My new Russian tortoise :) Now what :P

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Posted by Paco on August 25, 2000 at 09:35:37:

Well, I got my little friend, Dagwood the Russian tortoise. He's an active little fellow, at least when I'm not around. I got him at a Petsmart ::frowns:: I've had him 4 days now, and I'm gonna give him his first bath here in a day or two. They told me not to handle him much the first 5 days, as he's stressed out. I wash my hands before and after I touch him so I don't get any diseases, yet I still eat uncooked cookie dough...Anyways, he is in his outdoor pen from 9 in the morning till 7 at night. He enjoys basking and staring into corners. I move him indoors at night. He just burrows into the Timothy Hay and falls fast asleep. The only thing I'm worried about is I think he trys to escape when outside. He goes into a corner and slowly starts digging. I check on him every 30 minutes or so, so he doesn't have a chance to get very far. However, when at school I won't be able to do this. I think this means that my pen isn't interesting to him, but I don't know what else to put in there. I have 2 water dishes, 2 hidey holes, some ground cover and flowers, a mulch pile, and a Timothy hay pile in there. Everything else is hard dirt. What do I do?? Another problem I have is he won't eat anything I give him. I've given him different types of things I know he is 'supposed' to like, but he ignores it. I've seen him eating some of the groundcover though. I don't know what to do! He's a cute bugger though, when I move him inside for the night, he hides in his shell, then halfway through the journey he practically jumps out of his shell like he is trying to fly/walk. I hope this is normal. Here's the last thing, and I know someone is going to get mad at me for this. He hasn't seen a vet yet. The Petsmart guy told my mom that they were captive bred, so my mom is convinced Dagwood doesn't need to see a vet. I've tryed to tell her that they lied to us, but she still thinks that it is a waste of money. I don't know what to do... Anyways, that's all. He's always in a different place when I check on him, so I think that's good :)

Cheers,
Paco

Follow Ups:

Re: My new Russian tortoise :) Now what :P Leslie 08/28/00 (0)
Re: My new Russian tortoise :) Now what :P kathy 08/25/00 (0)
Re: My new Russian tortoise :) Now what :P Eric T. 08/25/00 (0)
Re: My new Russian tortoise :) Now what :P Alex 08/25/00 (1)
- Re: My new Russian tortoise :) Now what :P Terry 08/25/00 (0)

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: Well, I got my little friend, Dagwood the Russian tortoise. He's an active little fellow, at least when I'm not around. I got him at a Petsmart ::frowns:: I've had him 4 days now, and I'm gonna give him his first bath here in a day or two. They told me not to handle him much the first 5 days, as he's stressed out. I wash my hands before and after I touch him so I don't get any diseases, yet I still eat uncooked cookie dough...Anyways, he is in his outdoor pen from 9 in the morning till 7 at night. He enjoys basking and staring into corners. I move him indoors at night. He just burrows into the Timothy Hay and falls fast asleep. The only thing I'm worried about is I think he trys to escape when outside. He goes into a corner and slowly starts digging. I check on him every 30 minutes or so, so he doesn't have a chance to get very far. However, when at school I won't be able to do this. I think this means that my pen isn't interesting to him, but I don't know what else to put in there. I have 2 water dishes, 2 hidey holes, some ground cover and flowers, a mulch pile, and a Timothy hay pile in there. Everything else is hard dirt. What do I do?? Another problem I have is he won't eat anything I give him. I've given him different types of things I know he is 'supposed' to like, but he ignores it. I've seen him eating some of the groundcover though. I don't know what to do! He's a cute bugger though, when I move him inside for the night, he hides in his shell, then halfway through the journey he practically jumps out of his shell like he is trying to fly/walk. I hope this is normal. Here's the last thing, and I know someone is going to get mad at me for this. He hasn't seen a vet yet. The Petsmart guy told my mom that they were captive bred, so my mom is convinced Dagwood doesn't need to see a vet. I've tryed to tell her that they lied to us, but she still thinks that it is a waste of money. I don't know what to do... Anyways, that's all. He's always in a different place when I check on him, so I think that's good :) : Cheers, : Paco

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