Another rescue... "Zoom" the Russian Tortoise.

Okay, this one isn't completely my fault. I swear!

(The following is just back story: feel free to skip it!)

On Halloween, a friendly acquaintance from school stopped by. I'd told her I was going to have one of the boas out for trick-or-treating, and she wanted to see it. We talked for a while, and she mentioned her brother having a turtle. I asked what kind... She said "Desert Land Tortoise". Then she mentioned they wanted to "get rid of it"... Because her 12 year old brother, who'd had this tortoise for three years, wasn't taking care of it properly. (I should mention now--by "Desert Land Tortoise," I automatically assumed that it was going to be a Sulcata.)

We later went on to discuss my coming over to see said tortoise, as I'd promised to help rehome it. Maybe act as a "halfway house" for the little fella if I could work something out. The subject was dropped rather quickly, though, as we didn't have much opportunity to talk about it... Until today. We got out of school about half an hour early due to the tide coming in on our already overflowing river, and a crowded bus full of children meant I was stuck sitting next to someone (oh noo!)--in this case, the aforementioned friend. We got talking again, and, as we came up on my stop, decided that I should just go to her house to see the tortoise--get it over with and all that jazz. So, we did so...

When we got to her house, I was horrified. This 6" (straight carapace length) tortoise was sitting in a dark, 20H aquarium. Its tank was dirty with its feces, and its wimpy, over-used piece of Repticarpet had been pushed to the side completely. There were no UVB or heat lights, and the little thing only had a little, unregulated zoo-med heat pad to rely on for warmth. There was no way I could leave it there and live with myself! So, I decided to do something. The friend and I walked back to my house and started hunting for a decent temporary enclosure. After a good while, I decided to scrub out a 106 quart tub I'd been planning to use for Osiris. Laid down some paper towel, added a shoebox with a hole cut in the side, and a wimpy 60 watt incandescent in Man Ray's spare heat lamp. It works, for now...

So, now I have a 3 year old (probably female) Russian tortoise. MUCH better than the Sulcata I was expecting.. And MUCH better looking than five hours ago!

Meet "Zoom"!

First pic: Overhead shot
Second: Belly shot, before a bath (and scrubbing)
Third: Belly shot, after the bath
Fourth: Full shot of her temporary enclosure.

Nice rescue Taylor!! And a very cute tortoise (with an awesome name ).

It's a good thing you took it in. I must say when I saw rescue I thought it would be really bad, the tortoise's shell is not in terrible condition like I imagined. Everytime I see rescued tortoises the always have severely deformed shells. S/He was lucky and should make a full recovery thanks to you. Good luck!

Thanks, guys!

Katie--I was surprised at the condition of her shell, too. I started reading up on torts after Halloween, and was expecting extreme pyramiding at the very least when I went to see her. I just hope she's as healthy on the inside as she looks on the outside... =)

Wow, I can't believe the difference in her belly after being scrubbed! She's beautiful, I'm glad you rescued her.

She looks good! Luckily it wasn't a sulcata. Are you keeping her??

Congrats on the rescue! I don't know much about tortoises, but am sure it will be in a much better home then it was before.

Thanks guys!

Originally Posted by Nanci

She looks good! Luckily it wasn't a sulcata. Are you keeping her??

I don't know yet. Right now, I'm just making sure she's healthy and such. She probably will end up staying here... I'm kind of hoping my dad takes to her as well as he did Man Ray. (He already claims Man Ray as his, and has been known to feed Man Ray while I'm at school.)