Beginner needs some advice please
- Thread starter jimmy
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Hi Jimmy:
Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!
May we know appx. where in the world you are?
Will it be possible for you to have your new Russian tortoise outside? They do much better outside.
If you must keep it indoors, then you'll need to get the very largest tub/bin/viv/whatever that you can possible get. Russian tortoises need a lot of exercise and they need lots of room to wander. They will need a hot spot directly under the light of about 100F degrees, fading down to room temp of about 70F or so on one end.
Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!
May we know appx. where in the world you are?
Will it be possible for you to have your new Russian tortoise outside? They do much better outside.
If you must keep it indoors, then you'll need to get the very largest tub/bin/viv/whatever that you can possible get. Russian tortoises need a lot of exercise and they need lots of room to wander. They will need a hot spot directly under the light of about 100F degrees, fading down to room temp of about 70F or so on one end.
Welcome to the Forum...
Welcome to the Forum 
and we LOVE PICS
You will want to make sure that you offer a well lite up space for 10 -12 hours (uvb and day basking light) you may want to make sure also to provide some shade hiding spots so the tort can escape the uvb if they want to through out the day (perhaps some artificial silk plants would work well or live--which ever works best)...
I would also either use a red or black night heat lamp or a ceramic heat emitter for night time to assure that the temps do not get too cold....
and we LOVE PICS You will want to make sure that you offer a well lite up space for 10 -12 hours (uvb and day basking light) you may want to make sure also to provide some shade hiding spots so the tort can escape the uvb if they want to through out the day (perhaps some artificial silk plants would work well or live--which ever works best)...
I would also either use a red or black night heat lamp or a ceramic heat emitter for night time to assure that the temps do not get too cold....
How cold does your house get at night and are you starting with a baby or an adult? I would leave your daylight bulbs on for 12-13 hours. A simple light timer makes this much easier.
If your house stays above 18 and you are housing an adult, you probably do not need night heat.
If your house stays above 18 and you are housing an adult, you probably do not need night heat.
As mentioned above, tortoises benefit from being outdoors, but if you're going to keep it inside, I recommend the following conditions, with as much time outside as possible.
Ideally, a Russian prefers daytime ambient temperatures in the 70s to low 80s F, with a basking spot of 95-100*F. At night, they seem to prefer it if temperatures go down to the 60s.
My UVA/UVB fluorescent strip light is on a timer, and is on for 14 hours, and off for 10 hours. For a hot spot, each of my Russians has a ceramic heat emitter (CHE). These give off no light and last for ~5 years. They are connected to the same timer as my light, so that the tortoises can experience a cooling down period at night. If I needed to, though, I could leave them on at night as well, since they only give off heat.
Ideally, a Russian prefers daytime ambient temperatures in the 70s to low 80s F, with a basking spot of 95-100*F. At night, they seem to prefer it if temperatures go down to the 60s.
My UVA/UVB fluorescent strip light is on a timer, and is on for 14 hours, and off for 10 hours. For a hot spot, each of my Russians has a ceramic heat emitter (CHE). These give off no light and last for ~5 years. They are connected to the same timer as my light, so that the tortoises can experience a cooling down period at night. If I needed to, though, I could leave them on at night as well, since they only give off heat.
jimmy said:
Completely normal. They are reptiles and shed their skin as snakes do... Except torts do it in bits and can look very tatty. Just leave it alone to rub off naturally
jimmy said:
It's warmer in England than Russia! Just have a secure enclosure because they are diggers and climbers!
It is actually too cold for him to be out at the moment, but in the summer do let him out in the garden.
JoesMum said:
Although Testudo horsfieldii is commonly known as the Russian tortoise, only a small portion of its range is in southern Russia. The other common names of this species (Afghan tortoise, Central Asian tortoise, and steppe tortoise) are probably more accurate of this animal's distribution.
Steppe tortoises are the farthest-north tortoises in the world, and may have the biggest range, too. But there are limits to what they can endure. Like all members of the genus Testudo, and indeed most tortoises, they need lots of sunshine for basking, as well as lots of calcium for their shells.
Testudo horsfieldii, T. hermanni, and T. graeca are all cold-tolerant tortoises, but there is a reason they are not found in northern Europe or Great Britain. Simply put, at that latitude and in that climate, there is not enough sunshine. A tortoise left to fend for itself in an English garden would not last long, because it would not get enough basking hours.
Tortoises can certainly be kept in the UK, and time outdoors is just as valuable there as anywhere else. However, without proper equipment (heaters, lights, substrate, etc.), they would not do well there.
As for nighttime temperatures, Russian, Hermann, and Greek tortoises do have some cold-tolerance, but the secret to the Russian tortoise's ability to live farther north than any other tortoise is that it is an excellent digger. In the wild, their burrows may be a few feet deep and several feet long. They can also cover themselves up with soil or leaf litter. Such shelter allows these tortoises to withstand great fluctuations in temperature.
Ironically, although a human home offers shelter, it also limits a tortoise's ability to control its environment. Because it can't move where it wants to, you have to monitor its conditions for it. Just because Russian tortoises can hibernate in -20*F winters in Kazakhstan, that doesn't mean they can withstand several nights below about 60*F in your living room. If hibernating in the winter, they need temperatures in the 40s F. The rest of the year, they should have cool nights and warm days, or they could get sick.
My comment was a little tongue in cheek, but Russians and Greeks can and do thrive outdoors in the UK in summer given appropriate shelter, sunbathing, etc. It is too cold for full time outdoors at the moment and even where I live in one of the warmest counties it won't be warm enough until June at the earliest unless we have a heatwave.
JoesMum said:
I figured you were probably joking, but I wanted novice keepers reading this to realize that, just because an animal comes from a cold climate, that doesn't mean it lives under cold conditions all the time.
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