Hello everyone,
I introduced myself a few days ago but it was part of the forum that was deleted. I am in Nebraska, USA and I have a Russian Tortoise named Trevor. I have had him for almost one year and am working on getting him onto a better diet. I am not sure how old he is. If anyone can guess at his age, that would be awesome. I don't have a scale to weigh him on, but his dimensions are: 15cm long (not counting legs & head), 11cm wide, and 6.5cm tall (to tallest part of shell). The woman I adopted him from had him for 3 years, so he is at least 4 years old.
Thanks and sorry if someone already responded to me previously asking about his age.
His picture is attached.
--Lisa

LLoks like an adult to me. Certainly not a four year old. The problem with many russian tortoises is that they are taken from the wild. Trevors growth looks as though he has been a wild tortoise for at least 5 or 6 years and then captive reared. The new growth is set far lower than the old growth showing that certain nutrients have been lacking and either/or the growth has been far too fast. This has resulted in the uneven growth of latter years that is shown as a lighter colour. In the wild russian tortoises only eat for around 3 months of the year and so, if brought into captivity and fed all year round this is where deformities come in. I would suggest keeping his feeding regime to a minimum and not looking to feed him everything he will eat as this can be disastrous for tortoises, especially russians.
Hope this helps
And im Clint the prud owner of two one year old Hermanns that i have only had for 4 days

A better picture
Welcome (back) sorry you've had to register again, nice to see you both back!

(07-21-2010 09:59 PM)clintpaul Wrote: [ -> ]And im Clint the prud owner of two one year old Hermanns that i have only had for 4 days 
A better picture
They are lovely Clint - did you have papers with them?
(07-22-2010 12:54 PM)wizzasmum Wrote: [ -> ] (07-21-2010 09:59 PM)clintpaul Wrote: [ -> ]And im Clint the prud owner of two one year old Hermanns that i have only had for 4 days 
A better picture
They are lovely Clint - did you have papers with them?
Yes i got two yellow certificates with the date of birth and there parents uk ec cert numbers.
The lady i bought them off was great she sent me pictures of the parents and the hatchlings before we met up, and on the day i met her at a neutral location, down to her fears of theft which is very understandable and she bought along the two adults to show me aswell. Gave me alot of print outs of care and diet and what i did think was an odd friendship was in the photos the Tortoises were all cuddled up with her pet cats a very nice picture

That's good then, sounds like a good buy.
I deliver mine in person so I can see where they are going to live and give people the chance to ask lots of questions. I have heard people say that if breeders won't give their address out then they are dodgy - what absolute rubbish, I never give my address out unless it someone I know obviously. It's not worth the risk of them being stolen. I don't take the adults though as torts don't like travelling usually.
Yes i got two yellow certificates with the date of birth and there parents uk ec cert numbers.
The lady i bought them off was great she sent me pictures of the parents and the hatchlings before we met up, and on the day i met her at a neutral location, down to her fears of theft which is very understandable and she bought along the two adults to show me aswell. Gave me alot of print outs of care and diet and what i did think was an odd friendship was in the photos the Tortoises were all cuddled up with her pet cats a very nice picture

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(07-22-2010 05:00 PM)wizzasmum Wrote: [ -> ]That's good then, sounds like a good buy.
I deliver mine in person so I can see where they are going to live and give people the chance to ask lots of questions. I have heard people say that if breeders won't give their address out then they are dodgy - what absolute rubbish, I never give my address out unless it someone I know obviously. It's not worth the risk of them being stolen. I don't take the adults though as torts don't like travelling usually.
Yes i got two yellow certificates with the date of birth and there parents uk ec cert numbers.
The lady i bought them off was great she sent me pictures of the parents and the hatchlings before we met up, and on the day i met her at a neutral location, down to her fears of theft which is very understandable and she bought along the two adults to show me aswell. Gave me alot of print outs of care and diet and what i did think was an odd friendship was in the photos the Tortoises were all cuddled up with her pet cats a very nice picture 
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Im about an hour away in the car prob why she didnt visit but she did put me through some heavy interegation on the phone and she was so passionate about the Tortoises. My wife called her on Monday as we knew she had one left and a friend of a friend keeps Tortoises and wanted another so she called to see if it was ok to pass her number on to her and my wife said she had her on the phone for ages telling her about caring for our tortoises and how we should go about hibernation etc lol

Its nice to know there is people who care about the animals and not just the cash
Quote:Im about an hour away in the car prob why she didnt visit but she did put me through some heavy interegation on the phone and she was so passionate about the Tortoises. My wife called her on Monday as we knew she had one left and a friend of a friend keeps Tortoises and wanted another so she called to see if it was ok to pass her number on to her and my wife said she had her on the phone for ages telling her about caring for our tortoises and how we should go about hibernation etc lol
Its nice to know there is people who care about the animals and not just the cash
That's right. If I tried to compete with the local garden centre I could ask a lot more for my torts and still be loads cheaper. The prices haven't changed in 7 years, but so long as they go to good homes, that is the main thing. It's great to get people contacting you year after year with progress reports too. I don't ask for it but lots of people stay in touch which is great.