What tortoise is he

[LamePenguin]

Hi can anyone help identify what type of tortoise this is. Hes about 12 years old. Thanks in advance.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

It looks like a horsefilelds tortoise. Does he have four toes in all four legs?

 

[LamePenguin]

It looks like a horsefilelds tortoise. Does he have four toes in all four legs?

Yes. We where told he was a horsefield but hes massive compared to others of similar age.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Yes. We where told he was a horsefield but hes massive compared to others of similar age.

Are you sure he is a boy? Girls are quite a bit larger. How much does he weigh?

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hi can anyone help identify what type of tortoise this is. Hes about 12 years old. Thanks in advance. View attachment 398602

Hello and welcome from a fellow uk member! Always great to see folks this side of the pond joining the forum
100% a Russian tortoise, aka a horsefieldlarger size could indicate female, post a pic if the plastron and tail for us to sex for you.
If he’s definitely a boy, he’s just a big fella lol. I’ve mentioned on the forum before, I’ve found a lot of the captive Russians in the uk tend to be a bit bigger than average.

I think the soil you’re using appears to be some kind of top soil? I wouldn’t personally recommend those as there isn’t any knowing each and every ingredient in the bags unless you’ve composted yourself. If it’s a reptisoil, I wouldn’t recommend those either as they tend to be mixed with sand, which can lose its own risk in captivity. I’d remove any hay/straw bedding, it’ll mould with the dampness needed in the substrate, if it isn’t things are much too dry, plus these guys aren’t grass eaters anyway.

For substrate I’d personally recommend fine grade orchid bark, the best we’ve found price wise is swell reptiles. Or you could use damp coco coir, or even a mix of both.

I’m going to include some links below you’ll hopefully find useful to look through.

This thread covers correct equipment(uvb, heating bulbs, lighting etc, definitely double check bulb types, folks unfortunately sold the wrong ones often), correct levels, appropriately maintaining the humidity, safe substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything, and the tortoise table link

Housing adult Russian and Hermans indoors

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information an example of an appropriate indoor set up for an older Herman/russian. As much as it’s encouraged to have tortoises in a safe outdoor enclosure, I understand being from the uk myself, that some climates make it difficult to...

tortoiseforum.org

This includes lots of inspiration for an adult set up both indoors and out! The indoor bit has some good ideas to tackle indoor space whilst still providing the needed roaming room! Check comments too, I’m always adding to it, I have a huge back log I need to add

Enclosure inspiration

Howdy folks! Hope everyone is well! As you all know, I’m a big fan of making threads that cater more towards visual learners like myself, I’ve really been wanting to create a thread full of adult enclosure inspiration for a while now, I’ve managed to find some great references over time! I do...

tortoiseforum.org

Now that housing thread discusses an open top set up, which is fine for adult tortoises, but I will say, knowing how cold our uk winters get, for those who don’t brumate their temperate species, they can really struggle keeping their temperates where needed, a cover can come in really handy for maintaining your heat, the most efficient closed set ups are melamine/pvc vivs. A place called Southdown aquatics actually does custom sized vivs in the uk If you’re ever considering an upgrade

Visual inspiration

Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...

tortoiseforum.org

Lastly, this one here is good to go over and keep on hand, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

Hope this can all come in useful for you, always feel free to ask questions! Let me know if you need any uk links to products

 

[LamePenguin]

Are you sure he is a boy? Girls are quite a bit larger. How much does he weigh?

Sorry its a habit calling her a boy. I'm not sure how much she weighs as she not mine.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Sorry its a habit calling her a boy. I'm not sure how much she weighs as she not mine.

Oh that might explain it, girls are usually larger!

 

[wellington]

It's a Russian.