Rescued Turtle and i need a ID

[KennyGee]

OKay my mom got this from a friend at work that is moving to NY so he gave it to me and I dont know what species this is. He says it a box turtle but i havent seen any box turtle with seratted shell sides.

Maybe its a shell deformity?

Hes so cute! ;d

This is what the poor guy was kept in for a year

 

[Galapoheros]

:drool: You have some kind of imported tortoise! I'm not willing to guess what species though.....OK, maybeeee a Russian tortoise? Whatever it is, you got a good deal.

 

[KennyGee]

Hes little bigger than my hand wich is 6 inches long

 

[Galapoheros]

Looks like a tortoise from here. Well all box turtles have a hinge underneath. They can pull their head in and close the shell so you can't see the front legs and their head. If it can't do that, it's not a box turtle. It's definitely not a water turtle. Can it close the front part of it's shell? Seems like someone would have given you an ID already but it's basically an arthropod forum. Can you load a pic of the underneath of it's shell?

 

[KennyGee]

It cant tuck its legs in so you can see it.

 

[bugmankeith]

It appears he has layers of unshed skin on his legs, you should let him soak in shallow water.

 

[KennyGee]

Yah im doing that every day, do they shed there skin?

 

[Galapoheros]

YEA! You scored a tortoise!!! Not sure what kind though. And, let's seeee, looks like a male,...wait, waaaait, oh, that's it's tail...HA! Just kiddin! They don't really shed much like a snake but every once in a while, their skin/scales will flake off. I'm leaning more and more towards it being a Russian Tort. They don't get very big. I have a short tortoise book. It says they get up to 8 inches so yours isn't as young as I thought. (actually I think it's a female)

 

[KennyGee]

Its a russian tort forsure

 

[Galapoheros]

******rock!

 

[bugmankeith]

Yeah the legs do peel every once in a while. I dont know much about tortoises, are the nails supposed to be long or short?

 

[KennyGee]

I clipped his nails , remember i resucued this guy so this isent my fault , but as u can see thats a ten gallon that he was living in

Hes so freakin cute, i put my finger in front of him and wiggle it and he kinda nudges me finger with his head awwww

 

[bugmankeith]

I bet he is happy to be able to walk around. It's sad how people will get an animal and not treat it right. Did your mom know the tortoise wasn't cared for properly?

 

[Randolph XX()]

Testudo Horsfieldii
i guess he need his nail trimed badly and lot of sun light plus green
grass is the best

 

[kraken]

Build a tortoise table.Its a large "table" with walls for a tortoise.Its better than a cage,and you can position lamps for heat.be sure to feed it plenty of veggies like squash,green beans,turnip greens,and small amounts of kale.Stay away from iceberg lettuce and cucumbers,they have no nutritional value and he will starve.Also stay away from spinach,it has a calcium binding enzyme in it that will lock up the calcium in his body to where his system cant properly utilize it. And if you can find some at a pet store,throw in some prpared tortoise food also.But he needs fresh veggies!

 

[KennyGee]

Yah i had him outside for an hour basking He loved it :razz:
I got him in a temporary 90 qourt long rubbermaid, at least it better than the 10 gallon

Could you give me a link to instruction on building a tort table?

 

[kraken]

I dont have a link,but I read it in a tortoise book.You bauild a 4'x4' table.Its basically a half box on legs.The walls only need to be tall enough t o prevent escape,althoughh the tort couldnt climb a straight surface anyway. Take a 4x4 (half sheet) of plywood,buy some scrap formica or wilsonart(hardware store,its counter top laminate),glue it on to make it water proof.Make the walls at about 16" high,out of the other half sheet.Legs can be 2x4's cut at 32" in length for .Screw them on to the uncover side of the plywood table like legs.Sturdy it by making braces conecting all the legs.fill with substrate(sand peat mix,aspen,your choice) and a few hides,and hang some heat lamps on one side(warm side) and the other is the cool side.This way you can also provide a large soaking water dish. The Barrons book on tortoises has detailed instructions. It was one of these 2 books, cant remember which

http://www.petmountain.com/product/books/501322/barron&
or
http://www.bookfinder4u.com/detail/0764151177.html

 

[Mr_Baker4420]

did you pay anything for it? if not then you just got a free tortoise, for that size anyway, that usually sells in the pet trade for about $150-$200

 

[KennyGee]

nope it was totaly free :} ;P

 

[KennyGee]

This is what im going to start to build tommarra

You think my Tort will love it