shell worry

[turtlejoe52210]

So I'm new to the forum and had a shell related question. I have two russians, Terra and Eva. Terra is male and Eva is a female. Terra is about 3 years old, and Eva is close to 4. I was soaking them the other day and notice Eva's shell was a little odd looking. Between the outer scutes and inner ones on her back end is a bit of a flat spot. Terra does not have it and both seem to be fairly active in the terrarium and eat on a regular basis. It is a mild concern for her shell health. Is this normal or am I doin somthin wrong?

I put photos of Evas back shell am the home I made for them mesuring about 4ft by 3ft. The scutes look like there pyramiding but there not, there just slanted back. There diet mainly consists of Romain with calcium cuz they don't seem to want to eat collards. I also feed them other plants like dandelions and hebiscus leaves and flowers when they bloom.

Any help would be sweet.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

Maybe it's the angle, but I just don't see anything wrong with that shell.

But I do see something wrong with the beautiful habitat. It is quite eye pleasing, however, it's not nearly big enough for one Russian, let alone two. Is there any way you can give them an outdoor yard?

Have you ever seen them drink or get into that waterer? Most of us use the terra cotta plant saucers and sink them down into the substrate to make it easier for the tortoises to get in and out, or just lean their neck over to drink.

Please read the care sheet for Russian tortoises that's pinned at the top of our Russian section here on the Forum. There's a nice list of different foods you can be feeding your russian tortoises. There's not much nutrition, and a lot of water in romaine lettuce.

 

[Yvonne G]

If you're talking about that wide yellow band, that's new growth.

 

[turtlejoe52210]

We live in minnesota so outside is cold half the year. But in summer they roam the yard quite a bit. I was thinking about expanding there home to make some more room. They go in and out of the pond alot. More in the evening i noticed.

Any good tips on getting them to eat more veriety? Cuz they seem to ignore alot of things when i try new foods.

 

[Yvonne G]

Withhold the romaine. They won't starve themselves.

 

[bouaboua]

Withhold the romaine. They won't starve themselves.

I'm bit worry about the "Mojave" ( Irene call him MoMo) also. He is awake About two weeks now but not eating yet. He will move from spot to spot to get in the sun and get out of sun.

Hope he will start to eat when over all weather are warmer.

 

[Yvonne G]

It takes a while for them to get warmed up clear into their inner core.