Hello I purchased a Russian Box tortoise from Petco pet store in Boson, Massachusetts USA about 2 ears ago and recently she seems to have gotten very fatter or bigger and she is acting strange, scratching a lot more and she seems to be very very active recently, she eats well and I vary her diet. I started looking for answers and came across the term, gravid on the website: http://www.tortoise-protectiongroup.org.uk. I think my tortoise may be gravid she is displaying what seem like signs and the weather has been hot and humid, she has been moving around actively scraping downward to the bottom of her enclosure for about 2 weeks now, then she walks about wildly even after I place fresh food in there. I am going to get more substrate, she already has a heat lamp and fresh water after I will add more substrate and see what she does but if I need to call a vet can you tell me what it typically cost for eggs to be induced? What kind of cost am I looking at, no one at Petco ever mentioned this could happen at all. When I bought her about 2 years ago she was in an enclosure at Petco with other tortoises and the staff was unsure if they were boys or girls. I knew she was a girl after I got her home cause I looked it up info online. I never knew she could or would ever produce eggs alone, I really do not want her to have egg retention. I was just laid off so I need to have some idea of the cost of a vet visit, for an xray or possible indiction or other possible cost scenarios. I plan to call the vets number they gave me when i bought her at the pet store. Thanks

Hi Chrystal, 

There isn't a Russian Box?

Here are some care sheets for a Russian tortoise:-
http://www.tortoise-protection-group.org.uk/site/87.asp

and a photo to ensure this is what you have.

When you say she is digging is she scraping the substrate with her front
legs or rear legs?


May I ask what enclosures you have for her please and what lighting you use?
What substrate you use?
Also what is the temperature under the heat lamp and at the cool end of
your indoor enclosure?

Sorry for so many questions

Kindest Regards
Darren

If tortoises get too hot in the wild they dig down to a cooler area. Russians will dig tunnels in the wild to escape the heat in summer and the cold in winter.

Does she have hides to go in? or plants she can hide under?

Laraine