I have recently found a Russian tortoise when I was in Lebanon. The guy in the store said that it just came from kazakhstan. The tortoise looked so cute but it wasn't very happy as it tried to escape from it's box. Since I work in Kazakhstan I decided to buy it and take him with me. Next to Almaty there is a place for Russian tortoises, I had to go there for a wedding once and saw at least 6 on the side of the road.

I want to free my tortoise Fred. He is not happy coz I have an apartment and I have no idea how to take care of him. I made a pretty big box (4' X 3') on my balcony with direct sunlight. He is very active but still tries to escape. I also take him out sometimes and let him do his own thing.

My question is, do you think that he would be ok if I put him back in the wild? I was planning on taking care of him this winter and freeing him next spring. I just hope he didn't lose his instincts or something. Please let me know if you have any tips or comments.

ps: The only thing I can find at the supermarket for him is romain lettuce and carrots. There is nothing in this country!! what else should I feed him. A pet shop gave me some dry food to mix with water. Please help me out, I want him to make it until I free him.

If hes been in captivity for along time you cant release him into the wild again.
if you make a large table top enclosure, and plant grass, weeds and edible plants in their he will be happy as he will have natural grazing and so on.
Then just bring him indoors in a cardboard box when its cold.
Through winter if he hibernates you will need to go through hibernation stages.
But if he doesnt youll have to buy uvb light and heat light for winter.


never feed that dry food stuffits bad.
Feed grass, dandelion, clover, and other weeds.
Romaine lettuce is ok, and so is carrots.

Thanks alot!!! Will do!!!

I was told that he has only been in captivity for about 5 months now. Is that a long time? I like him alot but I just think that he wouldbe happier in his own habitat with other tortoises. Let me know what you think.

I got him carrots and he loves it!! I will stop the dry food. thanks for your help

Hmmm, im not sure if thats too long.
it sounds little, but to a tortoise it could be a very long time.

How large is the tortoise?

Where would you be releasing him? As long as it was an extremely similar area, I bet the would be fine.
Usually the biggest concerns with "re-release" is the possibility of the animal bringing diseases into the wild population. But if it was the same area, it shouldn't be a concern.

His shell is about 15 cm long. I can't figure out how old he is, is there a way to do that??

also I have been told that he is a Kazakh tortoise and not Russian but I have looked online and he can't find anything about that.

I would be releasing him in a place called Talikurgan about 150km from Almaty, it is a place full of Russian Tortoises. It is completely flat with little bushes and grasses growing everywhere. Really hot in the summer time and cool in the winter. I heard it was the only area with tortoises in Kz. I checked it out a while ago, I saw a bunch of tortoises but they were a lot bigger than mine (Maybe 23cm or so). I have attached his pics.

This post was last modified: 09-03-2007 11:58 PM by jimmynm26.

well if hes only 15cm, he could be anything between 2 years old and 6 years old.
I got a 4 year old hermanns whos only 4 inches long

You cannot release this tortoise back into the wild I am afraid - no one can say 100% what the tortoise has been subjected to. As you do not know it's exact history you could be jeopardising both your tortoise and those in the wild. Please try and accomodate the tortoise, a tortoise table with deep substrate and heat/uvb lamp.

Try and avoid feeding carrot as it acts as a wormer in tortoises. Can you purchase seeds and grow your own weeds if things are so sparce there?

Tamie

for entire care you can visit http://www.russiantortoise.org

I would not release him, he has been captive for to long already. I agree with previous posts, build a large enclosure with lots of soil to bury in and then get the uvb bulb and a basking bulb for him. Also there are plenty of sites online that sell seeds so you can plant what he would eat when he was in the wild. Give him some hide spots and if you can find it some timothy hay. Once you get seeds and they start to grow and he gets to know you and his home he should settle down a little.