What kind of tortoise is this?

Gr00t

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May 2, 2021
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Hi everyone :)

I am a pet sitter from Kent and I have been doing pop-ins on this tortoise for a couple of weeks now. The owner told me he is a rescue and they’re not sure what his breed is. I was hoping someone here may have some ideas so that we might better care for him.

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He doesn’t really eat much. I’ve given the owner some advice about where to buy flowers and weeds that will be good for him. They’re on the waiting list right now so he’s still on supermarket greens and tortoise pellets.

He doesn’t move around much either (unlike my 2-year-old Hermann’s who charges about most of the day). And he doesn’t like people (gave me a good hiss when I picked him up for a bath).

They had to close off the hideaway end of his table because he kept flipping over in there at one point. So now he just sits in the corner until I put him in the bath.

I am a little worried mostly about his eating and activity levels. His poops are smaller than my baby tort’s and he’s about a quarter of this one’s size.

Any thoughts/ideas are appreciated. Thanks in advance!
 

jsheffield

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That's a Russian Tortoise.

He'll eat weeds and greens and flowers and such... no fruits and only occasional veggies.


Here's our sub-forum for them:

Here's a great care guide for them:

Jamie
 

Yvonne G

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Two reasons why he doesn't eat much - because his lower beak juts out beyond the upper beak he can't bite off pieces of food. . . or, your friend is not offering food items that he recognizes as food.

Start him off by giving him things we don't normally feed, like iceburg lettuce. And until you can get that beak in shape to actually bite/cut off pieces, you'll have to chop it up for him
 

Gr00t

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Thanks everyone! I will relay the advice to his owner :)
 

Dawn'sTooToo

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Two reasons why he doesn't eat much - because his lower beak juts out beyond the upper beak he can't bite off pieces of food. . . or, your friend is not offering food items that he recognizes as food.

Start him off by giving him things we don't normally feed, like iceburg lettuce. And until you can get that beak in shape to actually bite/cut off pieces, you'll have to chop it up for him
What would make the lower beak jut out like that. I’ve only seen the upper beak overgrown?
 

Lyn W

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Thanks everyone! I will relay the advice to his owner :)
It's great you have taken the time to find out how to look after a tort in your care - you obviously take your job seriously. Ask as many questions as you like - you'll always get great advice from very experienced keepers. There's lots of old incorrect information being passed on but you won't find more up to date care advice anywhere else.

Get the owners to join up here - we can help them keep their tort happy and healthy and possibly save them money on vet bills.
 

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