My obsession with Russian Tortoises began with Max.
I was looking for a small sized tortoise that I could keep inside. One night while searching the ole list (Craigslist), I spotted an ad for a RT with set up. The woman I “re-homed” him from had purchased him from a big box pet store – sold with all the fixin’s: 20 gal fish tank, wooden half hide log, coir substrate, and a bookmark sized less than accurate care sheet. $125 later, I had a tortoise and stuff I was not going to use.
For our indoor enclosures, here is the set up based on commonly found info…
For 1 adult Russian Tortoise (6-9 inches / carapace dome from head to tail, shell measurement) an enclosure should provide an average of 8 sq ft. A box or “tortoise table” that is (LxWxH) 4ft x 2ft x18in – Russians are good climbers and diggers. A common measurement to use for how high the enclosure needs to be is 3x the length of the tort. Outdoors, you need to consider depth.
We have a custom built tortoise table and a modified a Zoo Med Tortoise House. Although plastic containers work, these take up space in our living room and plastic containers don’t fit the decor, ha.
It took over a year to find the right fit for my torts. I prefer now to use playground cypress wood chips for the substrate or bedding material.
Tort hides are critical. Torts like to feel sheltered and safe. Although I did keep the wooden store bought hide that came with Max, I prefer palm tree husks (they’re free, I live in FLA). Hides should be dark and allow the tort space to move around bit, or so they tell me, j/k.
As long as food is not sitting directly on substrate, the options are endless for food dishes. I have used pet store reptile dishes, slate tiles, ceramic dishes, etc. Bottom line, I use what’s easiest to clean since they often poop where they eat and dried poop doesn’t always come off easily.
It’s a fact, RTs drink H20 and I have the pics to prove it. Again, I have used multiple options for water bowls such as terra cotta plant saucers, plastic lids, etc. What I am liking the best right now are Zoo Med Repti Ramp bowls.
Lighting is critical, RT’s need about 12 hours of light and dark. They need a full spectrum UVB. I use Zoo Med Repti-Sun 10.0 UVB bulbs and I date these and change them every 6-7 months (this is not in accordance with manufacturer instructions, but we noticed a difference in activity levels with sooner replacement). They also need heat bulbs between 75-100 watts; we adjust the lamp height for proper temp using a infrared heat gun.
Lastly, there is debate on if maintaining a humidity box for adults RTs is needed. I say YES! I call this the “sweat lodge”. More to follow on all things Russian and Red-foot tortoise. Happy tortoise keeping.
The Tortoise Keeper 