Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i live in southeast PA and im thinkin of gettin russians.
all i want is something thatcan basicly live outside throughout the winter. russsia is extremely cold so my guesss is that theyd b ok but weve been gettin soemnasty weather over here in pa .would they b ok over the winter if i built them a very good hibernaculum and a outdoor pen type setup .
would a outdoor cage be better or a inground pen ?
is there any type of tortoises i can keep outdoor year long ?

i just got a new house with a big backyard and in looking to make something

I keep Russians outdoors all year in SE Massachusetts and have done so for several years now. I allow them to dig into the earth where and when they see fit. I feed them until they dissappear. They stop eating on their own. I figure that they know how to be tortoises better than I do. I have learned that you must keep the enclosure covered when the weather gets cool. They are VERY good at handling cold, but not cold and wet. I even cover them in the summer if we are going to get more than 2 days of rain. I flip over the water bowls in the winter. I lost and animal last year in the water bowl after emerging from hibernation. I used large 1 inch deep plant pot saucers, but I think the cold made it too hard to escape from even that. THey have no problem with these bowls once they fully warm up. Since they are often dehydrated after the winter I substitute water fruits like water melon instead of bowls of water. This is likely more natural and definitely less dangerous. As they season wears on I switch to a more typical diet.

These animals are from the stans (Afganistan, Terkministan, Karzacstan, etc.). It gets really cold there in the winter but it is a pretty arid region.

Have fun good luck.

Don;t get too bogged down by all these whiny southerners complaining that it's in the 50's and their animals are getting too cold.

Brian

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Brian

"The Earth was not given to you by your parents. It is loaned to you by your children."

1.0 Rhinoceros Iguana
1.0 Argentine Tegu
1.1 Bearded Dragons
1.0 Jungle Carpet Python
1.1 California Kingsnakes
1.1 Children's Python
3.5 Russian Tortoises

Wow thats the first I've read about Russians over wintering so far northeast. Do you know of others? and this year is butally cold with no snow cover. I'd really like to hear how it goes this year hopefully very well. It also is apreciated about the mishap with the water bowl it could help prevent someone from the same. People don't like to share mistakes or accidents. Drowning is very real and easy for these guys they sink like a rock and can't swim.
Heres my "ugly" friend forgive it for not being a tort proper.

what a cute lil' bugger. what kind is s/he?

so the snow and winter weather and evrything is fine ? i was going to dig down a foot or so and set up rocks and plywood to make a den/hibernaculum and stuff with alfalfa type dead plants and leaves to bed and stay warm in and then cover it all and even add dirt ontop the ground level so there a little moutain ..keeping it even warmer under there in the winter . not bad of an idea right?
and for the pond i would make a shallow water hole and line it with sand n pebbles so its not muddy and just do frequent cleaning.
im very siked about this and i cant wait till we start gettin some half decent weather to start building this big beauty in
im going to take video clips and picture on my progress and post them.
any more ideas and precautions and tips would be appreciated /
thanx
ryan

nothings perfect, its just a fast thing i did up on my computer with a crappy paint program . the vertical lines on the walls are becuase im going to use boards a foot wide and 3 ft high , half hammered into the ground leaving a foot and ahalf sticking out all the way around then im going to use 2x4s to drill all in place on outside tops and bottoms to amke all flush and perfect . im going to eventualy built some types of lids as well

I think you should skip the pond part. For a few years I had a pond in the Russian pen all was fine it had shallow incline to get out easy. They never went near it and seemed afraid of it. Then one was missing I assumed got out or removed. Two weeks later she floated up, really quite a disturbing sight. I don't know if she fell in or was pushed in by the male but they don't need a pond and it's not worth the risk to me. The best way to provide a water source I've found is to hollow out a depression put some kind of plastic down mix some cement form a shallow sloped bowl add some strips of screen for strength a little more cement. They last for years its simple to sweep out the dirty water with a broom and refill and they should not be able to drown in it unless they get flipped over and held down. Males are quit fresh but I don't think they are murderous

i see , yes i was thinking of molding something outa cement, almost like the top of a bird bath . i was gonna fold chicke wire all up or get very small holed chicken wire and use that to make a frame or shell of the pond .
it wouldnt so much be a pond anyways i would keep it rather shallow just something to get there feet wet.
it gets rather hot n dry over here in the summer ,(often droughts) so i would like something for him to have the chance to go in and out as he pleases.
good idea
thank you

Re: digging down a foot or so. Russians are demon diggers and can dig tunnels and burrows a lot deeper than a foot. What a lot of people do is dig out the whole enclosure to a depth of about two feet, then line the bottom with some metal or plastic mesh, and then infill it again. And the walls of the enclosure will have to be deeply dug in (or the mesh you put in can curve up and meet the walls). You might get russians that don't dig so far down, but many do, and it would be a shame to build your lovely enclosure and then have them escape from it. The other thing with Russians is that you don't want right angles in the walls, as they are amazing climbers. If you make the corners round,they can't climb up them.
Check this out: http://russiantortoise.org/escape_artist.htm

Nina

My friend who is a marine biologist specializes in turtles. He breeds wood turtles and boxes. After preping his babies; soaks to purge the gut, moistens moss for individual boxbeds... he places his turtles and russians to hibernate in the fridge towards end of October until March. He installed a small air pump into the fridge, ensuring fresh air is available for them also.

With the increasing changes in the climate, more and more people are hibernating their tortoises in fridges, because it's a place where you can control the temperature and monitor your tortoise. It's recommended to use a fridge that doesn't have a freezer compartment, and to use an alarmed thermometer so that if the temperatures goes above or below the recommended levels you are alerted. You don't need an air pump - must opening the fridge door every day for a few seconds ensures enough air exchange. Here's a good article on fridge hibernation:
http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/Refrigerator.htm

And here's an account by someone who uses fridge hibernation:
http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/Refrigerator_2.htm

Nina

"whiny southerners complaining that it's in the 50's and their animals are getting too cold."

Funny. And true. My largest Russian is hibernating in the vegetable bin in the refrigerator until March.

hahahah sweeeet. good idea

SE Massachusetts? I'm in central Mass and DAMN its cold. They must be really digging down deep.

Where exactly are you?