Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have what i was told was a 5 yr old russian tort after failing with a sulcata baby (not my fault the person i bought from gave me wrong info adn got russian as replacement do not reccomend SUBURBAN REPTILE in Plainfield , IL ! Chicago House of Retiles in Orland Park IL ALL THE WAY !)

Anyways she is 700 grams and 6 inches long and I was told im looking at a 20-30 yr old.So she has vet visit tommorow and i have had her for about a week and half. I biuld tort table 39"X19"14". 100 watt basking lamp and 2 foot uvb lamp for art. sun.

The bedding that was suggested is called "Critter Country" and i use timothy hay for hiding. SHe has a littile food dish that i keep water in at the hot side adn the basking spot is 96 adn her side is abouty 75-80 with about 30-50% humidity give or take through out the day and night.

I soak her every 2 days for 20 mins in luke warm and she goes to bathroom. No shell rot but she makes a whoosh noise when she gets startled adn goes into shell this normal? She only wakes up when i get home and take her out of her hole she dug and she will bask for a lil and than eat and that go back to bed. Is this weird that i always have to wake her up? She seems very healthy and i really have been reading so much on these torts my eyes hurt. Every question, suggestion, answer is so greatly appreciated .

so she had a clean bill of health given to her yesterday.

Your russian sounds like it's doing fine. Older russians tend to be rather set in their ways, and most of the time in the wild, they spend their days hiding, waiting for the extreme heat/or cold to subside. The act of pulling into the shell and emitting a nasally hiss is normal as well. Yours is a wild tortoise that never experienced human contact until rather recently, considering it's probable age. However, so long as she's eating, basking, and doing all of these things, she should be fine. Let the girl outside as frequently as possible. You will see the demeanor of your tortoise change dramatically, especially if you have a large plot on which to roam.

T.G.

Well said, I agree...I don't think your tortoise is acting "weird", pretty typical I think. good luck, Vic H