jaizei @Pippen's Pal @Kala @ecachuh @The_Four_Toed_Edward @TechnoCheese @_The_Beast_ @EppsDynasty @LanaJoy @Jillgp @Anastasia 22 @SocialD @ZEROPILOT @Daffodil @Myrna the RES @er9m @zolasmum @Sarah2020

Got another question.

I been feeding Sandy Mazuri Original 5M21 Tortoise Food once a week now.

I put it in hot water to make it into a mash. During the day Sandy has it on the bottom of his shell, all over his face. I notice in the morning pill bugs are on him eating the food.

I want to start soaking him, clean him up for the night. Lights/Heat go off at 8:30PM so my question is when is the latest time I should soak him?

My concern is I do not want him to catch cold once the light is off.

Hi I soak in the morning as speedy is normally sleeping by 4 or 5pm. Every tortoise is different and they need to fit to your routine. I would say if you need to soak pm then as early as you can so the lights can go out and heat off and it gets rest time.

 

[David Steere]

@Tom @SinLA @wellington @Alex and the Redfoot @Ink @Cathie G @Yvonne G @jaizei @Pippen's Pal @Kala @ecachuh @The_Four_Toed_Edward @TechnoCheese @_The_Beast_ @EppsDynasty @LanaJoy @Jillgp @Anastasia 22 @SocialD @ZEROPILOT @Daffodil @Myrna the RES @er9m @zolasmum @Sarah2020

Quick question. I know everyone says keep food so tortoise can graze off and on all day. But...

1. Sandy is eating like two of his shells worth of food every day from 7am to 7pm. Only a very little is left when the lights go out. Very active ( He is all over enclosure during the day )going to food dish like 10 times a day. Can tell because I check every hour and notice wood chips are in dish which I take out and pile up the reminding food in middle of dish. Is there such a thing as overfeeding a tortoise?

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

@Tom @SinLA @wellington @Alex and the Redfoot @Ink @Cathie G @Yvonne G @jaizei @Pippen's Pal @Kala @ecachuh @The_Four_Toed_Edward @TechnoCheese @_The_Beast_ @EppsDynasty @LanaJoy @Jillgp @Anastasia 22 @SocialD @ZEROPILOT @Daffodil @Myrna the RES @er9m @zolasmum @Sarah2020

Quick question. I know everyone says keep food so tortoise can graze off and on all day. But...

1. Sandy is eating like two of his shells worth of food every day from 7am to 7pm. Only a very little is left when the lights go out. Very active ( He is all over enclosure during the day )going to food dish like 10 times a day. Can tell because I check every hour and notice wood chips are in dish which I take out and pile up the reminding food in middle of dish. Is there such a thing as overfeeding a tortoise?

It's possible in some extreme cases when small enclosure (lack of exercise) compounds with wrong diet (high protein and sugars with low fiber contents).

Visiting a food dish many times a day is okay - they walk around until find a food source, take a few bites and then walk until stumble upon the next one.

 

[wellington]

@Tom @SinLA @wellington @Alex and the Redfoot @Ink @Cathie G @Yvonne G @jaizei @Pippen's Pal @Kala @ecachuh @The_Four_Toed_Edward @TechnoCheese @_The_Beast_ @EppsDynasty @LanaJoy @Jillgp @Anastasia 22 @SocialD @ZEROPILOT @Daffodil @Myrna the RES @er9m @zolasmum @Sarah2020

Quick question. I know everyone says keep food so tortoise can graze off and on all day. But...

1. Sandy is eating like two of his shells worth of food every day from 7am to 7pm. Only a very little is left when the lights go out. Very active ( He is all over enclosure during the day )going to food dish like 10 times a day. Can tell because I check every hour and notice wood chips are in dish which I take out and pile up the reminding food in middle of dish. Is there such a thing as overfeeding a tortoise?

Only if they are confined in too small of an enclosure that they can't get exercise or if fed totally bad/wrong diet.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Like others have said I don't think overfeeding is possible in your case, as it sounds like Sandy is getting a lot of exercise too.

 

[Tom]

@Tom @SinLA @wellington @Alex and the Redfoot @Ink @Cathie G @Yvonne G @jaizei @Pippen's Pal @Kala @ecachuh @The_Four_Toed_Edward @TechnoCheese @_The_Beast_ @EppsDynasty @LanaJoy @Jillgp @Anastasia 22 @SocialD @ZEROPILOT @Daffodil @Myrna the RES @er9m @zolasmum @Sarah2020

Quick question. I know everyone says keep food so tortoise can graze off and on all day. But...

1. Sandy is eating like two of his shells worth of food every day from 7am to 7pm. Only a very little is left when the lights go out. Very active ( He is all over enclosure during the day )going to food dish like 10 times a day. Can tell because I check every hour and notice wood chips are in dish which I take out and pile up the reminding food in middle of dish. Is there such a thing as overfeeding a tortoise?

Let the tortoise eat as much as it wants, but try to emphasize high fiber weedy foods.

 

[David Steere]

@Tom @SinLA @wellington @Alex and the Redfoot @Ink @Cathie G @Yvonne G @jaizei @Pippen's Pal @Kala @ecachuh @The_Four_Toed_Edward @TechnoCheese @_The_Beast_ @EppsDynasty @LanaJoy @Jillgp @Anastasia 22 @SocialD @ZEROPILOT @Daffodil @Myrna the RES @er9m @zolasmum @Sarah2020

Please let me know if you notice any concerns or questions concerning Sandy.

03/01/2025

Monthly Checking: Sandy gained 26.5 grams and grew 1/4" inch this month!

Weight: 429.5 grams
Length: 5 1/4 inches +/-

 

[Tom]

I've noticed something. I've noticed someone throughly enjoying a pet tortoise and doing a great job caring for it.

 

[_The_Beast_]

Sandy is looking amazing! Love that he still has his little Batman signals on the middle scutes

 

[David Steere]

@Tom @SinLA @wellington @Alex and the Redfoot @Ink @Cathie G @Yvonne G @jaizei @Pippen's Pal @Kala @ecachuh @The_Four_Toed_Edward @TechnoCheese @_The_Beast_ @EppsDynasty @LanaJoy @Jillgp @Anastasia 22 @SocialD @ZEROPILOT @Daffodil @Myrna the RES @er9m @zolasmum @Sarah2020

Please let me know if you notice any concerns or questions concerning Sandy.


Morning walk after a soak to get some breakfast. Good morning Sandy!

 

[David Steere]

@Tom @SinLA @wellington @Alex and the Redfoot @Ink @Cathie G @Yvonne G @jaizei @Pippen's Pal @Kala @ecachuh @The_Four_Toed_Edward @TechnoCheese @_The_Beast_ @EppsDynasty @LanaJoy @Jillgp @Anastasia 22 @SocialD @ZEROPILOT @Daffodil @Myrna the RES @er9m @zolasmum @Sarah2020

Please let me know if you notice any concerns or questions concerning Sandy.

Couple of questions.

1. When I soak Sandy each morning I notice the first three poops are very solid but after that each poop is not solid but broken up and loose. Is that normal?

2. Every day I feed Sandy greens with toppings and he eats most of the greens. But twice a week I mix in wet food ( Mazuri Original 5M21 Tortoise Food and Zoo Med Natural Grassland Tortoise Food ). Those two days I notice that a lot of Greens are left over at night. Is that normal?

3. Each morning during Sandy's soak I notice that he continues to expose his privates to the point where it extends 2 to 3 inches. I make sure I do not let him into the enclosure until he puts it back so it does not pick up dirt. Is that normal?

4. Sandy still mounts the rocks I have in the enclosure. I pick him up every time I see him and his privates are never exposed. He really seems to enjoy climbing on his rocks and chilling. The rocks are of a type he will never flip. Very small angle. Is that normal or of any concern?

5. Sandy extends his neck way out now ( one to two inches, and allows me to scratch the top and sides. He seems to enjoy that and when I check on him every couple of hours he actually seem to know it is me and walks over and looks up at me.

In any event he explores his whole enclosure every day and seems very active and alert. I so much enjoy watching him explore and grow. He means the world to me so just wanted to write to the forum about little things that concerns me.

 

[wellington]

Everything sounds normal.

 

[David Steere]

@Tom @SinLA @wellington @Alex and the Redfoot @Ink @Cathie G @Yvonne G @jaizei @Pippen's Pal @Kala @ecachuh @The_Four_Toed_Edward @TechnoCheese @_The_Beast_ @EppsDynasty @LanaJoy @Jillgp @Anastasia 22 @SocialD @ZEROPILOT @Daffodil @Myrna the RES @er9m @zolasmum @Sarah2020

Please let me know if you notice any concerns or questions concerning Sandy.

Another question.

1. I soak Sandy EVERY day for 30 minutes. As far as I can tell Sandy empties out poop, pee and urates. Sandy's enclose is always clean. Looks like new except for trails created by Sandy. No cleanup as far as I can tell.

Every once in a while I pick up poop near his feed dish but never is his enclosure a mess or Sandy dirty. I noticed earth worm and lot's of pill bugs in enclosure also.

It has been about a year. How long in everyone's should one do a total cleaning?

 

[wellington]

As long as its clean, it's not needed.

 

[Anastasia 22]

I pick up every day, and I clean enclosures and change the bedding once a week.... But it's my personal preference, because I don't want any worms or bugs inside of the enclosures.....

 

[David Steere]

@Tom @SinLA @wellington @Alex and the Redfoot @Ink @Cathie G @Yvonne G @jaizei @Pippen's Pal @Kala @ecachuh @The_Four_Toed_Edward @TechnoCheese @_The_Beast_ @EppsDynasty @LanaJoy @Jillgp @Anastasia 22 @SocialD @ZEROPILOT @Daffodil @Myrna the RES @er9m @zolasmum @Sarah2020

Please let me know if you notice any concerns or questions concerning Sandy.

04/01/2025

Monthly Checking: Sandy gained 36.5 grams and grew 1/8 inch this month!

Age: 19 months old
Weight: 466.0 grams
Length: 5 3/8 "inches +/-

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Sandy will soon catch up in weight with my adult male Russian, who is on the smallish side (not sure if he is stunted). He tops up at about 500 grams and 4,7 inches in SCL. His care in his previous home wasn't the best.