2 new female Russian torts!

Today I finally picked up our two new female Russian tortoises! Our little testudo horsfieldi herd is now much better balanced.

Meet Jill and Mila!

Their previous owner contacted me about six weeks ago, because her family is moving to Alaska and couldn't bring them along. Yesterday she sent me a new message that if I could get them today, they would be mine.

While setting up their quarantine tub, I let them wander around on the floor a little

These two sweet girls aren't rescues like most of the other torts we've brought home. Their owner was actually doing a good job caring for them. She fed them the right food, soaked them in water often enough, and had good lights. Their shells look good (though I suspect she used conditioner on them, they are so shiny!), they have nice bright eyes, good short beaks, and short claws. They are in quarantine for now, just to be on the safe side, but I don't anticipate any difficulties.

Jill was pretty easy to weigh.

The first thing I do when I bring home new torties is to measure and weigh them to get a base line.

Mila wouldn't hold still long enough to get a good pic of her measurements.

Mila is VERY active, and so it was a little hard to measure and weigh her because she kept trying to get away at top tortoise speed!

Mila - look at how much green is in her new growth. I've never seen this before.

The bigger of the two is just under 6 inches long, and weighs 500g, even. I named her Mila.

Jill - she has very pretty yellow coloring. She is more shy than Mila.

The smaller is just under 5 inches long, and weighs 385g. Her name will be Jill.

The new torts won't get to interact with my others for a few months, but for size comparison, I put Timmy  by them briefly after her bath.

Mila and Jill TOGETHER are about the size of our 'big' female, Timmy. I look forward to letting my little herd interact, once quarantine is over!

Jill exploring a little after warming up under the basking lamp. 

The quarantine bin is about the same size as the aquarium they lived in with their previous owner - 40"x18". They'll get to move into a much bigger home once the quarantine is over! :)

The challenge PLAN is not to take in any new torties now for a while. The reason I kept bringing home tortoises to rescue was that I came across them on my search for a female.