Is this guy a Rusian Tortoise??

[SailAway2026]

We got this ?Guy? Yesterday and we were told her was a Mediterranean Tortise. But after handing out of the forum looking for "best practices". Since temperature needs seem to differ, I wanted to know.

Thank you for your help!

 

[SailAway2026]

Correction: I was asking if he is a Russian Tortise.

 

[TechnoCheese]

Yep, a Russian.
Please give these links a read and come back with questions -
Russian Tortoise Care Sheet
https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Russian-Tortoise-Care-Sheet.80698/
Beginner Mistakes
https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Beginner-Mistakes.45180/
Keep in mind that this tortoise needs a minimum enclosure size of 8x4 feet.

 

[RosemaryDW]

He’s a boy, by the way.

Mediterranean includes a group of several kinds of tortoise, Russians are in the group. This is a group of tortoises that live in very dry areas; you might not think of Russia and surrounding countries as dry but there are some places at high altitudes that are very dry and your tortoise came from there.

Doesn’t sound like your petstore knew how to tell them apart, which means the care information they gave you is probably not very good. Please do read the care sheets mentioned above.

 

[Taylor T.]

Can you post photos of his enclosure?

 

[teresaf]

Very healthy looking little dude!

 

[SailAway2026]

Can you post photos of his enclosure?

More pictures later. And we only used the red light the first night.

I am leaving the uva/uvb light on 12 hours a day 95 on one side 60 on the other.

Not sure how humid it should be. About 40% on hit dude and 60% on cooler side.

Repti carpet on half repti bark on other half.

He had pooped every day. Eating some daily.

I will start weighing him weekly soon.

Will take more pics soon.

 

[TechnoCheese]

More pictures later. And we only used the red light the first night.

I am leaving the uva/uvb light on 12 hours a day 95 on one side 60 on the other.

Not sure how humid it should be. About 40% on hit dude and 60% on cooler side.

Repti carpet on half repti bark on other half.

He had pooped every day. Eating some daily.

I will start weighing him weekly soon.

Will take more pics soon.View attachment 236716

That enclosure definitely needs help. Please read those links I gave you, and make changes accordingly.

 

[SailAway2026]

Will do

 

[SailAway2026]

That is today's project.

 

[RosemaryDW]

That is today's project.

Great!

Repti carpet isn’t a good thing for tortoises; swap to all coco coir or bark when you have the chance. Both will be cheaper at Home Depot or similar.

 

[SailAway2026]

Great!

Repti carpet isn’t a good thing for tortoises; swap to all coco coir or bark when you have the chance. Both will be cheaper at Home Depot or similar.

Done. Lots of great info from all of you. thank you. Wish I'd read all of this before I went to the pet store.

But hey, it's fixable!!

 

[teresaf]

Done. Lots of great info from all of you. thank you. Wish I'd read all of this before I went to the pet store.

But hey, it's fixable!!

You're not alone. We ALL wish we'd had this info before getting our first tortoises....lol. It gets easier with each setup(updates or totally new).

 

[SailAway2026]

So a few more questions... I have found a source coco coir and have that handled.

He has:

• Warm side that is 90-95 with 45-50% humidity*
• Cooler Side that is 65-70 with about 60% humidity*
• Lights (UVA & UVB) off at night, temps don't drop below 60
• Covered cave for hiding

*Humidity changes 5-10% during the day but the ranges are pretty consistent (Managing with Spraying substrate) We are High-Desert Nevada so dry.​

His enclosure is 36" x 18" (W x L) and I will be increasing that soon as I know it is too small, but also plan to have a LARGE outdoor enclosure for good weather days.

Questions:

1. How much should he eat?
2. What can I (Safely) buy from store while I try to grow some food?
3. Are Cactus pads bought online safe? (i.e. 2 Pads - Prickly Pear Cactus Plant Cuttings Live Opuntia)? If so, how often can they be fed?
4. How often should he poop? He pooped the first two days, but I have not found poop for two days. (I haven't had him a week yet). But he is digging around and tossing the substrate so I could be missing it.
5. Is weekly soaking sufficient, as I think he is an adult based upon his size and tail (Long, pointy, carried to the side).
6. I am soaking in 1/2" of 90-95 degree water.
7. How often should the Coco Coir be changed out? And how Deep should it be?
8. Can he be handled twice daily when moving in/out side?

Feeding now as what he was getting at store - migrating to more fresh veggies, but will use below in smaller amounts as well

• Zoo Med Natural Grassland Tortoise Food
• Freeze dried Veggie Mix
• National Geographic™ Tortoise Entrée

Adding to Diet (Want to ad more - see questions above):

• WASHED organic Kale
• WASHED organic Carrot Tops

We are working on an outside enclosure, but it will be for a few hours at a time, not overnight as temps drop too low still... ...and will plant in there for LIVE food. Planned dimensions 5X10.

 

[Taylor T.]

You temperatures and humidity sound pretty good.


I'll answer your questions in the order you asked them:

1. It really varies depending on the calorie density of his food and his activity level. For greens, I'd say my Russian eats about the size of his shell.

2. Radicchio, endive, escarole, chicory, and dandelion are all fairly good choices for store bought greens.

3. Cactus pads bought online are only safe if they are specifically marketed to tortoises, such as these: https://www.tortoisesupply.com/Cactus

4. I'm not really sure. I don't usually pay that much attention. As long as he is properly hydrated I wouldn't worry too much.

5. Yes it is, but more can never hurt. And yes, he is likely about 5-10 years old as he looks like a wild caught tortoise. (5-10 years is usually the age that they take them from the wild)

6. I usually make the water a bit warmer than that, maybe 103 or so.

7. In a properly sized enclosure you never really need to change it, just do spot cleanings periodically.

8. That amount of handling shouldn't cause any issues.


The Zoo Med food is good, but I don't think the other two are ideal. Maybe replace them with Mazuri tortoise pellets.

For the outdoor enclosure, make it as large as possible. Mine becomes very active when outside and uses up his entire outdoor enclosure, which is about 240Sqf. Your planned dimensions are only 50Sqf, so if you can make it any bigger it would be good.

 

[SailAway2026]

Thank you! Great Info.

Why do you think he is wild caught? Is that bad?
Also he has been more active the last couple of days and he bobs hi head every now and then, what does the head bobbing mean?

 

[Taylor T.]

Despite what pet stores say, almost all non baby Russian tortoises are wild caught. This is because they would have to charge a ridiculous amount of money to make a profit after all the costs associated with raising a tortoise to adulthood. It is much cheaper for them to just find and take already adult ones from the wild. If you want a captive bred tortoise you really have to raise it from a hatchling.

Is it bad? In my opinion it's not great, because they are depleting already diminishing wild populations. If you want, you can Google this subject for more information about it. It is quite the rabbit hole though, with many differing opinions.

 

[RosemaryDW]

Being wild caught is not necessarily “bad” for the tortoise itself. He probably has a high parasite load but it won’t kill him and usually isn’t an issue. You can learn more about that later. On the positive side he has eaten the right things in the right climate since hatching. He isn’t pyramided; he doesn’t have MBD or the other things owners have to worry about.

I’m with @Taylor T. about depleting wild resources but what’s done is done.

 

[RosemaryDW]

Head bobbing is usually a sign of aggression. This should diminish when gets a larger enclosure and/or gets used to being handled.

 

[RosemaryDW]

We are working on an outside enclosure, but it will be for a few hours at a time, not overnight as temps drop too low still.

How cold is it? Is it regularly below 65? If so and your indoor enclosure is still fairly small, as it sounds like it will be, you might consider building a heated night box for him. Then he could be outside most of the year.

Also, unless your enclosure is quite large, you can pretty much forget growing live food in it; your Russian will trample and/or eat it to death. You can probably plant some cover/shade plants or keep some edible plants in containers the Russian can’t knock over.