Should I adopt a baby Russian?

[TinaH]

Hi,

I have a large female Russian tortoise and a smaller male Greek. There is someone re-homing a baby (1-yr) Russian tortoise. I'm wondering if anyone has thoughts about how to tell if the 1-yr old is female, or if I should just forget about adopting it. I have large indoor and outdoor areas with plenty of hiding spots for everyone, but I'd prefer not to try to breed any.

Any advice is welcome.

Thanks,
Tina.

 

[Jacqui]

Do you have the room and money to set up an entirely new enclosure for this one? She will need it not only for quarantine, but til she is size enough to be with the other Russian. Be aware that not only may your male Greek start causing problems with aggression a large female Russian may also be very aggressive. Could you do three separate enclosures?

P.S. Welcome!!!

 

[TinaH]

Thanks for the reply.

I do have a tank to quarantine the new one, and the baby comes with a 40-gallon tank as well.

I have an area in my living room that is about 3 ft by 8 ft with plenty of rocks. It's actually a baby gate with 8 panels from Babies-R-Us. I can easily set up hiding places that the other two can't get to; I can also set up barricades to divide the area up and keep the little one separate. I don't think I could allocate any extra space in our living room, and if I put another habitat in the basement, the tortoise would probably get neglected.

I have a breezeway (hallway between my kitchen and garage). It is brick and windows, and I have set it up like a greenhouse. I can't keep the tortoises in there all year round, because sometimes it gets too hot or too cold.
I am setting up an outdoor area that is 30 ft by 30 ft, but I haven't finished digging to prevent escape yet.
I really wouldn't want to keep them separate forever.
The large Russian female is not very active. She hides a lot of the day.

I wouldn't want to adopt if I thought I would have to rehome later. I have small children. We already had to give our cats to my sister because my daughter developed severe allergies.

Is it possible at all to tell the gender of a 1-year old Russian?

 

[Jacqui]

Not really at that small of an age. The breeder may have told the person who has it now, what they incubated the eggs for, but that is still not totally accurate.

I would say, if you think you have the space (and adequate space) for it, then by all means get the little guy. I was just wanting to be sure, you thought about the worse case of what could happen. They may all get along just great. Still the little one needs to grow before it could be in with the bigger tortoise with any real safety.

 

[TinaH]

Thanks for the advice.

I probably won't wind up adopting it; it's too bad because I love my tortoises and I wish I could have more
If anyone is in the Washington DC area and is considering a baby Russian, I can give you the contact info.

Thanks,
Tina.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Tina:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!