Tortoise too small?

[Spin23]

Hi,
So after doing A LOT of reading on here as my gut told me the advice at the shop from a „highly recommended reptile expert“ did not stack up, I’m now very worried for our new little tortoise who moved in 3 days ago as a pet for my 9 year old, who already loves him so much, which makes it even more crucial to get this right

My worry is that he (no idea of boy or girl yet) is about 5cm and 26grams (!), no way can this be a one year old as we were told?
He was kept in a hemp substrate at the store, was captive bred and used to get 3 feeds with cabbage based food, 3 baths a week, which I now realise must all be far too little? We were told he can go on a table, which also appears to be the wrong move.

So here we are - all the mistakes rolled in one (groan!), but I am SO glad my gut told me to do more reading and here I am (and by God the majority of the internet is NOT at all helpful!!).
My immediate questions:

1. We are now feeding him every day - is that ok or will that make him grow too fast after being used to 3 days a week?

2. Bath every day

3. On my table I’m changing to coco coir or orchid bark and will keep the sleeping area wet and deeper for burrowing until I can get a vivarium, which is the only way I gather?

4. Temp under lamp is about 34C, in sleep area 24C with 55% humidity at moment - a reasonable start?

5. He / She sleeps huge amounts - I’m assuming that’s also normal for a baby / yearling?

When he / she is awake food intake seems good (we are picking every allowed weed we can find), poops and tends to keep head out even when handled to have a bit of outdoor time (he loves the grass). So I’m hoping it’s all going to be ok and he’s just a bit too slim and way too dry.
Photo attached.

Thank you for your help!

 

[SinLA]

Welcome to the forum! you’re in the same position. A lot of people are when they first get tortoises.

Please post photos of your enclosure, as detailed as possible, including light setup.

Pet stores largely lie (knowingly or unknowingly) on top of not knowing how to properly care for them in the first place.

have you read this yet? It’s a lot to digest but it’s the best place to start.

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[jsheffield - In Memoriam]

Welcome to TFO!

The good news is that Russian Tortoises are hardy enough to shed lots of the abuse that humankind unwittingly heaps upon them, and can bounce back.

As long as you're feeding the right foods and providing the proper environmental conditions (heat, humidity, light, space) it's impossible to overfeed them.

This is a great guide (which I suspect you've already looked at): https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/the-best-way-to-raise-any-temperate-species-of-tortoise.183131/

Jamie

 

[Tom]

Hi,
So after doing A LOT of reading on here as my gut told me the advice at the shop from a „highly recommended reptile expert“ did not stack up, I’m now very worried for our new little tortoise who moved in 3 days ago as a pet for my 9 year old, who already loves him so much, which makes it even more crucial to get this right

My worry is that he (no idea of boy or girl yet) is about 5cm and 26grams (!), no way can this be a one year old as we were told?
He was kept in a hemp substrate at the store, was captive bred and used to get 3 feeds with cabbage based food, 3 baths a week, which I now realise must all be far too little? We were told he can go on a table, which also appears to be the wrong move.

So here we are - all the mistakes rolled in one (groan!), but I am SO glad my gut told me to do more reading and here I am (and by God the majority of the internet is NOT at all helpful!!).
My immediate questions:

1. We are now feeding him every day - is that ok or will that make him grow too fast after being used to 3 days a week?

2. Bath every day

3. On my table I’m changing to coco coir or orchid bark and will keep the sleeping area wet and deeper for burrowing until I can get a vivarium, which is the only way I gather?

4. Temp under lamp is about 34C, in sleep area 24C with 55% humidity at moment - a reasonable start?

5. He / She sleeps huge amounts - I’m assuming that’s also normal for a baby / yearling?

When he / she is awake food intake seems good (we are picking every allowed weed we can find), poops and tends to keep head out even when handled to have a bit of outdoor time (he loves the grass). So I’m hoping it’s all going to be ok and he’s just a bit too slim and way too dry.
Photo attached.

Thank you for your help!

Hello and welcome.

It sounds like you have figured out the right info amongst the sea of wrong info out there. Good for you! And your tortoise!

Your questions:
1. Tortoises are grazers. They should be able to graze all day every day. There is no reason to starve them. Yes they can survive starvation in the wild, but that is no reason to do it on purpose in a captive situation. There is no such thing as "growing too fast" for a healthy tortoise that is housed, fed, and hydrated correctly.
2. Yes. 30-40 minutes is good. 60 minutes is not too much. 10 minutes is likely enough.
3. Closed chambers are not the only way. But they do tend to be the best way to manage temperatures and humidity.
4. Use a flood bulb and try to get the temp directly under it to about 36-37C. Measure the basking area temperature by laying a digital thermometer on its back directly under the bulb and let it sit for an hour or more. Adjust the fixture height as needed.
5. Yes. Normal.

Read those threads and more questions are welcome.

 

[Spin23]

Thank you all for helping me keep some level of sanity through this awful mess of horrendously conflicting info as mentioned above…but here we are, he / she is in and we won’t give up easily
2 more questions please:

1. Any idea on whether the age I was given was wrong or whether he / she is just a bit under weight at 26g and 5cm? Or maybe it’s normal weight for him / her.

2. Not sure if his / her shell can improve over time, looks quite bumpy to me? Then again, how much did I know about shell appearance about a week ago - 0…and now…still near 0 really

Anyway, the little one enjoyed some dandelions, kale and a few violet petals today. We downloaded a plant scanning app and now view all of the plants as “oooh, that looks like tasty tortoise food, let’s scan it!” and then cross reference with the live saving tortoise table website. If nothing else we are learning a huge amount of new plant names!

Have a good day all lovers out there

 

[Spin23]

Hello and welcome.

It sounds like you have figured out the right info amongst the sea of wrong info out there. Good for you! And your tortoise!

Your questions:
1. Tortoises are grazers. They should be able to graze all day every day. There is no reason to starve them. Yes they can survive starvation in the wild, but that is no reason to do it on purpose in a captive situation. There is no such thing as "growing too fast" for a healthy tortoise that is housed, fed, and hydrated correctly.
2. Yes. 30-40 minutes is good. 60 minutes is not too much. 10 minutes is likely enough.
3. Closed chambers are not the only way. But they do tend to be the best way to manage temperatures and humidity.
4. Use a flood bulb and try to get the temp directly under it to about 36-37C. Measure the basking area temperature by laying a digital thermometer on its back directly under the bulb and let it sit for an hour or more. Adjust the fixture height as needed.
5. Yes. Normal.

Read those threads and more questions are welcome.

Hi,
Not sure if this post will come up as an „update“, but here I go…we’ve had some weight gain, now on 30g which is obviously still waaaaay low, but a gain is a gain! My son named him Lucky…great choice of name hopefully!

The guy where we bought Lucky still maintains he’s 1 year old (gulp!). In his view the care has been „totally normal for a Russian tort and 3 feeds a week are plenty“ and when I said some experts I know have disagreed (well…I don’t really know you guys, but I hope all of you wonderful tortoise Gods out there don’t mind me using you as my back up ), he said it’s best to stop looking online and I’m welcome to bring my expert friends in for a chat (imagine all of you lot turning up there…lol!)

Either way I‘m still collecting all necessary bits to adjust Lucky‘s care:
- closed vivarium to keep conditions stable
- coco coir soil
- slate for eating from to help keep beak trim
- Nutrazu 3-4 times a week
- Feed lots of varied naturally grown stuff every day mixed in with stuff he definitely likes to get him used to new foods
- mercury bulb change to separate flood / UV bulbs
- terracotta water dish
- plants for hiding / break sight line / nibble on
- humidity 60-70%
- temps 35-38 under lamp, 24ish on cold side in evening (Celsius)

Anything else I have forgotten / that I‘ve misunderstood? Some of this I am doing already, but the move into the vivarium will probably cause stress again, hence I’m putting it off a little longer as he’s only just moved in with us and probably still in shock at being fed properly and having to go for a swim every day

Obviously „breeder failure syndrome“ is in back of my mind (sob), but maybe our little one can be another one like Tom‘s miracle Daisy…and if not, we can give him as good a life as we have learnt to give him in the last week (steep steep learning curve!!).

Any encouragement from anyone who has a success story with a teeny tort greatly appreciated…watch this space and wish Lucky some luck please

Thanks and have a good day

 

[Spin23]

Hi,

So Lucky is doing ok I hope, 31g now, he LOVES his / her food, especially the little (tortoise friendly) plants I put in his currently open enclosure. Still nervous about his low weight, but what more can we do.

I have now acquired vivarium on E-bay, which is now “quarantining / being deep cleaned every day” and will then be tested for temps etc before the move.

My issue - the E bay seller kindly gave me LOADS of stuff with the vivarium and I’m at a loss as to whether I can use any of it? Please can you have a quick look and point me in the right direction for my set up.

Questions:

1. The opening at the top of the viv has “mesh” on it - shall I remove that and just hang the light in there?

2. The wooden shelves are a bit pointless for my little guy / girl - take them out I reckon or would you leave them as “shade”?

3. All those lights they gave me (see pics) - help! Are any of them useable? So confusing I think spot light is a no go (should be flood?) and the UVBs may be wrong strength?

4. Liner - pond liner? Or maybe a plastic tray of sorts?

5. What sort of weight gain should we be hoping / looking for?

Hope you don’t mind all these questions

Thank you all