This is a story of how a little knowledge and awareness can make a big impact. We normally don't take in Sulcatas; because of their size, we cannot provide proper care. The only reason we stepped in was because a close friend repeatedly saw Ranger stuck in an aquarium with lettuce and improper light. She noticed he simply sat in the corner of his aquarium, digging at the glass to get out. She saw his diet consisted only of romaine lettuce (better than iceberg, but still not good.) She saw he had no hide, poor substrate and wasn't sure if his lighting was warm enough or if it had UVA/UVB. Ranger is one of hundreds of thousands of sulcata babies sold every year over the internet. Like most, he arrived in this home via FedEx, to a family unprepared to provide proper care - but so excited about their new addition. They didn't have a plan for his growth (they can get upwards of 200#) or how best to house him in our cold, wet Pacific Northwest winters once he was too big to be inside. They didn't research how to provide proper nutrition or that calcium is necessary in a tortoise diet. They thought, like so many families, all they needed to do for this new shelled one was toss some romaine lettuce in to him and provide some sort of lamp. My friend and I drove to pick up Ranger and met with his primary caregiver. The man had nothing to say. He picked Ranger up, put him in the bin we'd brought and simply uttered, "OK?" I nodded, said how beautiful Ranger was and kept the other comments silently running in my head. We left the home, put Ranger in the back seat of the car and headed to one of my contacts who is able to care for larger reptiles. Upon arrival, he looked at Ranger. He was surprised to learn the tortoise was 6 years old; Ranger's size is half of what it should have been and the tortoise was very light in weight for his size. He noticed the pyramiding of Ranger's shell, then commented that it could be much worse. What was more concerning than the stunted growth, light weight and pyramiding was that Rangers shell flexed 1/4 inch, like an aluminum can. He is severely calcium deficient. When we put Ranger on the lawn, in front of real food, he looked confused and retreated to his shell. It broke my heart. We left Ranger in the good hands of my friend and will be receiving updates as he progresses. Ranger is fortunate to be in a place where he can become healthier. There is no way to know, right now, what other health effects he has suffered; however, we do know he likely would have perished in his previous environment. We really can't stress enough.... if you are planning on getting a pet, please do your research before hand. Sulcatas are big animals. They bulldoze through things and can be destructive, just by their sheer size. They aren't bad torts; they just can grow so enormous that they'll doze through a wooden fence, ram into and destroy large ceramic decorative pots or let themselves into the house in search of their humans...leaving a poopy trail in their wake. They ARE lovely, friendly animals and terrific pets for those who are prepared to have them long term.
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You adopted a tortoise, now what? Ideally, you've already built a tortoise table; however a large 50 GALLON Rubbermaid bin (4ft long x 2ft wide) will suffice temporarily.
You'll want to consider something larger for the long term...either by connecting two bins, building a tortoise table or some other form of open-air enclosure. Glass or acrylic aquariums are not ideal for Russian Tortoises for a couple reasons... 1) the torts are confused by the glass and will pace trying to escape and 2) these types of habitats are hard to regulate thermal conditions. There are some great examples of tables, pools and cages in the Russian Tortoises, Hermanns and Greeks 2 Facebook group. The substrate should be a mix of organic topsoil (no additives, with absolutely no guano or fertilizers) and coconut coir. It should be damp enough to clump in your hand when squeezed, but you shouldn't be able to ring out water. Many tortoises enjoy digging. Make sure the substrate is at least 6" deep, we provide about 8" to a foot of substrate in most of our indoor enclosures. Provide a warm end (about 90-95F) and a cool end (70F) so your tortoise has the opportunity to bask or cool off. High quality MVB bulbs are the easiest way to achieve this and provide the necessary UVA/UVB torts need. (See posting on lighting). You'll want to include a hide (tipped over pot, small bucket or other place for the the tort to escape), a soaking dish (preferred is a glazed terracotta or ceramic pot saucer) and some things for to keep your tortoise busy during the day. Tortoises are grazers, so be mindful of choking hazards - small rocks, pebbles that can be accidentally ingested. Take your time and shift things around according to your tortoise's needs This little one took her time coming into the world. The extra time in the egg benefited her with an additional gram of weight. She weighed 22 grams at the time of hatching.
The second egg started pipping 2 hours prior to this happening. Active hatching time was 20 minutes, which is a vast contrast to eggling #1. This tortoise was 21 grams and arrived 11/15/16.
The first egg began to crack on Saturday, November 12, 2016 at 11pm. We watched diligently, checking on it every few hours. Over 30 hours later, we live-streamed the hatching on Facebook. Active hatching took 2 hours.
In Late August, Tilly began acting strangely; she was lethargic, her eyes would swell (indicating discomfort) and she would only eat if hand-fed. We rushed her to the vet for a radio-graph which revealed gas pockets in her intestines. The hope was that between infant gas drops, increased heat and soaks, her appetite would increase. The vet also prescribed OptiOmega, a terrific blend of nutrients which boosts activity and appetite. It worked, but not as it had in the past and not to the degree we were hoping. She was eating more; however, her eyes puffed more frequently, especially when walking. The vet suggested a follow up visit for blood work, but first wanted to take another radio-graph to rule out Tilly being gravid (egg bound.) After a couple minutes, cheers came from the back room. Our vet returned with a large smile and led me to the surgical suite, where an x-ray hung from the lightbox. This was by far the best news we could have received. Not only was the mystery solved, but babies were probably in the future. A couple weeks later, she still retained eggs. It was mid-September and there was no option to induce her. Three eggs were expelled; one simply didn't want to come out. The vet sent us home to incubate the eggs and wait for the fourth. Two days later, Tilly pushed out the fourth egg...then proceeded to step on it. The others were already incubating. Fast forward the minimum 55 days and we're waiting for babies.
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AuthorThe Tort Resort is a Whidbey Island based project dedicated to rescue and rehab of smaller tortoise species. Archives
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