Basic Russian tortoise care

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In this video I show you what basic steps are required to take care of your russian tortoise. Please don't think that you are ready to take care of your tortoise after watching this video. Do more research as these are just my opinions, and even though I think they are right, other people might disagree. If you have any questions please leave them in the comment section below.

[@kaiti713]

we just took in a Russian tortoise. my aunts neighbors threw it over their fence and the dogs were playing with it.. poor little guy. the original owners were feeding it literally aquarium and salamander food.

[@RussianTorts]

Man I hate hearing about abuse like that. I hope you guys can give it a good home!

[@jinxd4398]

kaiti dang that's messed up ;(

[@-star_27-20]

kaiti that is sad. I’m very glad that you around to take in the tortoise.

[@starlosa]

Man, I just became a Russian tortie owner because someone abandoned one and it seemed to have wandered into my garden lol

[@Tayrrific378]

Awww bless it 😢

[@alanmyers4951]

Dear RussianTorts, Thank you so much for all your videos on Russian Tortoise. I am going to get a Russian Tortoise. His or her name is going to be Tesla. I think it is a good name for the tortoise. You have helped me a lot. I actually have an 8 page word document with all the tips that you suggested. (except for the sand part. I'm going to use Douglas Fur bark.) But anyways...THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!! YOU ARE THE BEST! Please wright back when you look at this or when you can!

[@masebarker434]

I am so happy to finally subscribe to your channel. I have been watching your videos throughout the last 5 months or so. Now tomorrow I am finally getting my russian tortoise and I am all ready and I know lots of tips thanks to you Russian torts. I am happy to subscribe to you and watch all your videos with Ptulya. You know what you are doing man!

[@domogaming2904]

I love your tortoise, and I just got a little girl of my own, and I love her and want to take good care of her and you helped a lot so thank you

[@susansizemore6344]

I really liked your video! Your tortoise is so active and cute!

[@rxsenbrotherhd1164]

@fuba no u.

[@Jenn-zn6ln]

Thank you, extremely helpful in my research before my purchase of our Russian tortoise

[@modestalchemist]

you could probably put tape around the bottom few inches of the glass so they see a barrier, but you can still see the tortoise through the glass.

[@Andythegreat1121]

I luv your set up and I thank you for all the videos u made to help me out to take care of my tortoise. thanks again and I hope u continue to make vids

[@wendyshaikh4893]

This was a nice video. Thank you for sharing. Patella is really sweet and active.

[@adriendimaano9839]

Barely got my Russian tortoise today and I've been watching videos like this all day

[@deeinny821]

Thank you for posting this....very helpful. Take Care.

[@Andythegreat1121]

thank you i have that same set up with the 4 stone plates and i was just making sure that was a good way to prevent the sand from being consumed thanks and again great bid

[@gager5485]

thx man, great info, it will come in handy

[@emilym9002]

This was a very helpful video! I love turtles and have cared for a variety of species at a wildlife rescue but have recently been considering adopting a Russian tortoise. This was a good refresher on my knowledge before I delve into more research!

[@RussianTorts]

Thank you for understanding that doing your own research is always better than listening to some guy on youtube. I am glad that I was able to provide you a refresher!

[@lukelukemusic]

Thank you. I just bought a tortoise. This has helped.

[@jaydeckard5644]

thank you this will be very helpful when i get mine.

[@domainmojo2162]

My tortoise is free-roaming. I'm in Southern Africa, so I have the Leopard tortoise. My yard is about 420 square meters, and he just walks everywhere he wants to and grazes wherever. I feed him regularly, but I also let him graze around in the veggie garden. He's a lovely little bloke! I can never keep them in enclosures. He's used to the yard and even if we leave the gates open.. he'll never cross that boundary.

[@rurzan]

Very informative, thank you!

[@frankiea3752]

Cool set up! Im getting 1 or possibly 2 tomorrow afternoon. Can't wait. I bought a large box from Amazon to put them in. Was worried about them bumping into the side like yours did...

[@MrBenjordan4]

Hey dude love your tortoise videos. Getting my Russian tuesday!

[@elliegrace478]

this was sooooo helpful !! ive been researching Russian tortoise care recently because im planning on getting one soon n_n ty for this video !!

[@jvibez5180]

Good job I learned a lot !!!

[@donaldtharider4688]

I like your video very informative for me in which I plan to get one next month

[@thekingturtle6111]

thanks man I'm getting one soon this helps

[@alanmyers4951]

This video was quite intriguing. Thank you so much for this video it will help me a lot with my future Russian Tortoise or Greek Tortoise if they have Greek's at Petco but I know they have Russians. But anyways this helped me a lot. Thank you so much!!! I love your tortoise by the way. She's very beautiful. I always liked pale tortoises. THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!

[@sweetestgirlasmr3297]

My tortoise is the cutest thing. She has such cute little black eyes and when she yawns is kills me of adorableness!

[@-star_27-20]

I enjoyed the video! Maybe someday I’ll get myself a tortoise.

[@Jesse-ji9er]

This helped so much thx

[@sammystudio1220]

I LOVE YOUR VIDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@jenniferbeasley2397]

nice enclosure thanks for sharing

[@RussianTorts]

+Jennifer Beasley Compared to my new set up this was really bad. Now she has much more space

[@MakcumPycckuu]

What a great little guy 🐢 👍

[@mamurra22]

Hit the bottom 4in of you glass with paint, tape or flex seal problem solved. You can remove the tape and flex seal FYI. Thanks for the video 👍

[@RussianTorts]

Thank you, I will continue making videos until my camera breaks ;)

[@DavidEdwardBurry]

Thankyou

[@taysoto3497]

thanks u helped me out soooo much now ma mom will listen to me about my two babies now i cant finally get more things to climb on

[@traestutzman1297]

Good vid!!

[@RussianTorts]

No problem, and thank you

[@gamehub2720]

1:35 SUPERMANNNNNNN!

[@daroncreus1333]

your video's are grate

[@sarahlinkey1710]

not grate it is great

[@brianh5010]

What a great video. Thanks for sharing. I'm in the beginning stages of building a habitat from an old bookshelf. My main concern is depth. Since your tortoise loves to climb, is depth a major concern, or are they typically happy with climbing obstacles inside the habitat?

[@laurastanish8610]

Hey I love your tortoise

[@tonyamitchell2143]

She's beautiful!!

[@snakeglade]

thanks! i'll try. :)

[@ollystaines5527]

A really useful video with loads of info, she might have stopped eating the pellets because they weren't soaked in water before hand. Hope this helped.

[@braydenclements6768]

I have a baby russian tortoise and I have found that if you use coconut coir and cypress mulch that works very well and mine don't use its hide at all but you should always have one because they do love climbing and they will climb their hides a lot, and a few bigger rocks they can climb wouldn't hurt. I have rocks and my tortoise spends most of his time on the rocks.

[@RussianTorts]

Well as friendly as tortoises get I guess. If you want a pet to play with don't get a tortoise as they like to be left alone. Mine comes up to the side of her cage when I approach though and doesn't seem to mind being picked up.

[@dontreadmyprofilepicture3768]

I’m planning on buying one

[@bradz1037]

I bought a cinder block from Home Depot for $1.19. It has 2 tunnels that my tortoise loves to walk thru and sleep in. I have also used a long clay piece that can be found in some gardening stores as a boarder for gardens. When I lean it against the side of the cement mixer container it creates an awesome tunnel & sleeping tunnel. The tortoise climbs on top to get closer to the heat lamps. I am lucky. I have a huge window well filled with gravel. The window easily opens so I can leave the tortoise in the window well for a few hours when the temperature is over 70. It is probably 15 to 20 feet across.

[@RussianTorts]

Thank you, hermans and russian tortoises basically require the same care. Many of these desert tortoises require the same care

[@W3stW0lverine]

I turn on the lights when I wake up and turn them off when I go to bed. He follows my schedule roughly. It varies each day, but a little variety never hurts. Walter doesn't mind much. :)

[@a_pufferfish9842]

+W3stW0lverine I'd probaly end up turning it on before i leave for school, I bet they make pretty good pets in college, drop some food in and turn on their lights and their pretty much set! When I get one ill probably have to plan for college pet for it, since they can live 75 years XD

[@andreabumpous5482]

Cool I have a Russian tortoise to

[@koolyoin]

My tortoise is special, she does not like climbing. She is very shy.

[@jessicabogdan2751]

Cool

[@sammystudio1220]

i am gonna get one in a few days

[@brandtmccall5184]

I can see you are taking great care of her, with all the different substrates in the aquarium, good food, spraying her regularly, baths once a month, digging areas. But is her aquarium big enough for her? She seems to like to move around. I think she needs a bigger box to dig in and water to sit in. Overall good job, you really care about your little tortoise friend.

[@RussianTorts]

Yes she needs a bigger cage. In the summer she is outside all the time, in a suitable enclosure. It has around double the surface area for her to move in. So she only spends around 5 months in this cage. But I do plan on upgrading once I move out and have the space

[@RussianTorts]

I have only observed my tortoise in her waterbowl twice, only saw her drink once. It is always filled with fresh water for her to drink out off. You're right you shouldn't need to cut the nails, but it is possible which you stated in your first statement as not being so. I have plenty of rocks in her cage (well as many as I see fit) but once a while her nails grow a bit too long. And its not a myth that they get their hydration from their food (at least in captivity).

[@webscaped]

Great vid, even though I have Hermanns and nice setup! :-)

[@RussianTorts]

While their food in the wild is mostly dry (because of their environment) the food we feed them in captivity is normally really moist or full of water. So in captivity I would say it is safe to say they get hydrated through food.

[@RussianTorts]

Great idea that you want to give your tortoise an area to dig in. I have a video on how to build the digging bowl thing. Just look in my uploads and you should find it there

[@gamehub2720]

i love how its main thought was the alcohol picture on the glass! Im getting a russiantort in october, and i will tink about giving it a bottle of san miguel to stqre at! lol

[@gamehub2720]

leave me alone! *walks back to wine bottle* and dont show me on that camera again!

[@xXRoboticPotatoXx]

GameHub Haha xD

[@gamehub2720]

Robotic Potato hmm, an alcoholic tortoise...

[@justinlajeunesse8315]

In my enclosure, I want to have half substrate like bark and dirt, and one side as paper towel or carpet. Would that be fine? I think it would, and it would be easier. I could have a small tub with substrate on the inside where the tortoise could get in with a ramp or something. It would mainlybe easier for cleaning, though Im worried that it would make one side have too much humidity

[@terrancemiller1157]

good cage healthy tortoise

[@RussianTorts]

I take my tortoise to the vet once a year right after it has become to cold for her to stay outside over the day. This is probably in late september were I live. The vet then checks for worms which tortoises normally get when they stayed in an outdoor enclosure.

[@abanana6733]

Ok this is so weird My grandparents have a girl boxturtle named speedy. They keep her in a relatively large square clear rubbermaid bin. They have a screen covering it (weighed down by bricks). The bottom is just dotted with many large rocks and is filled with shredded paper. They have two bowls, one for food (store bought) and a larger one for it to soak in. They have a regular light bulb over the bin. And that's it. The weird part is she is PERFECTLY HEALTHY! Her eyes are bright, she is active, and she hibernates to add to that! Most people say its normal for a domestic box turtle to have slight pyramiding. She has little to none of it! The only problems seem to be her nails need clipped and her beak is slightly over grown but that's it! Someone explain why she is so happy in conditions that professionals call "bad"!

[@Sophia-eo6ep]

Because over the years we've learned more about animals and people go all out and get every single thing they need which I feel is a bit silly. I feed my dogs cheap food and some people call that "poison". My dog has been eating that for 7 years and he's perfectly healthy. He's an old man now and he's fine, my veterinarian says so. Pit Bulls often get cancer, ( they say their diet is the cause, which is stupid ) and my dog was tested for cancer and he didn't have it, so just because your grandparents don't give their turtle EVERY SINGLE THING THEY NEED doesn't mean it's unhealthy :)

[@xxengineermain6.9youtube82]

A Banana a turtle named speedy? Talk about irony

[@RussianTorts]

I tried covering the bottom half once, my tortoise ended up trying to climb over the covering all the time so she banged against the glass a lot more than she does with just the normall glass wall being there. The dimensions of my terrarium are 120cm by 70cm I think

[@retromakeup6549]

She's a beauty! xx I have a boy and he is only 2 years old, definitely going to have to get a bigger enclosure! (I try to avoid the word 'cage')

[@retromakeup6549]

Oh and my Russian Tortoise likes to parkour, he ignores the steps to his water bowl and climbs via wall to get to the liquid.

[@dragonballztheory1809]

This summer I have to go out of town for 7 days. I have no one to watch my tortoise for that time. What do I need to do? I can not bring him on the plane.

[@ReggieValentino]

Good tip of advice, I would recommend changing your habitat from glass to a solid object, like wood because they try and walk thru the glass and it makes them angry/upset when they can't get thru and they become really stressed :) So I would suggest getting a wooden tort table :)

[@RussianTorts]

I already have a video on this, outlining the benefits and drawbacks of many enclosure types. I am well aware of the glass issue but my tortoise got used to it

[@ReggieValentino]

Haha sorry, I was stupid enough to comment before watching the video and after I pressed comment I heard you talk about the enclosure :)

[@adrienne631]

@@RussianTorts it’s also a ventilation thing. I’m worried mines in a huge glass aquarium yours is not as high which I think Is better. Mine Also doesn’t like the heat as much she wants out n I sleep with her in my bed even but I feel as like she doesn’t like the heat. She basks of course but when she’s done she “riots” to get out n also yea she loves to climb but I had to remove her Hines because when she gets sassy and pissed off she’s just start climbing like crazy like she’s a daredevil and she flips upside down I found her upside down too many times and I’m paranoid of finding her like that and it be too late. Idk what to do. Thanks

[@unknownus3r373]

i am doing research because i want to get my mom a russian tortoise for a surprise because she has been very down lately and she has been wanting one since she was a little girl (its her dream pet)

[@dragonslayer9183]

This was very helpful. Thank you.

[@fishguy43]

Great information I have a Russian tortoise his name is jet lee. I have had him for three years now they are great pets He growing so I will have to build him a bigger house now. any way I learn they like to dig from you video so I will make his substrate deeper . thanks for the information.

[@christopherstone6045]

I like turtles

[@fishguy43]

Christopher Stone the Russian tortoise make great pets they ready do they just require a lot of food they eat a lot.

[@BOBCAT2001ify]

Do u recommend moving are the stuff inside the cage once and a while or do u recommend just keeping it the way it was from day one ,

[@meganmarsh7833]

Question: why is my horse field (Russian) tortoises shell going green?

[@RussianTorts]

I move the stuff around whenever I change the substrate. So twice a year. It is good for the tortoise to not live in the same environment all its life.

[@timetobake3090]

Do you hibernate your tortoise? Because I’m getting a tortoise soon, and I don’t know what to do

[@RussianTorts]

To prevent the sand from getting into the tortoises diet I feed my tortoise on stone (as I explain in the video). I just put four stone plates down big enough for the lettuce leaves not to fall of

[@anarose7193]

If I get a tortoise, how expensive will the vet visits usually be? Thank you I'm very curious because dog check ups can be expensive

[@timdouglas6060]

Those tortiose are cute

[@danielh9722]

Hi there, I'm a massive animal lover, and I'm thinking of getting a Russian tortoise towards the end of this year. To a degree, do they bond with you over time? And is it ok to get just one, or is two better? And, do the lights you use to heat the tank run up your electricity bill a lot? Thanks.

[@princessfunny1018]

mine has seemed to bond with me quite a lot even though I've only had him for a year . It's fine to just get one and the lights don't run up the electric bill that much. Hope that was helpful :)

[@tessa4111]

do I needs different lights for a baby Russian tortoise? And how long should I keep it on?

[@JaredCullum]

Could you just wrap the bottom with thin trim board just above eye level on the sides so they don’t see out those sides?

[@randall7829]

Ya but I used tape

[@donaldhicks5626]

great video, one of the better ones ive seen , why dont you just duct tape the bottom six inches of your enclousure ? also what are the dimentions of your habitat ? thanks

[@michelleburdick9483]

This is soooo helpful. Our baby Herman's died and we're all heartbroken. We're considering a Russian.

[@melissanguyen2413]

would I need to purchase a uv light if I have a room with a large balcony window that faces west? it would get direct sunlight for a good few hours on a sunny day.

[@michellelange171]

yes you would

[@Andythegreat1121]

i hav changed my substrate to half sand and half coco fiber and i hav a set up close to yours and i was wondering if sand ever gets in the food and how to prevent that from happening

[@theriseofanime]

I had mine in a wooden enclosure but she would try to climb out and fall on her back so I put her in a glass enclosure and hasn't run into the glass yet

[@keeganmonkey569]

Love the channel! New sub! :) and do u recommend me getting one? I love reptiles and really want one of these guys! :)

[@RussianTorts]

They are great, not too hard to take care of but a bit on the expensive side

[@keeganmonkey569]

RussianTorts I finaly got one! your advice helps so much dude!

[@RussianTorts]

Nice, if you upload a video i'll check it out

[@keeganmonkey569]

Cool! I'll mame one soon of its setup and tell you when I do so I can get some feedback! :)

[@Dubcongaming]

So it has to stay in that corner to be warm? You need a roof on that to keep the heat in.

[@BOBCAT2001ify]

O and is 12 hours of light sufficient or is it alright to keep it on for 24 hours? Also is it good for it to get 12 hours of light so they can get some shut eye for 12 hours

[@raymarcorrea1645]

Ps did you put the pick of wine so she can see that it’s glass

[@newtscamander2461]

You didn’t show us the outdoor habitat? Also: what are the dimensions for your indoor habitat?

[@typalexandra]

what material lays in the plastic bowl-kinda thing?

[@jeffreykrisko8629]

OK thank u do they give u anything for the worms when u go and does it work?

[@typalexandra]

oh okay. i got my little russian tortoise juvenile yesterday! its still quite shy and start breathing heavily when i pass the enclousure. I let it rest for a couple of days now. He/she seems to like digging, so im thinking of getting a bowl with earth in, so it can dig around. How do i build the "earth-bowl" to get it easy for my tortoise to climb out of it? how have you built yours? =)

[@petsgalaxy267]

Your tortoise is as cute as mine

[@youarekind4114]

I really want a tortoise, what tortoise do you think is good for a beginner?

[@stortrut]

How do i clean the poop if I have barn insted of sand

[@jeffreykrisko8629]

When you take the tort to the vet what time of year do u take him?

[@Sabrina_Biina]

Did the setup effect the electricity bill ?

[@stasavraam7958]

I am planing on getting a Russian tortoise but i don't know if it is the correct type of tort for a first time "tortoise keeper" What do you think?

[@portal0442]

4000th subscriber 😀😀😀😀

[@RussianTorts]

I just saw!! Super pumped about this