How to Care for Russian Tortoises

Video Transcript

"Welcome to Regal Reptiles. We are going to wrap up talking about our Russian tortoises, Testudo horsfieldii and we learned how to choose a nice healthy specimen. If you want to check his eyes and make sure if he was alert, if he was strong and had clear eyes, if you offer him food the tortoise eats that is really a good sign as well. We talked about housing. My favorite type of housing for these tortoises is our cement mixing bin which you can get at a home improvement store. We use cypress for bedding and if you do use a cement mixing bin, you have to be careful not to have a dog or very small children that are going to hurt or molest the turtles. We talked about lighting, it's very important to have a full spectrum light that is going to give UVA as well as UVB. This is a mercury vapor that gives you UVA or UVB. It also gives them the required heat. Now if you are in a colder area or your house is cool, then you are going to want to add a heat pad. We are going to feed them kale and collard greens and we're going to supplement them with vitamins and once or twice a week, we are going to soak them in warm water. I hope you guys have learned about Russian tortoises today."