Ok so really long story. I’m 18 males and am about to leave college in about 2 weeks. I have had him for who knows how I long I think since I was 6. My mom got him for me when I got good grades. I live in Washington state where the weather isn’t the hottest unless it’s summer. So majority of the time is on the cooler side. And when I was younger I took him outside but sometime as an irresponsible kid I forgot about him sometimes and I found him with bruises and bumps and scratches on his shell I know. But I literally breaks my heart to the is day since I didn’t know any better. But basically I need a lot of guidance. I’m pretty he is the same age as me, 18. And this enclosure is the biggest I can do considering I have a small house. I know it needs to be bigger but it’s just not possible. He had a way smaller glass enclosure back then but my dad built this for me. So how can I make the most of it? What should I do based on his enclosure?

ALSO his behavior: I noticed I turn on his lamps every morning and he basks in it for the morning. But as soon as I start playing video games he starts waking up and he becomes restless and he could go for hours just constantly banging on the wall leaving marks as you can see. What does that mean and what should I do? He also really to himself. Everytime I pick him up he starts flailing his arms and wanting to escape. During the summers I do take him outside now with better supervision but he just exploring everything. I’m assuming all the banging on the walls is cus he needs more room but not much I can do. Especially during the winter because well, it frickkng freezing outside.

FOOD: so I know it’s bad but I have been feeding him for the last who knows how many years this pellet box turtle diet and I’m pretty sure he is a Russian tortoise. And I know he is supposed to eat greens and dandelions or I’m not really sure what they eat but I when I looked it up I couldn’t find anything on Safeway or normal In stores. What should I do cus that is ALL he wants to eat. Unless one time I got him collard greens but he doesn’t eat much of it. Only sum.

Also please give me tips cus I am going to college and I want it to make it easier on my parents cus I can’t bring home with me obviously. I’m just really worried.

We just got our boy about a month ago and noticed he had a lot of pyramids. I only let him have grass now and some occasional romaine lettuce and some endive. How bad is his pyramiding and will it negatively affect his organs?

I’m also planning on taking him to a vet but I’d love some feedback before I do.

For context, his previous owner could no longer care for him and we have a large yard that could accommodate. I have always wanted a tortoise and he happened to land on my lap. I want to make sure I do everything to give him a good home. He’s 6 years old.

He's been hard at work on his first burrow all summer. Im planning on getting a camera that can go inside for an update. Its already several feet deep + long!

Just a little bragging update on our rescue three years later. Shes been doing so good and im so proud of the growth shes made!

💪🏼🐢💪🏼

I live in Arizona and I found this little guy crossing the road this morning.

Tortoise drawings >:D

I know what they are. But they’re also my “turtles.”

I heard two males aren’t supposed to be housed together. So I’ve been keeping a good eye on them to watch how they behave. They both share food really well. They both share everything in the habitat. The habitat is smaller than I’d want but I’m nearing completion on building a much much larger one. They sleep next to each other, sun bathe together, walk the habitat together. I think they’re gay. lol

I think they’re about 5 or 6 years old now, not too sure. I’ve had them about a year now. They’re siblings. Not sure when behavior starts to shift into one trying to become more dominant.

So im super worried since its my first time having a hermanns tortoise and i have 9 months with him,(he is 9-10 months - ish old) i have everything he need like uvb heat food water etc. So today i squeezed his shell on the sides and was kinda flexible and just a bit soft (not on the top of the shell), but it comes back to shape. Same thing for his plastron. He is active, eats well and drinks water. I saw a similiar post made recently and OP had the same situation, comments said its okay but i think my tortoise is too old to still be slightly flexibly but i might be wrong. I dont know if it was like this before because i never check (please dont judge). If u have any idea if its something serious or harmless please tell me!

found this guy or girl yesterday in a parking lot :( I have checked to see if anyone is missing it, but it seems no one is. I plan on keeping it! I’m not new to to the herp world, but I am new to Russian tortoises. looking for tips & advice for taking care of this tortoise! vet appointment is scheduled. thanks!

i neede more advice in terms of how do i know if my Tortoise is hungry? i literally just got him and i was wondering if he's hungry or not he did Poop and pee already (he ate grass i can see from the poop) i wanted some advice on how do i build a relationship with him cause he's shy (i have a indian start Tortoise i also don't know if it's a HE or a SHE it's tail is pretty small not big so idk)

Hi, it's been 4 years since I have Nori with me but the reason I'm thinking about giving it to someone is that I'm going on a long trip I don't know when I'll be back so if anyone loves tortoise and knows how to take care of them you can msg me!!!

Also she's a little scared of cats so I wouldn't give it to someone who has cats in their home.

Lost my tortoise outside in an area that blends in with his shell. I saw on another tortoise site that someone else used a thermal imaging camera when something similar happened to them. Are there any companies or models anyone on here could recommend? He is a medium sized Russian Tortoise

When i got him they said he was 10 months, buy im not sure, he looks older. How old is he? He weighs 56 grams

This cutie seems to live in my backyard. I have seen him/her randomly in my fenced backyard over the last few years.

The yard is pretty large (about .5 acres) and I noticed that he/she is often in the bushes next to the house. I need to clear those overgrown bushes but I don’t want to leave this guy/girl without a safe space.

Should I try to build him a little house where the plants and bushes were? I am in the US (South Carolina) so it gets pretty hot in the summer. I see him/her out and about in other areas of the yard, but the last time I cleared the plants and bushes up against the house I saw him there and think I took his/her home.

Any ideas you can share would be greatly appreciated. I want to make sure he or she is safe and happy.

Im doing a sepperate post abt this, so my friends hermanns tortoise is 10 months old and its soft, she wants to take him to the vet but tgere isnt any vet in the COUNTRY, what should she do (she doesnt have reddit im helping her)

So my friend got a 10 month old hermanns tortoise and wanted go ask reddit for help but her parents dont allow reddit so im helping her. So today when she was soaking her tortoise, she squeezed the tortoises shell slightly just to check if its hard and she told me that the sides of the shell are flexible/slightly soft and got worried.

She feeds him lettuce, grass, dandelion leaves, and different leaves.

She soaks him every day for 10 minutes with warm water.

She has a heat lamp but not a uvb lamp, yesterday she ordered a new uvb light (t5 uvb light 12% or smth) and it will need a month to arrive.

The tortoise doesnt have any kalcium supplement but she will order some.

The enclosure is 100cm x 70cm and the subtrate is soil and its moist.

I have a Greek tortoise and he's currently in a 24.5x70.5x11.5 cage that used to be a bookshelf and has been repurposed. To make the space look better (and give him more sq footage) I'm wanting to build a new cage. That being said would love any input!

My current ideas:

The ramp would be 43.69 inches long (but at a 37 degree angle so it's only 37 inches across giving him ~6-7 inches of room to get onto the ramp). Does this seem doable? Does anyone have something like this? I feel confident that I could build this, but unsure if it would be better for him. He'd gain sq footage, which is good and IMO it would look better than his cage rn. That being said, if it isn't good for him/what he'd want, then i don't want it.

Things to note: I've had him for ~13 years but he's probably 5-10 years older than that. He's currently ~6 in long and ~3-4in wide. He's quite active and loooooves to climb anything i put in that cage.