|
Q:
|
Russian Tortoise to a good home?
|
|
A family member recently moved overseas and visited my house just before they left. And what did they give us? A Russian Tortoise! I do not have the right setup or funds or energy to take on the task of raising this turtle for the next 100 years. If anyone knows someone that might be interested in a free Russian, please let me know. I don't know its sex, age, IQ, or interests. The cute little guy won't talk to me.
|
|
Member Comment
|
10/15/2010 6:42:53 PM
|
|
Aimee
|
|
where are you , and are you willing to ship?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Member Comment
|
10/15/2010 6:49:26 PM
|
|
Floof
|
Hi, Jes! What a nice little addition to the family!
For what it's worth, once you have them set up, Russian tortoises aren't all that pricey to take care of... Just a new UVB bulb every 6-12 months (depending on what kind you get), and you don't even need that if you can get him outside during the summer... And, of course, food, which is just greens (the easiest, while still maintaining a good diet, is to buy pre-packaged organic Spring Mix at the grocery store and mix in good weeds and other greens; one spring mix package usually lasts a week, IME, for an adult Russian) with an occasional treat of squash, cactus pad, and/or Mazuri tortoise food.
If you decide to give keeping him a shot, try out Tortoiseforum.org and Russiantortoise.org for more care information. Also, you may want to post where you are and whether you can/will ship, so those who may be interested in adopting him/her have a better idea of whether they can even take it.
Good luck! :)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Member Comment
|
10/15/2010 6:51:14 PM
|
|
Floof
|
"... and you don't even need that if you can get him outside during the summer..."
Sorry, I should have said you don't need that during the summer if he is able to go out in natural sunlight. You would still need a UVB bulb for the wintertime. :)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Author Comment
|
10/16/2010 11:19:40 AM
|
|
jesrockz
|
|
I live in Hillsboro, MO which is south of St. Louis. I guess I would be willing to ship as long as someone could explain in detail how to do it. I'd hate for the little guy to get hurt.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Member Comment
|
10/17/2010 7:26:37 PM
|
|
luvatfirstrosy
|
|
Congrats on the Tort, We have a Russian Tort, and in all honesty he's our easiest and cheapest pet to care for. He has a heat lamp a uvb lamp a water bowl to climb into and a aquarium to roam around. The eat a total assortment of greens just stay away from spinach and they're social. Acctually the easiest tort to care for IMO. They only get to be the size of a youth basketball at adult size. Favorite treat for them is dandylions. Just thought I'd share that with you if you were interested in keeping the little guy. Oh yeah and you can sprinkle tort diet, it looks like dog food on top of their salad everyday like croutons.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Member Comment
|
10/17/2010 8:08:07 PM
|
|
Floof
|
On the note of the last person's comment--yes, they are easy to care for, but be warned that aquariums make terrible enclosures for Russian tortoises. They like a LOT of room to roam. My 6.5" female was never satisfied until I made her a 6x2 ft "tortoise table" (aka converted bookcase), and my 5.5" male was miserable in the 50 gallon Rubbermaid (about 4x1.5 ft) he came with (and would still try to escape after I got him in his own 6x2 table!).
Honestly, the two most difficult parts of caring for a Russian Tortoise are the UVB and the space factor. If you don't have at least 6x2 feet of space to give up, they aren't the animal for you. Same with the UVB; if you can't afford the extra $50 every 6-12 months (6 mo for fluorescents, 12 mo for mercury vapor), or can't maintain that lighting need (can be difficult for those of us who're used to nocturnal snakes), then you probably shouldn't pursue keeping any lizard, turtle, or tortoise (nocturnal geckos aside).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Member Comment
|
10/17/2010 8:13:59 PM
|
|
Floof
|
|
Oh, and I will agree that they are most definitely among the easiest tortoise species to keep! =)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Author Comment
|
10/17/2010 9:25:57 PM
|
|
jesrockz
|
|
I'm not sure how this thread got turned into an instructional on how to keep Russians. As I posted originally, I'm looking for a good home for him. So if you know someone interested, please let me know.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Member Comment
|
10/17/2010 9:33:32 PM
|
|
Floof
|
Sorry, Jes. Was just trying to supply some information, in case you changed your mind or someone interested in him needed the care information...
If I had the accomodations, I'd take him myself. Since I don't, and don't know anyone who wants a Russian, all I can do is wish you the best of luck finding him a new home. Fingers crossed he finds a good one, and soon. =)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Member Comment
|
11/30/2010 5:10:42 PM
|
|
lolafinona
|
|
Hi!
Are you still looking for a home for your russian tortoise? I live in St. Louis and am looking for one :)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Member Comment
|
3/7/2011 1:27:37 AM
|
|
abi21491
|
|
This question has had no activity for 14 days and will be closed by an administrator unless the original poster takes action. Recommended Action: Points awarded An administrator will select responses and assign points at their discretion. Original poster, please close this question out and assign points. If you have any further information in the resolution of your problem, please post it here so that others may learn from it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Member Comment
|
3/7/2011 1:37:12 AM
|
|
luvatfirstrosy
|
|
That is a good question I didn't see where you were located?
|
|
|
|
|
|
You are not logged in. If you would like to participate (it's free!), you must log
in, or Become a Member!
|
|
|
|
Most Popular Tags
Ball
,
Ballpython
,
Bci
,
Behavior
,
Boa
,
Breeding
,
Buying
,
Caging
,
Care
,
Chondro
,
Cornsnake
,
Crested
,
Crestedgecko
,
Eggs
,
Feeders
,
Feeding
,
Feedingproblems
,
Gecko
,
General
,
Genetics
,
GTP
,
Health
,
Heating
,
Humidity
,
Identification
,
Illness
,
Incubation
,
Infection
,
Leopardgecko
,
Mites
,
Morelia
,
Morph
,
Morphs
,
Parasites
,
Python
,
Regius
,
Respiratory
,
Shedding
,
Snake
,
Substrate
|
Latest Questions
|
|
|
|
points:150
|
|
|
|
points:100
|
|
|
|
points:250
|
|
|
|
points:100
|
|
|
|
points:250
|
More Questions
|
|
|
Latest Answers
|
|
|
|
points:250
|
|
|
|
points:150
|
|
|
|
points:100
|
More Answers
|
|
|