Russian Tortoise Containment?

[YellowTurtle01]

Hi,
I have a Russian Tortoise (Elmo). He is only a year old, so not very big. He used to live in a glass terrium, but my mom decided it would be good to get him something a little bigger so we got him a ZooMed Tortoise House. It's very big and there will be room for Elmo for years, but he insists on continuisly banging himself against the wood! He gets a lot of exercise, has a healthy appiteit and goes outside every day. Does he need a bigger enclosure?
Thanks,
Delaney

 

[JoesMum]

How big is Elmo and how big is the house?

Russians need lots of space, preferably outside. An old bookcase on its side with the shelves knocked out and lined with a shower curtain under the substrate makes a good next step enclosure.

 

[hunterk997]

How big is the tortoise? It would help because size and age don't always go along with one another unfortunately. Is it just one zoo med tortoise house? If it is, it may be too small. You can fix it by buying a second one and adding on to it, I think it allows for that.


Sent from my Ipod using the tortoiseforum app

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Hi,
I have a Russian Tortoise (Elmo). He is only a year old, so not very big. He used to live in a glass terrium, but my mom decided it would be good to get him something a little bigger so we got him a ZooMed Tortoise House. It's very big and there will be room for Elmo for years, but he insists on continuisly banging himself against the wood! He gets a lot of exercise, has a healthy appiteit and goes outside every day. Does he need a bigger enclosure?
Thanks,
Delaney

Hi Delaney.

Where in the world are you? Instead of citing the tortoise's age, many refer to it's length and weight. How big is your Russian? Where did you get him?

When he "goes outside every day" do you let him roam the yard or does he have his own tortoise area?

If he is banging on the zoo med house he probably wants more room. Can he have a super big outdoor area and maybe only be brought into the zoo med house at night time?