"Black" Russians?

[jkingler]

They are just a different color phase of Russians, right? No other differences, from what I understand, but I could be entirely wrong.

I generally don't find myself drawn to the looks of Russians, but these look so cool to me! And the blacker they are, the better, since the lighter colored portions are the parts that I generally don't care for.

http://www.theturtlesource.com/turtleContainer/RussianADULTtop(2).jpg

How common are these, who breeds these, who has some, do they cost any more or less than the usual Russians, etc.?

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Wow, that is a pretty cool looking steppe tortoise. And that specimen in particular is in really good shape. I doubt if it is an intentionally bred color sport. I suspect it's either a color morph that can appear in any population, or else they originate in some particular part of their range in Central Asia. I don't know, and I would love to hear more from any folks who know more about these. Interesting topic.

 

[Jacqui]

This is Anna. She is one of my "black" Russians.

 

[wellington]

This is Anna. She is one of my "black" Russians.

Beautiful

 

[jkingler]

Anna looks awesome. Where'd you get her, and was she billed as a Black Russian, or just a Russian? I just love the look of the phase/morph/whichever it is that makes them look like that.

 

[Jacqui]

Anna was given to me years ago, by a friend of mine who raises Russians. She however prefers the blondes and has the biggest Russians I have ever saw. Any how, she had Anna and her two "sisters" for several years before she decided to give them to me. The lady before her had these three females for years, until she decided to rehome them. They came in as wild caught animals with no record of where they originated. Sorry.

 

[jkingler]

Don't apologize for giving what info you have.

Anna is quite lovely, regardless. Feel free to post more pics of her. Curious to see her face, plastron, etc., since I haven't seen many BR's (lol, making up terminology) and I'd like to see more of them. =)

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

I'm curious to see which subspecies these "black Russians" usually seem to pop up in (T. horsfieldi horsfieldi, T. horsfieldi khazakhstanica, or T. horsfieldi rustamovi).

 

[Jacqui]

Unfortunately, my oldest daughter "borrowed" my camera at Christmas time and has not yet brought it back. The only other picture I have of Anna is this one, which doesn't show you any more then the first one did.

 

[jkingler]

Again, don't fret, sole contributor! That is an adorable picture of a beautiful Black Russian carapace (and head...and feet!) That is plenty good enough for me...for now.

(Is it bad that I already have a name figured out for my potential future Black Russian? Surely I am not the only person who has a list of names that are just waiting to be used...Right?...)

 

[Kristina]

I would consider my Darya to be a "black" Russian. I don't really think it is a "morph," just individuals that have more black pigmentation than others. Darya is a T.h.k.

Her head and legs are also darker than my lighter colored Russians.

 

[Jacqui]

(Is it bad that I already have a name figured out for my potential future Black Russian? Surely I am not the only person who has a list of names that are just waiting to be used...Right?...)

I have some names picked out for future tortoises. Unfortunately, the majority are names for sulcatas.

 

[jkingler]

Darya is so cool! Haha. Seeing tortoises that catch my eye turns me into a big softy. (I almost said Darya is 'neat' but I restrained myself.)

Thanks for posting the pic, Kristina.

Re: names: I have names for Greeks, Egyptians, Russians... It's pretty bad. I even search the forum to make sure nobody else on here has already used a name I want to use...

jkingler<--turning into a nutter

 

[Kristina]

Yeah, she is a cutie, and a character too. She is the one that always finds a way to escape... Took me two weeks to find her last summer, the little creep. She was living in a neighbor's flower bed, and was actually munching a worm when I found her....

 

[jkingler]

I hear that they are indeed escape artists...Glad you found her!

Considering burying chicken wire a few feet down in my backyard around the fencing and letting it come back up out of the soil so that it comes up and around the brick wall I am going to use for boundary walls. Think that would prevent subterranean escapes? Haha.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Yeah, she is a cutie, and a character too. She is the one that always finds a way to escape... Took me two weeks to find her last summer, the little creep. She was living in a neighbor's flower bed, and was actually munching a worm when I found her....

Tracking them down is half the fun ... but only once you've actually found them!

 

[Jacqui]

I hear that they are indeed escape artists...Glad you found her!

Considering burying chicken wire a few feet down in my backyard around the fencing and letting it come back up out of the soil so that it comes up and around the brick wall I am going to use for boundary walls. Think that would prevent subterranean escapes? Haha.

Actually none of mine have even dug anything close to the edges of their enclosures. I think only a few Russians escape via accidental digging too close to the fence lines or walls. Most often, they manage to escape by climbing up and over. The lip on my enclosures stops any such silly ideas.

 

[Kristina]

I used broken pieces of cement that I got from a house being torn down, dug down and left enough cracks that water could drain but a tort couldn't fit through them. Like this -

You can see the whole start to finish process here - http://s285.photobucket.com/albums/...urtle Enclosures - Outdoor/Russian Tortoises/

The whole pen took a day to make, and because I used recycled materials, only cost $11.

Chicken wire will rust through quickly - make sure to use the PVC coated stuff if you go that route.

---

Most often, they manage to escape by climbing up and over. The lip on my enclosures stops any such silly ideas.

Still to this day have not figured out HOW Darya escaped... I have a 12" overhang!!!

 

[jkingler]

That's awesome! Where did you get all of the recycled materials from? I would love to get some free bricks and such but haven't thought too deeply about how one would go about it.

To stay on topic, those are some beautiful Russians you've got in there! They look nice and happy in there (and full of melanin, too!).

 

[Jacqui]

That's awesome! Where did you get all of the recycled materials from? I would love to get some free bricks and such but haven't thought too deeply about how one would go about it.

To stay on topic, those are some beautiful Russians you've got in there! They look nice and happy in there (and full of melanin, too!).

Check on places like Freecycle, keep an eye out for items laying unused as you drive by places doing remodeling/construction, and even keeping an eye on trash piles.