Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Tasty Tortoise Tuesday :)




I know I haven't posted much about Czarina (Russian Tortoise). I wanted to give her time to settle in and get bolder and more comfortable with me before going all paparazzi on her lol. I was trying to get a nice profile pic of her but she wasn't too happy with me holding her like that lol.






You can see her size here since I'm holding her. The tan lines around the darker patches are getting bigger which is good. Means she is eating well and developing. She will probably grow another 1 -2 inches in length.



Turtle soup??? LOL I soak her for 15 min on Mon, Wed, and Fri. This way she get the water she needs. She actually is a very clean tortoise and will do her business in the water and not very often in her tank. She never is all that happy about being in there lol.


Up close and personal lol. Once I move a bit away she starts walking around the bowl trying to figure a way out lol. She isn't quite as outgoing as my sister's Greek Tortoise Tommie. But my sis has had Tommie longer than I've had Czarina.




She gets fed Mon-Fri and occasionally Sat or Sun if she gets very active over the weekend. It was a proud moment when she actually walked right up to the glass and stomped her little feet letting me know she was hungry.




On the menu collard greens (they were out of turnip greens which she prefers), romaine lettuce (she also likes red leafed lettuces) and her all time favorite dandelion leaves. I normally can get the dandelion leaves at Fiesta but they have been out the last couple of weeks, so got this batch from Whole Foods (organic anyone lol). I also sprinkle on a bit of calcium powder to help with her shell and joints.


I normally give her more food than she will eat in one sitting since she likes to graze in the morning and I normally feed her around 5pm.



Here she is munching away. She is now a good little eater who is finally realizing I'm not going to hurt her so she doesn't have to hide when she sees me. It really is so cool seeing her become braver and settling in nicely.



Hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday :)

35 comments:

Martha and Bailey said...

Nice to meet Czarina - she is the very first tortoise we have met!
It was interesting to find out what she eats etc. - we really haven't a clue!
We look forward to more posts!
love
Martha & Bailey xxxxx

Dru said...

Thanks for sharing. I didn't know they eat regular people food such as greens. Kind of cool.

Khyra And Sometimes Her Mom said...

Nice to meet woo!

I don't think I've met a tortoise befur!

I'll share my toad pal with woo!

Hugz&Khysses,
Khyra

♥♥♥ The OP Pack ♥♥♥ said...

Thanks for all that sharing about Czarina. We learned a lot. We are amazed at how much food is there. How long will that last her?

How do you know she is a she? BOL

Woos, the OP Pack

Marianne Arkins said...

So cool!! I don't know much about tortoises so this was fun to read.

Dory and the Mama said...

What a cool post!! Hi Czarina, you are a very kewl turtle/tortoise friend!!I am so very glad to meet you!

Smileys!
Dory

Mollie Jo and Bobo said...

Thanks for sharing....This was an entertaining and informative post. We both learned a little something about turtles today. She is very cute.

Wags and Licks,
Mollie and Bobo

AL said...

Thanks for letting me know who Czarina is...I can't figure who it is, since your blog page name is Czarina's corner. I was thinking if it is a dog, a cat, or you...now I know it's a turtle and she is so cute and funny when you wrote she stomps her feet when she's hungry LOL. Thanks for sharing about Czarina and say hello to Nanuchy for me.

AL

Anne-Kathrine said...

Thanks Martha & Bailey. She is a good little girl who didn't come from the best circumstances. Already she has come a long way in the last 6 months.

Anne-Kathrine said...

Thanks Khyra, and Im pretty sure she's never met a husky before lol. She really is a very easy pet to have and easy to maintain.

Anne-Kathrine said...

Thanks Dru. Yep some also like zucchini and squash. I might be trying that in a while to see how she likes them.

Anne-Kathrine said...

Thanks Op pack :) She will eat about 3/4 of it in one sitting then munch on and off most of the rest.

Well I was told she is a female, something to do with the way her tail and bottom shell look like in that area lol.

Anne-Kathrine said...

Thanks Marianne. I've always love turtles and tortoises. And living in an apt she is the perfect size and very easy to maintain. She can live anywhere from 30-50 yrs. So def a long time pet lol.

Anne-Kathrine said...

Thanks Dory. Im so happy you enjoyed meeting Czarina. Funny thing is when she is out eating one of my cats (Pirata) and my sister's dog both find her facinating (but not in a Im going to hurt you way).

Anne-Kathrine said...

Thanks Mollie & Bobo. Turtles and tortoises are such cool creatures and they go back soo far. They really look very much like the first ones ever in excistance!

Anne-Kathrine said...

Thanks Al. I'd mentioned her about 6 months ago when a friend of someone I know gave her to me. But haven't really posted pics since then, wanted her to settle in first. It really is sooo cute when she does that lol.

Def will say hi to Nanuchy from you. She really is doing amazing!

Melissa McClone said...

Loved the pics and seeing all you do with her! I gave my nephew a Russian tortoise for Christmas a couple of years. They don't do nearly anything close to what you do, but Yoshi seems to be fine. He's really attached to my nephew who turns 8 next week. The two should be together for a very long time!

Kasha said...

I'm so jealous! I want a tortoise! I tagged you (please see my blog). You don't have to participate if you don't want to. Maybe you could do it about your tortoise!
Kasha and Africa
http://trainingboerboels.blogspot.com

Anne-Kathrine said...

Thanks Kasha. I'll check out the tag :)

She is small enough that she doesn't need a lot of maintance and I'll have her for a long time (unless she gets sick).

Anne-Kathrine said...

Thanks Melissa. Im really enjoying Czarina. I used to have 2 red eared slider turtles (swimming ones) and loved them (had to release since Pebbles kept getting out of my 125 gallon tank to walk around the apt lol.
I also had a leopard tortoise who I ended up returning to the breeder since he was going to end up about 30-50 lbs in the next few years and I don't see myself out of an apt by that time lol.

Brandy said...

Wow, thanks for the information on care and feeding! You take good care of her! I hope Czarina realizes how lucky she is to have you for a Mom!

Anne-Kathrine said...

Thank Brandy. She is a good little girl and of my crew def the easiest to maintain. The best part is seeing her getting braver and really coming out of her shell (well not litarely LOL).

Astrid said...

Nice to meet you Czarina! You sure are a cutie and my momster loves that you eat collard greens! YUMMMM!!!

Kasha said...

Anne-Katherine,
I am pretty flattered that you considered my dog for your sister. Please let e know if there are any questions I can answer.That is exciting. I wish I could babysit your tortoise sometime. He is too cute. Don't worry about doing the tag if you don't feel like it. I was just doing what I was told. LOL!
Kasha and Africa

Anne-Kathrine said...

Thanks Brownie. Im pretty partial to her too lol. She will eat the collard greens but def prefers turnip greens lol.

♥MONA + MOMMY TOO♥ said...

I am so happy Czarina is settling in. She is beautiful!!

{{{huggies}}}....Mona

Anne-Kathrine said...

Thanks Mona. She's a cute little girl who is learning that life can be good :)

Scout 'n Freyja said...

We think it is cool to have a tortoise fur a friend but would they go outside and catch balls with us or maybe play with the kitty mousies? They look real tired.

Anne-Kathrine said...

Thanks Scout & Freyja for stopping by. Unfortunately Czarina is a bit small for balls and playing. She leads a very simple life of eating and sleeping.

I do know some bigger tortoises who actually will play with balls!

Paula said...

Hi, I really like your blog! Love,love,love the dogs! And I used to have a turtle too. He/she, we never knew, is still alive, she lives at my mother's (20+years old, the turtle, not my mom!) Mine eats fruits too, doesn't yours?
Thank you for the time, beautiful pictures and text you share with us!
Greetings from the Netherlands!

Mack said...

What a cutie!!
My mom LOVES turtles of all types.

Anne-Kathrine said...

Thanks Mack. I totally love Turtles and Tortoises. If I had a house with a yard I just know I'd have more lol.

Anne-Kathrine said...

Thanks Paula. I love sharing my babies! She doesn't realy eat fruit, have to be careful since it has more sugar in it than it's good for her. I used to have 2 red eared slider turtles (water turtles) they loved blackberries!

Cool Netherlands! It has been many years since I went there to visit!

Kasha said...

Hello!
I am more amused with Czarina than my own dog. What a great post to learn a day in the life of a tortoise. I am curious where you got Czarina's name from. That is fascinating in itself!
Kasha and Africa

Anne-Kathrine said...

Hi Kasha, lol I tell you I could spend hours watching her eat, she's so cute lol.

Well I wanted something special for her as far as a name goes, so since she is a russian tortoise decided to go with Czarina, which is Empiress lol. Big name to live up to LOL>