Russian Tortoise (T. horsfieldi)

 

 

Typical Patterned	High Yellow

 

The Russian Tortoise has been in the pet trade for many years but only recently have concerted efforts been made to captive breed them in any numbers.  They are probably the hardiest of the tortoises and are moderately sized (5" to 6" for most males and  8" to occasionally 10" for larger females. These traits plus a very tolerant, friendly personality arguably make them the best beginner species for those looking to work with tortoises.  They are very non-aggressive towards people and we've never had one offer to bite. They are not generally head shy and will readily accept gentle head rubs. They quickly associate their owners with "bringers of food" and often come running when they see you approach, in hopes of gaining a snack. They require a relatively small  cage  (40 gallon "Critter Keeper" tank size) kept moderately warm and dry to be happy and healthy.  Their general care is the same as that found on our "Tortoise Care"  page. The exception is that they are much more cold tolerant than any other tortoise species we work with. In fact in order to bred them, you need to hibernate them at temperatures below 55F. This is the only tortoise species we keep that we allow to get that cold.  

Our First Russian Laying	Our First Russian Egg

Near Yearling Hatchling	New Hatchling

 We have one small well established breeding group of fairly normal colored adults that breed for us each year. We also have a few up and coming adolescents which were selected for much higher contrast shells (clearer and yellower ground color with less stray brown streaking). A few of these will hopefully be ready to bred in 2012 however most are still a couple years out.

We also usually have well acclimated imported adolescent (4") wild -collected specimens available year round for resale.  If you're looking for a hatchling, check with us in the early spring as that's when ours tend to hatch. They sell out fast, so you may wish to get on our "Wanted" list ahead of time.   

We ship based on the prevailing weather patterns between us and you. Usually we can ship most weeks, but when large storms/severe heat/cold are forecasted, we prefer to hold off.   Please see  "Deer Fern Farms Ordering / Prices" for ordering information.

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