Will My Russian Tortoise Be OK?

[Buddybenj]

Today I came home and I tried to find my Russian to give him a soak (he's usually burrowed or in his dark area). I was shocked when I saw he was under the plastic that I lined to keep my weed enclosure from rotting! I attached a photo of what the corner he was in looks like (it was actually a different corner but I tore the tape off to get him out. But it looked like that with Terry the tortoise underneath the plastic. I frantically took him out and he's alive and seems fine to me. I'm worried about whether he got cerebral hypoxia. But maybe I'm overreacting.

 

[Yvonne G]

Since they can hold their breath for a VERY LO-O-O-O-NG time, you're probably over reacting.

 

[wellington]

They are much tufted then you think. Pretty sure he will be fine. Just keep a closer eye on him for a couple days.

 

[Buddybenj]

OK, thanks a lot for assuring me that he's all right. I suspected that since tortoises are reptiles they can handle stuff like this (reptiles don't need as much oxygen as mammals). I have retaped the plastic so this hopefully won't happen again.

 

[Tortoise_Wrangler]

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that when tortoises are sleeping with their heads in their shells, they're only able to use something like 2% of their lung capacity. They're anatomy is pretty impressive and they have a crazy amount of control over their bodily functions, 200 million + years of evolution made them masters of their anatomy. My friend has a similar set up and his tortoise would do the exact same thing. I helped him figure out the issue, I assumed the tort didn't feel secure in the hide he was given, so my friend bought a big log house and filled his enclosure up with twice the amount of substrate so he could bury the log except the entrance. With the deeper substrate, the tortoise could bury himself and he stopped hiding under the plastic.

I would buy pond liner and use that to line the inside of your enclosure instead. It's thicker and harder for the tortoises to tear up, and if they get under it, it's thick and won't clump up like the plastic you're using.

 

[Gillian M]

Don't worry @Buddybenj , torts can make it without oxygen for LONG.

Please keep us updated and an eye on your tort.