Small, hardy, and personable, Russian tortoises (Testudo horsfieldii) have become some of the most popular chelonians among reptile lovers. And because they are easy to care for, they often make excellent pets for reptile-keeping novices.
But as with any tortoise species, Russian tortoises, also commonly referred to as Horsfield’s tortoises, will only thrive if provided with suitable care. So, here’s everything I’ve learned about caring for and maintaining them as pets.
Enclosures
The first step in caring for any animal begins with providing a suitable enclosure. Fortunately, this is easy to accomplish with Russian tortoises who thrive best when given the chance to bask in natural sunlight. However, since this is only possible in places with a suitable climate, most keepers will find it easier to house their tortoise indoors.
Outdoor enclosures should provide at least 8 to 16 square feet of space for one or two individuals. The enclosure can be fashioned from a variety of materials, including wood, cement, or metal panels, but the walls of the enclosure must penetrate below ground level for at least 12 inches to prevent the tortoises from digging escape tunnels.
It is also important to provide a shaded area for the tortoises and to enclose the pen with a wire top to protect the inhabitants from predators.
Indoor enclosures can take a variety of forms. Aquaria are not ideal, as they are heavy, fragile, and fail to provide sufficient air exchange. The glass walls may also stress the tortoises, which can become stressed by transparent or reflective materials.
Instead, it’s best to opt for custom-made enclosures, repurposed stock tanks, or commercially produced “tortoise tubs.”
Environmental Conditions
Once you’ve established a suitable enclosure, you can focus on providing suitable environmental conditions.
Temperature
As with most captive reptile species, Russian tortoises will thrive best when provided with a thermal gradient or range of temperatures. You can establish this by clustering all the heating devices at one end of the enclosure.
There are two primary types of heating devices you can use for Russian tortoises: heat lamps or radiant heat panels.
The former provides light and heat, which is helpful, but the latter allows for more precise temperature control (when used in conjunction with a thermostat). Radiant heat panels often cost more money initially, but they last longer and are typically more energy efficient.
Whichever device you use, be sure to monitor the temperatures with a digital thermometer. The temperatures should range from 90 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit under the heating devices to the mid-70s at the cool end.
Temperatures should be allowed to fall to the mid-60s Fahrenheit at night if possible.
Humidity
Russian tortoises should be kept in relatively dry enclosures to match the low humidity level of their natural range.
However, these tortoises spend long periods of time underground, where humidity levels are high. Accordingly, they should be provided with frequent baths in shallow water and given one or more slightly damp hiding spots.
This is especially important with young Russian tortoises, as dehydration can lead to pyramidal shell growth.
Lighting
Russian tortoises reared outdoors do not require special lighting. However, indoor-reared Russian tortoises require full-spectrum lighting, meaning that the bulbs or tubes used must provide visible light, as well as light in the UVA and UVB portions of the spectrum. This is critical for their long-term health, as the tortoises use certain UV wavelengths to produce Vitamin D and absorb dietary calcium.
There are two types of lights that can accomplish this: fluorescent tubes and mercury vapor bulbs.
Fluorescent tubes do not produce heat, making them ideal for use alongside radiant heat panels. By contrast, mercury vapor bulbs produce heat and full-spectrum light, which means they can satisfy your pet’s heat and light needs.
No matter which style of light you use, be sure to replace them regularly. Generally, manufacturers recommend installing new bulbs or tubes every 6 to 12 months.
Substrate and Enrichment
There are a variety of substrates you can use for your Russian tortoise, including natural soils, custom soil mixes, commercially produced tortoise substrates, and tortoise-safe wood products, such as cypress mulch or orchid bark.
Each option presents different benefits and drawbacks, and keepers often try multiple options before deciding which one works best in their specific circumstances.
In addition to providing your tortoises with an appropriate substrate, you must also include several hiding spots in the enclosure. This will help prevent your tortoise from feeling stressed, provide another way the tortoises can thermoregulate (adjust their temperatures as necessary), and give your pets a high-humidity environment that’ll help ensure proper hydration.
You can also include visual barriers and cage furniture, such as rocks and logs, to provide mental stimulation for your pets.
Dietary Needs
Russian tortoises graze on a variety of plants in the wild, so keepers should provide a diet comprised of an array of vegetables and naturally growing plants. Also, rotate the foods regularly, as this will help prevent nutritional imbalances.
The occasional cricket or earthworm can be offered, but it is not necessary. Indeed, a diet that is high in protein is bad for tortoises and can lead to health issues such as kidney stones, digestive issues, and obesity, and can also disrupt their ability to absorb calcium.
Always ensure all foods offered to your Russian tortoise have been rinsed in clean water and are free from pesticides, insecticides, and herbicides. I recently came across DBDPet Tortoise Hay which is sold nationally in 24oz bags. It is essentially second cut Timothy hay and is suitable for tortoise to eat as well as burrow.
Safe Foods and Toxic Foods
Some of the best foods to feed a Russian tortoise include:
- Collard greens
- Mustard greens
- Turnip greens
- Escarole
- Endive
- Green and red leaf lettuce
- Romaine lettuce
- Spinach (in small quantities)
- Spring mix
- Shredded carrots
- Small pieces of squash
- Radishes
- Small pieces of parsnips
- Dandelions
- Non-toxic grasses, such as Bermuda
- Commercial tortoise foods
Avoid feeding your Russian tortoise:
- Fruit (most fruits are non-toxic, but the sugar content is not easy to digest)
- Mice and other animal-based foods (as these are rich in protein)
Supplements and Vitamins
Most tortoise keepers sprinkle supplemental calcium on their pet’s food once or twice per week. Some tortoise keepers forego this and instead, like me, provide pieces of cuttlebone. My tortoises consume a whole cuttlebone within a couple of weeks, nibbling away as necessary. Not only does this ensure they consume additional calcium, it’s a great way for them to trim their own beaks.
It also recommend providing a vitamin supplement (typically in the form of a powder sprinkled on the food) once per week.
Health Issues
Russian tortoises are generally healthy animals, making them great pets for beginners, and they don’t display many health problems. However, there are a few things that owners should be mindful of.
Respiratory Infections:
Stress, pathogens, lack of heat and light and excessive humidity can cause tortoises to suffer from respiratory infections.
These can quickly prove deadly, so prompt action is necessary, especially if you see a discharge from your tortoise’s nose, eyes, or mouth or if you see your tortoise exhibiting laboured or open-mouthed breathing.
Ensure the enclosure temperatures are set at 90 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit, then contact your vet.
Dehydration:
While Russian tortoises hail from relatively dry grassland environments, they spend lots of time underground where the earth is moist. So, when keepers maintain excessively dry enclosure conditions or fail to provide enough drinking water, the tortoises can become dehydrated.
You can spot dehydration by noting things like sunken eyes and skin that doesn’t quickly snap back into place when pinched. Mild dehydration can be corrected by providing more drinking water and more frequent baths, but serious dehydration requires your veterinarian’s assistance.
Obesity:
Many Russian tortoises become overweight or obese in captivity. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to notice this kind of problem in tortoises, so you’ll want to monitor your pet’s weight regularly and have your vet perform regular physical exams.
Routine Care and Monitoring
While Russian tortoises are low-maintenance pets, there are several things you’ll need to do regularly to enhance their life expectancy, such as:
- Monitor the enclosure temperatures every day. Make sure that the warm end of the enclosure provides access to temperatures of at least 90 degrees Fahrenheit while the opposite end of the enclosure is no warmer than the mid-70s.
- Visually inspect your tortoise several times per week. This includes checking for injuries or signs of illness and verifying that your pet is thriving.
- Record your tortoise’s weight regularly. Record the weight of young growing tortoises once per week. Adults don’t grow much, so they may only need to be weighed once per month.
- Clean your tortoise’s enclosure every day. Remove any shed skin, feces, or uneaten food. Periodically, you’ll also need to break down the enclosure, scrub the walls with a pet-safe disinfectant, and replace the substrate.
- Wash and refill your tortoise’s water bowl each day. Use plenty of hot, soapy water when washing the water dish.
- Feed your Russian tortoise five to seven days per week. Young tortoises require daily feedings, but mature adults will thrive if fed five or six days per week. Use your tortoise’s body weight as a guide.
Some keepers provide Russian tortoises with a two- to four-month-long brumation period (the reptilian equivalent of hibernation) each year.
This involves fasting the tortoises for several weeks to empty their digestive tracts, and then lowering their enclosure temperatures significantly. Light levels are also reduced during this time. Later, typical temperatures and light levels are restored, and feeding is resumed.
However, other keepers find this unnecessary, arguing that brumation is more likely to cause harm than help a tortoise’s health. Because brumation is a tricky endeavor, it is best avoided by novice keepers, unless instructed otherwise by their veterinarian.
Handling and Behavior Management
Russian tortoises typically don’t mind interacting with their keepers, but it’s important to avoid stressing or injuring your pet in the process.
Socialization and Handling
Russian tortoises don’t really require “socialization,” but it is important to note that captive-bred and long-term captive individuals are less likely to become stressed by interacting with their keeper. So, be sure to give newly imported individuals plenty of time to adjust to their new homes before you begin trying to handle or hold them.
Similarly, fresh hatchlings also become stressed easily. Keep handling to a minimum, and always ensure that young tortoises always have places in which they can hide and feel safe.
On the flip side, well-acclimated Russian tortoises are often some of the most personable members of the entire turtle clade. They can often learn to accept food offered by hand, and many will learn to respond to their keeper’s presence.
Behavioral Issues
Russian tortoises rarely exhibit behavioral problems, such as biting. The most troubling behavior you’re likely to see from your tortoise would be him or her emptying their bowel while being held.
Occasionally, two tortoises may not get along well and engage in physical confrontations. When this happens, it is best to separate the tortoises and begin housing them separately.
Breeding
Russian tortoises are often considered one of the easiest tortoise species to breed, though there is some work involved.
To breed your Russian tortoises, you’ll need to have at least one mature male and one mature female, but most breeders maintain large groups of these tortoises. Some breeders have found that hibernating the tortoises prior to breeding attempts is helpful, while others have found hibernation is unnecessary.
A few months after mating takes place, Russian tortoises may begin to deposit eggs. Some tortoises produce only a single clutch per year, while others will produce multiple clutch. In both cases, the clutches are small and comprised of two to three eggs.
Eggs can be incubated at temperatures in the high 80s Fahrenheit, but it is important to note that incubation temperature influences the sex of the hatchlings. Low temperatures produce males; high temperatures produce females. Depending on the temperature the eggs are incubated, the eggs will generally hatch in about 8 to 12 weeks.
The young should be reared in small “tortoise nurseries” for the first few weeks before being transferred to enclosures that are like those of your adults.
Citations
- Canadian Journal of Zoology – Detection of multiple paternity and sperm storage in a captive colony of the central Asian tortoise, Testudo horsfieldii
- Folia Biologica – Ecological niche differentiation among three subspecies of the vulnerable Russian tortoise Testudo Horsfieldii through its distribution range
- Tortoise Trust – The Horsfield’s Tortoise: Testudo horsfieldii
- RussianTortoise.net – Breeding Russian Tortoises
