In search of a name

I have recently found out that my tortoise is a male. One way you can tell is to look at the tail. Males have long tails that wrap all the way to their hind legs and a female has a short stubby tail. Now that I know he is a male I need a name. I noticed alot of other people name their russian tortoise's a russian name, which makes sense, but I'm not sure if thats the way to go. If you think you have a good name let me know. If you happen to find I name, I chose then I'll find some type of compensation. Thanks for the help!

Russian Tortoise Vitamins

As long as you keep the plants you are feeding your tortoise varied then vitamins shouldn't be a problem. However they normally do need a calcium suppliment. You can find these at carolina pet supply or any retile shop. Just make sure that is a calcium and vitamin D3 suppliment. It is ok if it also contains phosphates but not necessary. I use my calicum suppliment usually 2 -3 times a week buy getting his food slightly wet and then powdering some of it with the calcium. There is no set amount to use each time that I have found, so do what just looks good it isn't critical.

Russian Tortoise Hibernation

It is currently summer but I have already decided i do not want to hibernate my tortoise for the winter. I have found conflicting thought on the topic though. So far I found it to be conclusive that you should definitely not hibernate your tortoise unless it is in good health. I also found you should not hibernate it the first five years you have owned it unless it has been hibernated in the past. One should be experienced or at least have had well researched how to hibernate a tortoise. I have read that there are no ill effects of not hibernating a tortoise as long as you are able to keep it warm in the winter. To find out more about hibernation visit one of the links on your right.

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Russian Tortoise Food

Russian tortoise's are herbivores meaning they only eat plants. A list of good plant you can find at a store are: Romaine lettuce,Red and green leaf lettuce, Endive, Escarole, Radicchio, Turnip greens, Mustard greens, KaleCollards, Spring Mix (mixed salad greens), cabbage (on occasion).

Plants and food to avoid are Iceberg lettuce, Bok Choy, All grains (including bread, pasta etc), Dog and cat food, Meat, All human food except what's been listed as "good", and Pellet type foods For a complete list of what they can eat please visit here.

Recently i have been feeding my tortoise black berry leaves (watch out for the thorns on the leaves), ice plant, romaine lettuce, california poppy, strawberry leaves (no friut), dandelion, and celeriac (celery root).

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Russian Tortoise Housing

As of now I have about 25 gallon aquarium for my tortoise. However this is not ideal. Tortoises will never figure out the concept of glass so they run into it. Also the high walls can lead to bad circulation. The best house would have to be a rubbermaid 50 gallon storage container. They are cheap (only about 15 bucks) and are a good size for any russian tortoise.

The substrate (stuff on the bottom of the pen) should not be newpaper, recycled paper clumps, or alfalfa pellets. The best is a mixure of Bed A Beast and sand that is about 2 inches deep. The Bed A Beast can be found at most pet stores or carolina pet supply. It also good to put a pile of timothy hay at one end of the pen so it has a place to burrow and hide. In my cage i also put a piece of bark that stands up so he has a place to hide under.

You will also need a heat lamp. Some of the better lighting is the new T-Rex Active UVheat, PowerSun, and Capture The Sun bulbs. These are used extensively in zoo's. The 100 watt flood is the most commonly used. While they do put out heat you may need to add a ceramic heat emitter to get the right temperature. The temperature should be in the low 70's during the day and in the low 90's for his basking spot. During the night it shoud be in the 60's. The humidity should be about 55%. Also make sure to get a good clamp on light fixture with a ceramic socket that is rated for the wattage bulb you buy.. Home Depot has them for about 10 bucks. Whenever I use a clip on fixture, I always use a "C" clamp to anchor it. The UVHeat bulbs can be bought at carolina pet supply.

An outdoor house is always good if the weather is right. There should always be a place for it to hide and fresh water and shade. Tortoises are escape artists so make sure they cant dig there way out.

What to look for when buying a russian tortoise

First, off i would recommend not getting a tortoise from a brand name pet store such as petco etc. They take poor care of there pets and chances are you might end up getting a sick one. However, if you feel the need to rescue a tortoise that is probably the place to go. Craig's List is a good place to look or any privately owned store. If you plan to order a tortoise from online make sure the site is repuatable and ships over night or 2 day first class shipping to where ever you live.

Secondly, before you buy any tortoise it is good to examine the shell and look for shell rot. If any part of the shell is soft or bleeding then there is shell rot. Also check for cracks in the shell. If the shell feels empty when you pick it up it is a sign that the tortoise is sick. Check the eyes to make sure that they are clear and alert and that there is no pus coming from them or the nose.

It is always good to ask the owner how it tortoise has been taken care of: what do you feed it?, how ofte does it eat?, does it get outside? After buying a tortoise from anywhere is always good to have it taking to reptile vet. This can be quite expensive, about 50 dollars for the visit, 15 to have the feces cultures (to find out what bacteria it has), and 15 for a urine examination. If you think something might be wrong with your tostoise then this is definitely worth it as they will most likely out live you if taken care of properly but not 100% necessary.