Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I had a russian tort come out of hibernation in my yard the other day and I know nothing about them. I would like to keep him but I need some answers.

My tort peed and I have heard that this can dehydrate them. I know that if a Mojave desert tort pees in the wild it will die. Is this the same with russian torts in captivity? I did research but could not find any answers about a tort passing liquid, just urates. My tort did pass urates with the fluid.

After my tort peed I soaked him in the bath tub, as this is what I read to do if dehydration occurs for any reason.

Also I read that they need water. As he had just come out of hibernation I gave him water but he has not drunk any of it. Is this normal? Please help.

Has he eaten anything? Try dandelion leaves to start; make sure they're pesticide free. If he doesn't take that, try any number of grocers veggies like kale, romain lettuce, collard greens, mustard greens, yellow squash and zuchinni squash. They usually go for one of these initially. Don't give them fruit; this tends to cause runny stool and has too much sugar.

Are you keeping him in a sunny part of the yard? Sun is very important for these guys. However, provide him with shelters from the heat, rain and cold. If the temperature falls below fifty at night, you should bring him inside (as you do not want him going back into hibernation). Keep him warm with an infrared dull emitter (you can find them at any petstore as well as instructions for use) and some form of artificial light. Make sure he has shelter from the light while indoors; turn off all of these at night as room temperature seems to be fine overnight.

If he doesn't drink, this is normal. Soak him anyway. I believe the cloaca actually absorbs some water when submerged, and this allows flushing of sediment and excrement around the vent. It works as a means to keep him regular, as I found mine to generally excrete solid and liquid waste when soaked. It's also an advantage because you can check them for macroscopic parasite loads; plus, it's a convenient way to get stool samples for the vet. Soak him daily for now, but eventually you will only have to do it two to three times per week during the summer months. If he starts regularly taking food, is active on bright days, and doesn't maintain a dehydrated appearance (sunken eyes, dry cracking skin, and reluctance to feed), increase soakings and consult a vet if you feel anything looks amiss.

For now, you must get him to eat some green leafy plant material. Watch him from a distance, and you'll learn a lot about how he normally behaves. You'll usually know if something is up. The trick is doing something about it before it's too late.

T.G.

hey, i don't know how healthy your tortoise is otherwise, but if it is doing ok then passing both solid and liquid waste is fine. i find that when they are soaked they usually release both. mine eat a mixture of drier and wetter foods like dandilion greens and other forage and zucchin, squash or cucumber, and they tend to take most of the water they need from the food they eat, although i always keep water in the enclosure to keep it from getting bone dry and dusty indoors, and also have it available outdoors. about once a month or so i might catch one of them and watch them drink. when they do they drink for ages and usually excrete a large amount of solid and liquid waste afterwards.
peace good luck