Re: Russian/hingeback tortoise

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Posted by nathan on June 27, 2002 at 09:16:20:

In Reply to: Re: Russian/hingeback tortoise posted by Cat* on June 26, 2002 at 18:18:38:

unfortunately, if you got them from Petco, they are wild caught animals. Hingebacks are almost never heard of captive bred, just now becoming noticed where a few people in the US have had success. There is no chance a 6+ inch hingeback was captive bred, or bought at Petco.

They also do indeed have very very different needs. Hingebacks do need to be in a humid forest environment (just think of the name, "Forest hingeback"), and russians need to be in a hot arid dry environment.

Russians tolerate extreme cold, but only in the abscence of moisture.

Turtles and tortoises can survive for a long time under adverse conditions before they show signs of illness. Unfortunately, this leads people to believe they are caring for the animal properly until it is suddenly very very ill and sometimes too late to save.

Besides the fact that you are putting two so geographically desparate species together, and housing one or the other improperly, you are putting them both at risk, as in tortoise terms, the hingebacks and russian imports are the most likely to be filled with parasites, worms, bacteria, flagellates, and other infectious problems that WILL spread to the other eventually.

And beyond disease and climate problems, a mature male russian is an extremely aggressive animal. If they decide they are in the mood, they will relentlessly hound their target until they successfully mate. Russians have hounded females to death with their advances, and many keepers keep the males separated until supervised breeding can be set up.

Terry's information was 100% correct and accurate. You would do well to listen to her advice, and the advice of EJ. I hold both of their experiences with husbandry, and their relationships with vets in high regard, and can think of few people who would give better advice.

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Re: Russian/hingeback tortoise Cat* 06/27/02 (1)
- Re: Russian/hingeback tortoise nathan 06/27/02 (0)

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: unfortunately, if you got them from Petco, they are wild caught animals. Hingebacks are almost never heard of captive bred, just now becoming noticed where a few people in the US have had success. There is no chance a 6+ inch hingeback was captive bred, or bought at Petco. : They also do indeed have very very different needs. Hingebacks do need to be in a humid forest environment (just think of the name, "Forest hingeback"), and russians need to be in a hot arid dry environment. : Russians tolerate extreme cold, but only in the abscence of moisture. : Turtles and tortoises can survive for a long time under adverse conditions before they show signs of illness. Unfortunately, this leads people to believe they are caring for the animal properly until it is suddenly very very ill and sometimes too late to save. : Besides the fact that you are putting two so geographically desparate species together, and housing one or the other improperly, you are putting them both at risk, as in tortoise terms, the hingebacks and russian imports are the most likely to be filled with parasites, worms, bacteria, flagellates, and other infectious problems that WILL spread to the other eventually. : And beyond disease and climate problems, a mature male russian is an extremely aggressive animal. If they decide they are in the mood, they will relentlessly hound their target until they successfully mate. Russians have hounded females to death with their advances, and many keepers keep the males separated until supervised breeding can be set up. : Terry's information was 100% correct and accurate. You would do well to listen to her advice, and the advice of EJ. I hold both of their experiences with husbandry, and their relationships with vets in high regard, and can think of few people who would give better advice.

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