How to Take Care of Your Russian Tortoise

There are many articles out there about tortoises, each claiming to be an expert in whatever species they like the most. I'm not a herpetologist, but I am an enthusiasts and hobbyist (and breeder) of Russian tortoises, and these are information that I find are accurate in my own experiences.

Russian tortoises (testudo horsefieldi) are wonderful little tortoises with big personalities. Ranging in average size from 5-8 inches long and weighing about half pound to 2.5 pounds, they are the smallest species of tortoises (as well as the most popular pet tortoise); they can be kept outdoors or can do relatively well indoors too. 

Most of the Russian tortoises are wild-caught animals and are very stressed by the time they are brought home from the store. 

It is common for newly purchased tortoises from pet stores to have various parasites, herpes viruses, upper respiratory infections, etc. (Make sure to always wash your hands after handling them.) In contrast, captive-bred babies are usually very hardy and rarely develop problems if their husbandry is good.

Russian tortoises do the best in outdoor enclosures. 

They may stay outside year-round with appropriate hibernating spot, and keeping out predators and rodents. Despite the name, they are also found in other countries like northern China, Afghanistan, and other nearby countries. 

If you have access to a yard, a garden bed can serve as an outdoor enclosure. If not, a bookcase on the floor, with the shelves removed can be an inexpensive indoor enclosure that's also very large. For the most affordable enclosure, a huge plastic storage container is sufficient. Make sure the container is not clear though (as being able to see out of its container will lead to stress for the tortoise constantly trying to go "beyond"). You can also get like a 50 gallon plastic container from Walmart for under $20, just make sure it's not the clear ones.

Whatever kind of enclosure you end up with, it is important that the space has shade and sunny areas at opposite ends if they do not have free range of a yard area. Shade can be provided by plants. I never understood the plastic plants that some people use as décor for the enclosures, why not plant real plants in the enclosure???

I've seen crazy YouTube videos of people feeding their tortoises mixed salad greens from the grocery store. I guess you can do that, but I don't. 

I actually don't feed my tortoises at all. 

They eat on their own, like in the wild. My original Russian tortoise, Oscar, he loved dandelions, clovers, and was absolutely crazy about red Russian kale (go figured!), it probably reminded him of home. My husbandry for Oscar (and my current tortoises now) have always been to mimic their natural environment and habits while as pets.

Also, don't fall for the cutesy videos on YouTube or photos on Facebook of people feeding their tortoises strawberries and other weird, unnatural stuff. 

I've always stated that RT are observational pets. People will tell you all sorts of things like their tortoises loves watermelon and to be held and kiss and cuddle and whatever else — that's irresponsible pet owners, who are probably also what are called "pet-tubers" and "pet-sharers"/"pet-likers". Basically they're doing it for the same reason why someone posts 50 selfies of themselves in one day — for the social media attention and gratification.

As a general rule a male Russian tortoise will not tolerate another male in the same enclosure. It may also harass a female, so many breeders end up only keeping the male with the female for brief periods of time during the breeding season. I do not recommend that you house two Russian male tortoises together since it is likely that the least dominant one will end up injured, flipped on his back, or chronically stressed and susceptible to disease — unless your tortoises have free range of a large fenced in outside area where they can hide and escape. 

Females are typically tolerant of each other, but some can become bullies and cause the subordinate females to hide a lot and become sick from stress.

If you do try to keep herds of Russian tortoises together, provide plenty of hiding spaces and lots of plants so they can easily hide from each other. A larger enclosure provides more variety for the tortoises to explore. Make sure there are plenty of ways that the tortoises can stay out of each other’s sight if they want/need to. The downside to free range of the yard is you have to be diligent with keeping the gates closed at all times (which is how I lost my beloved Oscar).

Russian tortoises can climb surprisingly well, they can also tunnel beneath even better. If the fence is solid, the tortoise will not try to escape. However, if a tortoise can see through the fence (like a chain-link fence), it will focus on those gaps and constantly try to leave. This can result in injuries or even death, so I do not recommend wire or chain link fencing without something that is solid blocking the visual.

Standing water may lead to the spread of diseases and other protozoan parasites. The best way to provide water for tortoises is to be as natural as possible; but in an inside enclosure I do not recommend having a water dish, instead I recommend "soaking" your tortoise a few times a week. A weekly sprinkling of the yard will also offer your Russian tortoise an opportunity to drink, which mimics their natural environment of drinking during rainstorms. I have two saucers in the yard for them to drink from, they're the inexpensive planter saucers that you can get at Walmart.

Russian tortoises are great diggers, and these are burrowing species of tortoises. You should mark the mound of dirt where your tortoise has naturally burrowed under so that it's easy to locate them. When Oscar was ready for brumation last November, I couldn't locate him for 4 days until I dug up my garden and found him during a rainstorm.

Basically, the enclosures for hatchling and juvenile tortoises are the same as the enclosures for adults, only with the enclosure suited to their smaller sizes. 

I absolutely do NOT recommend hatchlings or yearlings to have free range of the yard. Also, they need higher humidity, so I recommend a high moisture soil (you can get the reptile soil bricks that they sell at stores and online, works great). Soaking in warm water every week will make sure that the small tortoise stays well hydrated. Mesh netting may be placed over the top of the tortoise enclosure to prevent predators from getting to the babies when they're outside. Direct sunlight is essential, and even the most expensive light bulb that you're buying is inferior to the sun. 

Since baby Russian tortoises can quickly succumb to ant bites, it is important to thoroughly check the enclosure for any developing ant mounds and to destroy any that is found, especially if it's an inside enclosure.

Round enclosures (such as round cattle troughs that you can buy at farm supplies stores) provide more area to roam than the typical narrow rectangle troughs, but are often difficult to maneuver through hallways and fit into small rooms. 

Hatchlings may live quite comfortably in a 20 gallon container though. Since it takes a lot of knowledge and expertise to properly care for babies of any species, I recommend getting either an adult or a juvenile. People usually want hatchlings or yearlings because they are just so cute and adorable, but then tend to blame the breeders when they die — and the death rate is very high for any baby species.

Different tortoise keepers swear by different methods of husbandry. Personally, good old dirt is an excellent substrate for Russian tortoises. The dirt has to be collected from an area that is not contaminated with pesticides, herbicides, motor oil, or other toxic substances, and is not contaminated with parasites or diseases from other tortoise species. 

Cypress mulch works well for most situations when dirt is not practical, timothy hay or alfalfa hay are often used with small tortoises too. Care must be taken to spot clean it daily and to completely change the substance out at least once a month to avoid mold growth if not an outdoor enclosure. Tortoises will do well on paper towels or newspapers for short periods of time, like when relocating to a new home or traveling, but should not be used as a long-term substrate.

A mistake many people make is to assume a tortoise doesn’t need water. In fact, Russian tortoises in the wild seek out burrows that have a higher humidity than the surrounding ground surface. When kept indoors, you can make a simple “hide box” made out of a small planter or container, filled with damp sphagnum moss and an opening, for the tortoise to shuttle back and forth between moist and dry areas as needed. The moss needs to be changed regularly and needs to be kept slightly moist rather than sopping wet. 

While adult tortoises may do perfectly well without a humidity box during their time indoors, young growing tortoises may suffer from a shell deformity known as "pyramiding" if they do not have access to higher humidity on a daily basis.

As with the outdoor tortoises, standing water that has been dirtied by the tortoise seems to promote certain intestinal parasites. In my experience, soaking is the best way to hydrate your tortoise. 

You cannot replicate all the qualities of natural sunlight with light bulbs. 

Nevertheless, tortoises may be successfully kept under artificial lighting long-term. Ultraviolet-B must be provided by one of the bulbs to aid in calcium metabolism and other important physiological processes. There are many different brands of bulbs that claim to provide this. These should be on for 8-12 hours a day to appear like the sun — which is important to stimulate feeding behavior and other activities in many tortoises. The light should be on 8 hours a day during the winter and 14 hours a day during the peak of the summer. 

It will also need to be provided a warm basking area, where the temperature reach 95°F during the middle of the day. Generally a combination of fluorescent bulbs, incandescent bulbs, and a mercury vapor lamp may be needed to provide the quality of light needed to keep Russian tortoises healthy indoors (if you can, it's best to let them outside for natural sunlight even if they are housed indoors).

Russian tortoises also undergo a period of rest during the hottest, driest days of summer known as "estivation". If the enclosure has plenty of shade and gets regularly watered, a Russian tortoise may remain active at this time. Otherwise it may retreat to its burrow and only be active early in the morning or in the evening before it gets dark.

Hibernation is part of the natural cycle a Russian tortoise experiences in the wild. 

As the day shortens and cooler weather begins in the fall, Russian tortoises stop feeding and seek out shelters (hibernacula) to protect them from the harsh winter. Since a Russian tortoise is a reptile, it is unable to generate its own body heat; when the temperature around them falls, their metabolism also slows. Feeding stops during hibernation because the tortoise is no longer using the same amount of energy as it does during warm weather. A tortoise will often emerge from its burrow on sunny winter days to bask briefly, and may even drink water if it is available, only to go deep back in its shelter if sky turns overcast and the temperature falls again.

A tortoise has to be healthy to survive the rigors of brumation ("hibernation"). 

It also must choose a burrow or other shelter that stay above freezing. If a tortoise lacks sufficient body fat to last through hibernation it may die during this time, or may emerge in the spring so debilitated it is unable to regain its health. If the hibernaculum gets too cold, the tortoise will freeze to death. In some cases, the tortoise will survive brief exposure to freezing temperatures, but become blind or develop other health problems. This spells death for a wild tortoise, but captive tortoises can be cared for with these conditions. 

Hibernation cues the Russian tortoise’s reproductive urges. Captive female tortoises that are kept indoors may not produce eggs that year, and male tortoises may show no inclination to court and mate. It also appears that hibernation is important to maintain a tortoise’s overall health; for captive tortoises that are kept from hibernating over several years, those tend to have shorter life spans than ones that do hibernate regularly.

Captive tortoises may hibernate either in an appropriate outdoor hibernaculum, such as a properly constructed artificial burrow; or in an insulated container kept in a cool room of the house, where the temperature stays between 40 and 60°F. (I had Oscar in a large planter, under about 18 inches of soil, and in the garage.) 

If the temperature is constantly above 60°F in the winter, the tortoise may be active and use up its energy stores too quickly. If the temperature is constantly freezing, the tortoise may develop health problems or even die. Brumation should not be attempted until you are confident with your husbandry skills and knowledge.