Russian tortoises seem to be one of the most
popular tortoises sold in pet stores. They are fairly easy to care for
and are hardy torts.
If you purchase your Russian tort (RT) from a pet
store the first thing you should do is bring your new tort along with
a fecal (poop) sample to a qualified veterinarian who works with
reptiles, turtles in particular, so the tort can be checked over and
the fecal checked for parasites. Most pet store RT’s are recent
imports that are wild caught (WC) and are usually loaded with them.
Some will fare well for a while and then suddenly their appetite and
activity level drops and illness is inevitable. Best to get them
checked out and treated before illness sets in.
These tortoises are shipped in crates when
imported into the states. They are crammed in with no regard to their
health and well-being. This tortuous method of shipping over stresses
these fine torts and this is what brings parasites and illness, so
it’s really important to have them checked out.
An alternative to buying from a pet store is to
buy a captive bred (CB) tortoise from a reputable breeder. A CB
tortoise may cost you more financially in the beginning, but over all
will save you money in vet bills as they will arrive to you with a
clean bill of health. WC tortoise sell for between $50 and $90 in most
of the pet stores I’ve seen them in and online for about the same
price. A vet visit is on average about $50, a fecal check about $25
and meds probably another $25 or so. So your inexpensive WC tortoise
just from the get go has cost you at least $150 or more and its health
is questionable.
If you purchase a CB hatchling they usually sell
for anywhere from $150 to $175 and will arrive healthy and parasite
free with minimum stress because even if shipped they will be shipped
individually, not piled in a crate with hundreds of other torts. So
this should all be considered before purchasing you tortoise.
Set Up:
The larger you can make the set up for your
tortoise the happier and healthier it will be. So do your best to
provide it with as much space as possible.
That being said if you can’t provide a large
habitat you can keep your RT in a large Rubbermaid type tub (50 gallon
or larger) or larger under bed storage box. Many people build tortoise
tables, which can either be raised up and built against a wall, built
on table legs, or on the floor. I’ll provide some links with pictures
to give you some ideas.
I find the best substrate to be a 50/50 mix of
play sand and topsoil (no additives like perlite, just plain dirt) or
sand and coconut fiber (sold in a brick that you expand in water).
It’s easy to clean up and if some is ingested it is passed. I’ve not
had any problems with it. No matter what substrate you use there will
be somebody out there that has something bad to say about it, so you
need to work with what works best for you and your tort. Contrary to
what some will tell you, the substrate should not be kept bone dry. It
should have some moisture to it. Not enough so the torts are getting
wet, but not so dry that it’s dusty either. I usually leave one end
very dry and the area under their basking lamp I mist heavily daily.
The lamp dries it up rather quickly.
The basking area needs to give them a good warm
spot at about 95° and the other end of their enclosure should be cool
at about 70°. A regular household bulb can be used for the basking
area, but a good UVB lamp must be
provided. This is critical for a healthy tortoise. There are
fluorescent types and there are also combination bulbs that provide
both heat and uvb. Some of the brand names of the combo bulbs are
Mega-ray, Capture the Sun, and Powersun. I’ve found the Mega ray and
Capture the Sun to be most reliable and cost effective and provide the
most uvb. Fluorescent bulbs need to be replaced about every six months
because the uvb depletes over time. Avoid the screw in coil like bulbs
as they DO NOT provide sufficient UVB. I like the convenience of the
combo bulbs since you only need one fixture over your enclosure. At
night all lamps should be turned off to let the temperature have a
normal drop.
When setting up your enclosure keep the cost of
the fixtures and bulbs in mind. A hood fixture may cost $20 - $30 plus
a new bulb about $15. Then you also need to buy a fixture to hold a
heat bulb for basking, which is about another $10. You may pay $40 for
a UVB/heat lamp and another $10 for the domed fixture it goes in, but
you get much better UVB output and you have the simplicity of one
fixture and the bulb lasts longer than six months. If you’re lucky
you’ll have a pet shop or herp society member that owns a solar meter
to check your bulbs output for you.
There is no substitution that compares to all
natural sunlight. If you have a yard and you’re able to provide a
secure outdoor enclosure for your tortoise please do so. The bigger
the better. Plant it with all sorts of edible plants and weeds,
provide a good soaking dish and your RT will be as happy and healthy
as it can possibly be in captivity. Just be sure to provide a secure
enclosure which includes a good cover made with hardware cloth or
chicken wire. Not only are predators a threat to RT’s but also RT’s
are amazing escape artists.
Russian torts diet consists of all healthy
greens. They need a high fiber, low protein diet. Never give your RT
fruit of any kind except for Cactus pear. Fruit has the tendency to
disrupt the gut flora and cause a parasite bloom in RT’s. Following is
a partial list of good greens for your tort.
Dandelion, chicory, endive, escarole, red or
green leaf lettuce, radicchio, romaine, watercress and spinach (high
in oxalates, but over all good vitamin content). The key to a good
diet is variety. Although spinach is listed as a bad food on many
sites the other vitamins it contains offset the fact that it’s high in
oxalates. As long as you provide good variety spinach is a good part
of the diet.
Always provide your tort with a water dish large
enough to soak in. Change the water daily and/or if soiled. Often RT’s
will use their water dish as a toilet.
As long as you are providing your tortoise with a
good varied diet and lots of uvb, supplements aren’t needed. There are
excellent dried powders that can be added to your torts food to ensure
they are getting the vitamins and nutrition they need.
RT’s normally hibernate in the wild so if your do
your homework and get the conditions right your RT can be hibernated.
I’ll provide a link below for instructions. Never hibernate a tortoise
you have had for less than a year, and never hibernate a tortoise that
has been ill or is not in optimum health.
Links:
Tortoise Enclosures:
http://www.picturetrail.com/maguire5700 (click on Russian
torts album)
http://www.russiantortoisepictures.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=965
Hibernation:
http://www.russiantortoise.net/hibernation_journey_orig.htm
Outdoor heated housing:
http://russiantortoise.org/deck_box.htm
For further information and detailed care from
everything on health to habitat to breeding RT’s go to
www.russiantortoise.org
There you will find all the information you will
ever need on keeping these wonderful torts.
