How To Care for an Indoor Russian Tortoise

Russian tortoises make appealing p

The Russian tortoise (Testudo horsfieldii), also called the Afghanistan tortoise and the Russian box turtle, is a small, gentle-natured tortoise that makes an excellent pet. These tortoises rarely exceed 10 inches, and feature carapaces that are attractively patterned in yellow, bronze, and brown. Although the ideal home for a pet Russian tortoise is an outdoor pen, you keep this tortoise happy and healthy in an indoor cage. By providing the proper diet, environment, lighting, and temperatures, you can help your Russian tortoise thrive indoors.

Things You'll Need

• Plastic food storage container, 50 gallon capacity
• Play sand
• Garden loam
• 100 watt UVB floodlight
• C-clamp
• Reptile cage thermometer with probe
• Timer for lights (optional)
• Ceramic heat emitter (optional)
• Vitamin and mineral supplement for turtles
• Cuttlebone
• Large water dish

Instructions

1. Use a 50 gallon food storage container to make a lightweight, inexpensive, easy-to-clean enclosure for your Russian tortoise. For a substrate, or floor covering, use equal parts play sand and garden loam.

2. Use a 100 watt UVB floodlight, affixed to the top of the container with a C clamp, to provide light and heat for your tortoise. Keep it on 12 to 14 hours a day.

3. Monitor temperatures to make sure they stay within recommended ranges, using a good thermometer with a probe. The bin should have a "cool end," with temperatures in the low 70's, and a basking spot with a temperature of 90 to 95 degrees. Temperatures should drop into the 60's at night. Setting the lights on a timer may be helpful in controlling and maintaining heat. You also may need to use a ceramic heat emitter for additional daytime warmth. Don't use electrically heated rocks, or "hot rocks," because they can cause burns.

4. Feed your tortoise all the greens it can eat in a 20-minute session every day. Offer a wide variety of fresh greens and weeds, including romaine lettuce, endive, escarole, chicory, spring mix, and dandelion. Kale, mustard greens, rhubarb and spinach should be offered sparingly. Other healthy foods include hosta, sedum, hibiscus flowers and leaves, forsythia, cornflowers, an occasional carrot, and roses that have never been sprayed with pesticides. Don't feed your Russian tortoise iceberg lettuce, fruit, bok choy, peas, beans, grains, meat, dog or cat food. You also should avoid pellet foods, as they interfere with the metabolism of calcium and vitamin D3, crucial in helping your tortoise maintain a healthy shell and bones.

5. Give your Russian tortoise a vitamin and mineral supplement made for turtles, and keep a cuttlebone in the cage so your tortoise can ingest calcium as needed.

6. Bathe your turtle weekly, placing it chin-deep in a dish of lukewarm water for 20 minutes in order to prevent dehydration. You also should mist or sprinkle the substrate at one end of the cage to keep it moist, and provide a dish of fresh water large enough for your Russian tortoise to crawl into.

References

• Russian Tortoise: The Russian Tortoise Care Sheet
• Turtle Rescues: Russian Tortoise Basic Care
• Austin's Turtle Page: Russian Tortoise