Question about your enclosure. What type of wood do you recommend to create the sides and bottom of the enclosure? I learned so much from your video and there are definitely things I am doing wrong and have much room for improvement. One clear thing is I need to create a much bigger enclosure for my Russian tortoise.
I'm a Russian woman, I live in Kazakhstan. These turtles live in the south of Kazakhstan. You have a great terrarium. I think your pets live very well with you !!!
great video! many people see these creatures as easy to care for since they don’t seem like needy animals but there’s actually a lot that goes into caring for them. i’ve had two russian tortoises, i learned a lot from my first one and i wanna make sure i’m doing everything right the second time around. this was a big help! my tortoise is currently in a glass terrarium but now i feel inclined to make a wooden enclosure with plexiglass. thanks so much for putting all this information out there, keep it up buddy
So I live in south central Texas, if I were to leave a Russian tortious outside once big enough. Is that better then leaving it inside? It does get fairly hot here. In the summer we easily reach 110 on a daily basis.
I live in Central Texas also!!!! I have a Russian tortoise and I'm thinking about moving him outside once it gets warmer here. He's in a 60 gallon now, but he loves being outside and our temperatures here are about the same kinds of temperatures Russian tortoises are used to. As long as you have shared hide areas that the tortoise can go into to get cool during the day and a good sized water dish and possibly a heated box/hide area in case Texas wants to be crazy as always and you have a random night where it gets a little too cool, then you should be good to go!
One thing though, is if you leave it outside, I'd suggest setting it up so that the tortoise is covered. We have one of those big chain link dog kennel things in our backyard that has like this canvas tarp covering over the top, and I'm thinking about moving it to a grassy area and setting it up for him so that he's in a fenced enclosure so that Hawks and the bigger birds around here dont try to get him, but also so that he doesn't go to close to our fence where our neighbor has three dogs that could possibly get to him if he got too close.
My family’s Russian recently passed away, since he got sick and the vets couldn’t do anything to help. I’m devastated. These videos (old as they might be) bring me some comfort knowing we did everything we could correctly in regards to husbandry. My mom took it the hardest, but I’m still distraught. Love these videos, thank you for this info. I think we’ll eventually have another, just to see what we can do even better for the little guys. ❤️
I have two of them speedy and snickers I am pretty share that speedy is in his twenty’s and snickers is a teenager they go outside during the day in the summer and during the night nd winter in a huge baby pool I feed them tortoise food some hibiscus Romain lettuce dandelion snickers loves the flowers and speedy does not grass and a little pumkin during the fall I also have pure cypress mulch speedy loves to dig in it he would burrow himself in it and snickers will walk a over him they get some small pieces of strawberries they only get that once a year I got them from my teachers son he had them for a long time and they had no calcium I give em it once a month and speedy has two burn like marks on the bottom of his shell they are big they love to dig like a small pit or shallow in the ground and snickers does that a lot and do they shed there face scales cause speedy face scales are shedding I am scared that he is to dry but I give them a scrub once a week and I love them to death I want to get them a knitted cozy for Christmas they have a heat bulb that has uvb and heat bulb and they love that to I have a water bowl and they NEVER drink from it speedy is usually in it and it is nasty they get the cypress in it and it is nasty they get it dirty in seconds so when I get them out they get the water bowl and they just run over it they get a bulb during the day when they aren’t outside and they are are underneath the bulb and outside they have about five hours outside of sun and they do not eat the pellets but they eat the carrot pieces in it or the hibiscus in it and speedy is always the one eating the pellets and snickers eat the carrot pieces I give them water I mist the lettuce for water and they like to get there chin scratches I clean there shell ever time they get a bath and they run a lot ! Speedy got his name for a reason on time outside we lost him for an HOUR! Thanks that is the care for my torts and speedy he try’s to breed with snickers and he does it a lot in the winter and snickers does NOT like it at all and the other thing is thanks for the great video bye !
This was an absolutely awesome care video! Excellent ampunt of information and such a great set of information for basic care. Thank you for this and for being so thorough!
He's just got a big tank, and multiple tortoises. I have one tortoise with a good sized basking lamp on one end of a 60 gallon tank, and he does just fine with it. If you have a huge enclosure I'd definitely recommend another basking lamp, but if you just have an okay sized enclosure and one tortoise, then one should definitely do.
This guy is really good we need to get him more subs also a tip for shelled reptiles you should try get better audio for your music at the start of the vid
When I went on this vid and was watching it thought he had lots of subs but he doesn’t!!! So I went ahead and subscribed because I want to see more from him. For saying I’m obsessed with reptiles and getting a Russian tortoise soon. I also just started a RU-vid channel about reptiles but I only have 1 sub but I like helping other small Channels and you really should have way more than 1k
This was a really helpful video! I wish you had shown visually some of the objects and supplies you were talking about. Maybe do a DIY video about some of the structures you can use for your tortoise? I think it would be really helpful!
This is true. UVA, or some of it anyway, does get through. But vitamin D is synthesized from UVB rays, not UVA. So glass prevents vitamin D production. Acrylic filters out only very little UVB, so acrylic is a better choice. Even standard fine mesh window screen can filter about a third of beneficial UVB rays.
Actually they are from Russia as well, the southern part at any rate that's where they get there name from , but you are right that they're a middle eastern species
the russians whom invaded the areas in Kazakhstan etc. took the tortoises back as pets which is where they get their name from. but yes they are now in southern areas of russia because of this.
Thank you so much for being so thural; your video has been 10xs more informative than any of the books I've read & what little info my vet has provided me. Keep up the good work!!!
@@michellegrossbach3641 , I'll do my best to help you with this little fellow. First the good news, if he was sick usually (not always) BOTH eyes would close up. Now you speak of maybe sand in his eye. I of course don't know your substrate but I hope it's not pure sand (which they often ingest by accident and can cause many issues) So here is my advice for the eye : Give him a warm bath daily this soaking allows him to water his eye externally to remove possible object. Second, run water over his head very low intensity, so to hot startle him (might withdraw head). This warm water will sooth him as well. Making sure with mild flow of water not to impede his nostril breathing. Last bit of good news Russians as a breed are very tough... so his recovery should happen. Please let me know either way. I do hope this helps you and your pet.
If you keep your tortoise enclosure in your room, I haven't noticed much of a temperature change. It might go up by two degrees at most, which is nothing to worry about. But I guess it could depend on how powerful your light bulbs are.
This was amazing I just bought a Russian toirtose today for my bday so I need to rewatch them so great how u put the video together u have a new subscriber
Hi. Can you tell me how deep to bury the fencing around the perimeter and how tall the walls need to be for Russian turtles? Newbie here. Thanks for such an informative video!
I know this video is two years old but I got one for my son today I have a question the uvb and the heat light do I turn them off at night are do they stay on all the time ?
For feeding variety and also ensuring the safety of environment this is a great resource: www.thetortoisetable.org.uk You can download to your phone so even offline you always have a quick reference to look up whether a plant is safe for your Horsefield/Russian tortoise. There are also other apps, I just really like this website and the information that you can easily access via without needing a WiFi connection.
As a new Russian tortoise owner, I have been advised by a staff member that it is preferable to use bottled water for my pet due to the presence of chlorine in tap water. However, if I choose to use tap water, I was recommended to purchase Zoo Med ReptiSafe Instant Terrarium Water Conditioner as a water treatment solution to remove the chlorine. I haven't personally used it but It does seem like a good alternative instead of using a lot of water bottles in the long run :)
I just bought a Russian Tortoise. My family's first pet. I keep seeing information saying I have to hibernate the tortoise. Now I am worried because I had no idea that was part of the care. I think you said they don't have to hibernate towards the end of the video but can you elaborate please. Also, great information in your video. We have a tank but nothing covering the outside. Is covering the outside a must? What happens if we don't cover the outside? Our Tortoise seems to like looking out at us. He will sometimes climb on his log and just sit there and watch us if we are sitting band watching TV.
Great information cuz our tortoise has decided to go on a hunger strike.. but I will go by the Timothy hay.. if you have any other ideas, that would be great I tried everything even the mazuri food.
Thanks for the video! I’m getting my niece a Russian Tortoise for Christmas. She’s a responsible pet owner, and she’s discovered a new love of reptiles. Question: do you leave the bulbs on at all time for your Russians?
Tenziie I have about a 30 gallon tank for my tortoise although it mostly depends on how big they are I’d say if they are over 6 inches 30 gallons and up long so about 3 and a half feet
I've owned a few Russians torts over the years and I'd say that I'd recommend maybe 4 x 2 ft enclosure! Although younger and juvenile can probley do alright in a 40 gallon. Not many torts enjoy glass though, so watch out about that! I do alot of enrichment and hides, so they have choices, along with a water bowl. I feed them some hay, dark and light greens, sometimes small veggies (etc, carrots, squash) and use reptical and calcium nearly daily! I also sprize the food with water sometimes too! I feed them a decent/small amount every day for adults, but I've heard you can do 3x a week if being done with larger portions. Hope's that helps!
There is no indoor "care"- that should be considered abuse. If temporary indoor for various reasons, the best substrate is a garden soil: sand mix in 1:1, with lots of abrasive stones.
Ive been watching a ton of different videos and yours are by FAR the best! You're half the age as some but twice as informative and interesting! Bravo!!
dont really have time to watch all of this- but ive got some questions 1. so i had an incredibly wild snake before getting my 3year old tiny russian tortoise, i havent seen her drink, I have seen her eat plants tho. But not the (i forgot the name but the hay looking stuff they need) and that makes me worried, what should i do for that? 2. i havent seen her be active i have really only seen her tryna borrow without coming up again and 3. i havent seen her eating off of her uh whats the word, the calk(??) stone google says that shes stressed beacuse of lighting but i have a UV and UVB light at the top of her terrarium-? and a varming lamp with a stone underneath
I know this video is a few years old but I have an urgent question, I'm taking in a russian tortoise from a friend who doesnt want him anymore and takes pretty poor care of him, his enclosure if extremley small and has no hideout, he was also supplied with no UVB light what so ever and was never let outside. Im getting him next week and was wondering what I can do to help him get back to a healthy state?!
LOL as far as half logs go, And it might just be my tortoise but I have three logs in his enclosure and he loves the smallest one which isn’t too small for him but he is very snug inside of it and basically he never uses the nice big ones. Also I wanted to add instead of building a tank or buying an Expensive terrarium I used a giant kid pool like the big 6 foot round plastic ones That thing worked awesome and only cost me like 20 bucks
Sometimes it causes them stress to be handled. Even if you're gentle and you've had them for years, some of them will still get stressed enough when you handle them that they'll go to the bathroom like that. Mine usually does it once I soak him.
I have one Russian Tortoise right now. He is not very active and he sleeps all day, I think I am not soaking him enough but I was wondering if getting him a friend would help him out with being more active?
Man you should be a turtle doctor I just got a Russian turtle and need this information and my need your help later. So keep me in mind this turtle and me need your help. I live in Michigan.
Thanku so much! :) great job on this video, very informative. So I'll be adoption a full grown female very soon. I'm getting all the indoor enclosure set up soon before I get her. I'm hoping I'm covering all the areas of things I need for her. The lights set up is the only thing that's a little confusing. Any tips for me would be great. I do look forward to more of your videos. Thanku :)
I just got one and he's not very active, I have forest floor mulch and he just the other day he literally borrowed himself into the mulch in a corner for the entire day, he doesn't go in water bowl much either, how do I keep in the bowl for a bath, and do you have any other tips?
