Hi

I am getting 2 russian, this weekend. THey are male and female. They are from different homes. I have to keep them outside, but they stayed inside 80% of the time at the old home. Can I put them outside. I have a great setup ready for them. DO they need to be away from one another? How often should I clean the whole enclosure?

This post was last modified: 03-05-2008 07:42 PM by RussianPerson.

you can put them outside. they should be separated for awhile

How often should I clean it?

Linda, How big is your area and where do you live?
Right now it is still pretty cold in some areas to put them outside.
Any enclosure should be spot cleaned daily ( pick up poo clean up old food, clean and refill water etc)
How big are the Russians? I would keep them seperate for at least 6 months. Then put them together only if you want them to breed.

The area is about the size of a cal-king bed. I'm in Sacramento Ca. the high gets up to 75 and low about 55. I may want to breed them

About 4 inches for the male, 5 in for female.

I wouldnt put them outside just yet wait till the lows are in the 60's otherwise they will try and hibernate. You want to keep them seperated for a min of 3 months so you can make sure they are both healthy, and you will want to find a vet that cares for torts and have them checked to make sure they don't have worms. Congrats on your new russians...A great care sheet is http://www.russiantortoise.org it also has a list of plants you can start planting in there outdoor enclosures for food.

They will be going to a vet before i get them.

Thats good!! make sure they check them for worms while they are there

No worms. Healthy. He(vet) said its ok to put them outside. I only can have one though, as they started fighting. I gave one back.