Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bought the prettiest little female Russian this weekend at the Atlanta show. I did some research on turtles and torts before my purchase, but I have a few questions... (Probably more than a few, but we'll start here.

She has about a 4 inch long shell and is definitly a female, do you know how old she might be? She looks very healthy... bright clear eyes, clean looking shell with no abnormalities, very active (or at least she was until last night when we got her home) and not very shy... she ate very very well (on our bed sitting in the sun) right after I brought her back to the hotel.

Now we are home, I currently have her in a large sized guinea pig cage (just for the winter) with a good amount of reptile bark. The first thing she did is bury herself into the substrate and didn't move all night (is this normal?) I have two bulbs above her, one UVB bulb and one basking spot bulb set on a timer. I wrapped some towels around the outside of the cage to increase the temps in there. I have a pile of alfalfa hay in the corner and plan on trying to feed her again tonight. I bought some spring mix salad and some romain lettuce and radiccio to start her off with. I also have carrots and other veggies to include.

In the spring my husband is going to make her an outside pen in our backyard, but with her size will she be ok in the cage for now? What about hibernation? Can I wait until next winter to attempt this? I want to make sure she is healthy before I do something that drastic.

HI,
I haven't had my russian tortoise for very long, but I thought I'd answer your questions as best I can, and maybe some one else will answer as well
I read that the torts sold in pet stores (which are between 4-5" are sold as young torts, but can be upwards or 10 years. I don't know if this is totally true or not. I was told that the male I just adopted (he is 5" was about 4 years old, but I don't know.
My male will burry himself in the dirt and not move all night, and I believe this is normal. They are just "settling down" for a good night's sleep.
That diet sounds good to start. Some of the best foods are weeds, but these are hard to come by in the winter. Dandelions and clover (flowers and leaves) are very easy to find during the warm months. For store bought greens, collard, turnip, mustard, dandelion, and some kale are good. Spring mix is also good, just try to pick out the spinach. Try getting some de-spined cactus pads or prickly pear cactus, these are really good for them and my little guy loves them. He also enjoys radish, yellow squash, sweet potatoe, and cucumber, just to give you some ideas
I have mine in a 55gal. rubbermaid container (~3' x 1.5') right now, but in a month or so he will have a 4' x 2' cage for in the winter. I too am planning on building an outdoor pen for warm months. I think both of ours are big enough to go outside...if not, someone please let me know!
That's great that your tortoise is so tame. Pookie had been mistreated by his original owners, so it took some time for him to trust me, but he does now, and he's a little sweetie! I posted a pic of him in another post if you want to see him. Hope everything works out with your new tort
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~Sarah
1.1 Mali Uromastyx (Draco and Pumpkin)
1.0 Russian Tortoise (Pookie)
8.11.22 Millipedes (9 different species)

I would recommend that you get a rubbermaid container ASAP. Please be carefull with the heat lights and towles. My parents still laugh at my misadventures as a 10 yr old herp keeper. Lets just say that fire is never good!
Anyway, Keep giving as many difrent food items as possible. Also try to provide a hide box. Mine love the 1/2 logs that are on the market. Give her a bath at least every other day.
Was she captive born? If not take her to a herp vet for a check up and fecal check.
Good luck!!!