Update on Russians

[Nay]

I am about ready to scream!!
This guy called me months ago to buy his torts. We had a very long conversation about care of Russians. Not that I know,but I looked it up and sent him a care sheet on Russians. He had told me he had them in an aquarium and on sand. I said I would possibly help him find a home, but really didn't want any more.
Well he contacted me again and I posted here if anyone would be interested. Lots of responses, so I told him yes. Well I went to pick them up today and AHHHHHHH. They are being taken care of by his mom, who was very very sweet. They are still in aquarium, on sand and NO lights or hides or water or anything!!!!!!!! He is gone to Korea for 2 years and told her to thrown them lettuce once in awhile!!! THATS IT!!! I am ready to explode.. I politely said arggg to her and said its fine, I will change things. This guy is on the computer constantly!! He had so much information, even recently from me. I would have taken them sooner had I known.
OK breathe. I am posting pictures on immediate arrival. The beaks and nails are so long, I will let them settle a little and take care of that. The bodies are so weird. Especially the larger one, I imagine its a she. It's like she is on platform shoe. She is sooo thick. I hope you can see it in the pictures..
I soaked, am soaking them as I write and am soaking 9 bricks of ecoearth. I am going to use the aquarium for now,with loads of substrate, and some hides. Right now a box with some hay in it. I have some veggies cut up, mixed with Mazuri.
advice is welcomed. I'll post more later,as I now know how to get them here directly!!! Yahoo

 

[Nay]

I am about ready to scream!!
This guy called me months ago to buy his torts. We had a very long conversation about care of Russians. Not that I know,but I looked it up and sent him a care sheet on Russians. He had told me he had them in an aquarium and on sand. I said I would possibly help him find a home, but really didn't want any more.
Well he contacted me again and I posted here if anyone would be interested. Lots of responses, so I told him yes. Well I went to pick them up today and AHHHHHHH. They are being taken care of by his mom, who was very very sweet. They are still in aquarium, on sand and NO lights or hides or water or anything!!!!!!!! He is gone to Korea for 2 years and told her to thrown them lettuce once in awhile!!! THATS IT!!! I am ready to explode.. I politely said arggg to her and said its fine, I will change things. This guy is on the computer constantly!! He had so much information, even recently from me. I would have taken them sooner had I known.
OK breathe. I am posting pictures on immediate arrival. The beaks and nails are so long, I will let them settle a little and take care of that. The bodies are so weird. Especially the larger one, I imagine its a she. It's like she is on platform shoe. She is sooo thick. I hope you can see it in the pictures..
I soaked, am soaking them as I write and am soaking 9 bricks of ecoearth. I am going to use the aquarium for now,with loads of substrate, and some hides. Right now a box with some hay in it. I have some veggies cut up, mixed with Mazuri.
advice is welcomed. I'll post more later,as I now know how to get them here directly!!! Yahoo

Ok heres them after soaking and placed in their pen. Came out of their shell and starting wolfing.. I do have some aquarium paper I am going to put around them so they don't see out.

 

[Angi]

I am screaming now too. AHHH.......GRRRRRRRRR!!!! How could someone let that happen?! God bless you for helping this poor creatures!!

 

[Jacqui]

Actually, they are not all that bad considering what I was expecting. Good thing they got in contact with you again.

 

[Kristina]

That one is such a poor deformed baby - that is the result of no UV and being kept too dry.

They can still live long happy lives. Great save, Nay!

 

[Nay]

If you look at the second picture, she looks like the top of her shell pattern stayed small, but the bottom part kinda exploded out. Any thoughts? Its so uneven, my thoughts were of course poor husbandry, especially diet.
And what about the flares around the edges??(Really bad around the back edges.. I guess I didn't show a good pic, I will later.
My son thought we should trim them...
Told him no!

 

[kimmer]

Lucky tortoises. Their lives are about to become much better. I am curious if the original owner mentioned how long he had them and how old they might be. I have not seen that many russian tortoises but I imagine there are many lessons to be learned from these guys by those of you with knowledge and experience.

I am interested to see how they progress in the new home. Thanks for the pictures!
Kim

 

[RianSeeking]

I'm so glad you have them now. The poor deformed female makes my heart hurt.

 

[Kristina]

No for sure on the trimming. The flares, the thickness, the shape - all classic examples of overall bad care. I have seen it in literally hundreds of Sulcatas and Box turtles over the years.

 

[Torty Mom]

Yay! Great job on the save! They are in tortie paradise now!!!

 

[Nay]

Ok, I know what is done is done. I am just so furious!! Animals just don't deserve what we do to them. Theses torts have been living on lettuce for 5 years!!! No light, heat or food. I know it happens all over the world, and to people too. But something that is so easily preventable!! I did find out the owner has aspergers, not quite sure how that impedes his ability to get proper food. He lived with his mom, who had absolutely no idea what he was doing was not how they should have been kept. She also told me he would try to put them outside a few times (Hey kudos!!) ANd one time he came into the house and when he came back they were gone. One came back the next day, and 5 days later another neighbor found the other one.. Good thing the kids in the neighborhood remembered this guy had said he had some turtles(well good?)
I'm done crabbing. Couple questions please..
1) I know they are broadleaf eaters, yesterday I fed them mixed veggies and Mazuri. They gobbeled it down. Well I guess anything would taste better than just lettuce and your own waste. I am giving them just greens today.

Should I feed them everyday? It says they are little pigs.(the website) How can these guys weigh what they do, female is like a tank, on just what they have been eating??

2) Calicum??? How often. I would image they are deficient..
3) Lights, I have Redfoots, no UV. Can someone pass me a link to order a decent one? I have one pet store near me and they are 3X the price of anything online. Also do they throw heat? I have 2 75 bulbs over the tank and the hottest area appears to be 80 ish(Haven't had them or lights on them a whole day yet.) They are loving the heat. yesterday they were like little kids, in and out of the water all afternoon, and then stretched out like squashed dead bugs under the lights!!

Poor souls they never hurt anyone and never complain. They have not even attempted to burrow, nor have they gone near the hay filled hide. OH yes, should I give them a moist hide? I have spaghum moss, (but honestly didn't want to give them that unless I needed to. It's very pricey around here and seems to not be cheaper online.). They probably don't think they can, being on a 1/2 inch of sand and no hiding place. They sure don't even look out the glass. I'm not quick to change that just yet. My house is cold and I always seem to having trouble with keeping the temps up in the winter.
Ok Thanks

 

[Yvonne G]

All that "moist" stuff we're touting is really for babies. Your guys don't need a humid hide. A pinch of calcium over their food two or three times a week should be ok. I only have experience with two brands of bulbs and I bought them both online...Zoo Med's 100 watt Powersun and T-Rex's Active UV/heat. "They" say that the Zoo Med bulb isn't very good, but I haven't had any problems with it. Works fine and puts out UVB.

 

[Nay]

Yvonne, Is this one it? Good price?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ZOO-MED-POWERSU...730?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19c2d67fd2

Can't find the T Rex, You need them both?

 

[Torty Mom]

No you should not need them both. The Powersun will put off alot of heat so really watch it at first. I use the powersun for my hatchlings and so far it's working great. They are in an open enclosure and it keeps them roasty toasty!

The female is a chunky butt because it sounds like they didn't get any exercise! Poor torties!

I totally understand how you feel. When I got Daisy Lou, her living conditions were so aweful I was sick to my stomach. I basically took her and then ran for my car! I try not to think about it, as it just makes me very angry, even more so that the person who had her thought they were doing an awesome job! UGH!!! I love to watch her roam around the yard and for my husband to even notice and say that she looks happy, makes me feel good!

You are doing an awesome job, and in the few short days that you have had them their life is 2,000% better!!! They are in tortie paradise now and will live the remainder of their lives happy with you! Good job on the save!!! It's an awesome feeling!!

 

[jrholls]

I recently went to petco to pick up some eco earth. They had a bunch of torts...3 russians and 3 redfoots. They all looked so sad and sickly in their tiny aquariums with insufficient heat and lousy diets. I wanted to take them all home, but I just cant. It makes me so sad and angry that I want to scream. I've got a russian tort and I do everything I can to keep her as happy and healthy as possible. I wish I could save them all but even if I did they would just restock. It really brightens my day everytime I sign on here and hear of another rescue story like yours. Thank you very much for taking them in.

 

[Nay]

jrholls:
The petco around me sells eco earth but I found this cheaper. Is this a good price(for you)? Even with shipping, it's still cheaper than the store, (for me)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ZOO-MED-ECO-EAR...793?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cb3c1e629

MaryAnne, thanks for the kind words. but I did place a post here to see if someone would take them when it warms up, before I went to get them. I really didn't want more!!! (I saw your post and felt guilty, ya know.....reminder of their lives......etc) Although you never know what will happen!!

 

[jrholls]

That does seem like a better price. Thanks for the link I'd like to stop buying from stores that don't take care of their animals. I bet these big chain stores get letters all the time from people who are unhappy with the care they give, but they make so much money from dog and cat stuff that the reptiles are just thrown in as an afterthought with no funding for their care. I hate that I both bought and rescued my tort.

 

[GBtortoises]

The "deformed" growth seen on the one Russian is a result of accelerated growth, not pyramiding due to dryness or lack of vitamins (actually just the opposite). Accelerated growth is caused by a combination of an incorrect diet, long term constant exposure to excessive heat and lack of enough activity.
Most tortoises that exhibit accelerated growth over time appear as though they are "growing out of their shells", have excessive keratin tissue growth which shows up in longer than normal nails and beaks and extended or upturned marginal scutes. With Russian tortoises most of this growth shows up very evidently in upturned marginal scutes.

 

[Torty Mom]

jrholls:
The petco around me sells eco earth but I found this cheaper. Is this a good price(for you)? Even with shipping, it's still cheaper than the store, (for me)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ZOO-MED-ECO-EAR...793?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cb3c1e629

MaryAnne, thanks for the kind words. but I did place a post here to see if someone would take them when it warms up, before I went to get them. I really didn't want more!!! (I saw your post and felt guilty, ya know.....reminder of their lives......etc) Although you never know what will happen!!

Nay, there is nothing wrong if you rehome them when it warms up! No doubt you have changed their lives forever!! In an awesome way!! And whether you keep them or adopt them out they are still waaaaaay better off than they were!! I don't want you to feel bad! Who knows what will happen down the line!

 

[tortoises101]

jrholls:
The petco around me sells eco earth but I found this cheaper. Is this a good price(for you)? Even with shipping, it's still cheaper than the store, (for me)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ZOO-MED-ECO-EAR...793?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cb3c1e629

MaryAnne, thanks for the kind words. but I did place a post here to see if someone would take them when it warms up, before I went to get them. I really didn't want more!!! (I saw your post and felt guilty, ya know.....reminder of their lives......etc) Although you never know what will happen!!

Nay, there is nothing wrong if you rehome them when it warms up! No doubt you have changed their lives forever!! In an awesome way!! And whether you keep them or adopt them out they are still waaaaaay better off than they were!! I don't want you to feel bad! Who knows what will happen down the line!

I agree, Torty Mom. I'm sure that everyone who sees this thread will feel very happy that you gave these torts a new home. We're all supporting you here. If you do re-home them, you're just doing what you think is best for them and there's nothing wrong with that. If you do keep them, you'll find out how sparky these little torts are. I'm glad you rescued them and even more glad that you're pushing yourself to give these tortoises the best care you can give them.