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Russian
Tortoise Care Sheet |
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Testudo horsfieldii becoming Agrionemys
horsfieldii |
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 History and General Information -
The Russian Tortoise is one of the most popular
tortoises in the pet trade today. It's
popularity is due to it's small size(4 to 8
inches) and easy care needs. The Russian
tortoise is native to many areas including:
Kazakhstan, Xinjiang(China), Iran, Afghanistan,
and Pakistan. The natural environment is a very
harsh one. It is dry flatland with little
cover. The only cover available is small shrubs
and grasses. To escape the worst environments,
the Russian tortoise will use rodent burrows or
rock caves to escape. They also are a very
capable digger. They love to dig holes and
hideouts of their own. They have a very unique
ability that most other turtles and tortoises
don't have. The Russian tortoise has incredibly
flexible limbs for digging. You will be able to
notice this next time you pick one up. No
matter where you hold them, they can get a claw
on you to push against! The Russian tortoise's
natural habitat is so hot that at times of
extreme heat the tortoise will estivate (go
dormant during times of heat) to avoid death.
In times of cold, the Russian tortoise will
hibernate(go dormant during times of cold) to
escape extreme cold. The Russian tortoise
will hibernate below temperatures of 50
degrees(F) and it will estivate in temperatures
of 95 degrees(F) or higher. |
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General Anatomy -
The Russian tortoise is easily identified by its
round shell. It is described as being as wide
as it is long. It has a low domed shell(for
ease of digging burrows). As with most
tortoises, the male Russian tortoise has a
longer tail than that of the female. The
plastron however, is not concave like most other
male tortoises. The tail is the only physical
way of determining gender. In general, female
Russian tortoises get much larger than the male
Russian tortoise. |
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Indoor Habitat and Care -
The indoor habitat for Russian tortoises is a
very easy.They need a large Tortoise table or
waterland tortoise tub. For substrate it is
usually better to use a thick layer of sphagnum
moss, and coconut husk (Eco Earth) as
substrate. Russian tortoises love to dig so a
thick layer on one side with a thin layer on the
other will work very well for them. Russian
tortoises usually bury in the substrate, but it
is safer to put some sort of hide house just in
case they are too hot but wont dig to escape the
heat. Put the hide house on the opposite side
as the heat source so you can establish a good
temperature gradient so the tortoise has a few
different temperature options to choose from.
Heat and UV light are two other items needed in
a Russian tortoise tank. The wattage of the
heat bulb depends on many things: temperature of
your house, size of cage, depth of cage,
open/closed cage top. UV light is needed to
keep the tortoise healthy. An Ultraviolet light
with a UVB percentage of 7% or higher is
recommended. Daytime lights should be on 12
hours a day. |
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A water bowl the is as deep as the top of their
neck for them to take drinks or baths. Just
make sure that the water is shallow enough that
an overturned tortoise doesnt drown in it. |
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At night have a under tank reptile heat mat on
12 hours to dig down to. Be sure not to allow
the tortoise to lay directly on it or be able to
chew on it. |
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Diet -
The Russian tortoise is an opportunistic eater.
In the captive habitat, Russian tortoises eat a
wide variety of commercial foods- like Muzuri
Toretoise Diet and Greens and Vegtables. Russian
tortoises prefer broad leafy greens and some
fruit, see out Salad chart for proper foods. |
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