Tort Adoption ...pine shavings

[RitaAbby]

My family is actively seeking to adopt a tortoise, which we have thought about for years. We have "tort sat" several times. We are travelling to meet a two year old male tomorrow, about two hours away - an we hope to bring him home. However, I noticed in the photos the substrate used is pine shavings (listed as mulch pine shavings), which has not been mentioned or listed as suitable in the information we are finding. Getting the correct substrate is not an issue. A reptile specialty store I visited today suggested Jungle Mix. My question is whether to be concerned that this tort has ingested pine shavings. We are not new to small pet care, and I know that ingesting pine shavings can be an issue for some pets.

A reptile store associate told me today that minimum temp for a Russian should be 80 degrees. We were hoping he could roam our living area outside of his enclosure and away from his light/heat sources. We live in Wisconsin and do not keep our home at 80 degrees. We do have a property that is completely organic and we look forward to taking him out, supervised only, to the front yard to forage. Do we only take him out on days where temps are 80 and above?

Thank you. We are excited. Although he comes with a 40 gal tank, I would like to build a turtle enclosure that allows me to have plants such as dandelion, Red Russian Mustard (which I was fortunate enough to be given two years ago, and understand it is a favorite green), purslane and wood sorrel. (All of which we eat in our salads and smoothies). I will be visiting this forum for tips on tortoise table builds.

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome.

Pine shavings are no good because they are too dry, but I wouldn't worry about ingestion too much.

You can't tell the sex on a two year old. If they can tell the sex, then its older than two. If its really two years old, then they can't tell the sex. Is it a wild caught tortoise from a pet store and they are telling you this incorrect age, or is it a captive bred baby and they know the hatch date?

Please read these for the correct care and diet info:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

 

[RitaAbby]

Well - we are tortoise owners! I feel like it was more rescue than adoption, but that is only because people fail to do their own research and take pet stores, and I would guess a non-herp veternarian, advice as verbatim. Our male is definitely not two - I knew he was a PetSmart original and I cannot stand buying pets from that chain. I don't condone wild caught capture. I raised parrots for 10 years and know it is always best to track a domestic breeder, however, this guy is already here and the home he was in has a now dis-interested teenage boy - and the tort definitely needs a bigger home (came with a 40 gal aquarium), the correct substrate, a more varied diet (kale, baby carrots - doubtful organic). He is smaller than the male Russians in a local reptile store, but not by much.

What I looked for was bright eyes, good skin, active (he was very mobile on their deck), and he ate kale while we visited and got to know him. Although the enclosure is too small, on a good note he was taken outside often - they had a very large, approx 1/2 acre, mowed backyard, and was told the would use a suction cup on his shell to have a small helium balloon to indicate the tortoise whereabouts. How do the experts feel about that? I was thinking that might be smart in our home as he wonders. We recently remodeled and put in vinyl rustic-wood look flooring...kitchen, living room, hall - so he can roam as he pleases.

I had my daughter measure the aquarium and it is not even 40 gal. I wondered. Not the "Pet Smart" ZooMed kit the previous owner had sent to me.A friend has already located a 55 gallon aquarium for us - God is good! Our new family member will have a larger space by tomorrow.

My goal is to have a tortoise table built before the weather turns cold in Wisconsin. If there are any Madison, WI area tortoise owners that could help me build one I would appreciate it. I was widowed last year and my husband has a wood working shop. I have become handy with the miter saw. drill and some tools - wondering if I can use some barnwood for the tortoise table sides if sealed - but need to study what is used in the bottom to prevent moisture. There is probably plenty of plywood in the shop. Until the table is build we have plenty of lawn with organic broadleaf vegetation.

The 16 yr old cleaned the aquarium last night and the boy apparently "threw away?" the UVB and warming bulb. Mother is not sure how he actually lost the bulbs in his room. Which knocked the price down a bit and we hustled back to Wisconsin to get to the reptile specialty store before it closed to get a replacement UVB bulb. I realize now, reviewing the care sheet on this site again, that he would have been fine. He is in pine mulch (as in brown landscaping mulch) so I grabbed Jungle Mix at the store to ensure he has burrowing opportunities - which he has never had. They were told he did not burrow. (??!!??)