Re: Russian Tortoise - questions on food and habitat

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Posted by Terry on February 04, 2001 at 22:47:01:

In Reply to: Russian Tortoise - questions on food and habitat posted by Jolene on February 04, 2001 at 20:22:15:

Hi,
you can feed a wider variety of greens. Romaine, endive, escarole, chicory, dandelions, hibiscus flowers,clovers, grated yellow squash, rose petals and other edible weeds, flowers.

Here are some web sites/pages you may find interesting.

http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/horsfield_habitat.html

http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/horsfield.html

My Russians are housed outdoors year round, but I live in a warm climate.
The enclosure is around 10'-16' it was cheap and easy to make.

First dig trenches as the walls should be sunk into the ground to prevent the torts digging out.
For the walls we used fencing boards, as there are no predators here we made the walls quite low, just two boards high.Make sure that there is nothing up against the walls that the torts could use to climb up and out. Make sure the walls are sunk in the ground to prevent digging out.
If there are predators in your area, dogs, racoons etc you'll need to build a predator proof enclosure.
The back wall of my Russians enclosure is actually our house wall, there's a hedge that runs along that wall up against the house. The torts love it under the hedge, that's where they've dug their overnight holes.

So we only used 12 fencing boards. 8 5' boards for the end walss, two boards high. 4 8' boards for the long wall, the back wall is our house.
We also used wooden stakes every couple of feet to nail the walls to.
Then we put a low , white picket type fence ( from home depot) around the outside to cover up the fencing boards and make it more attractive. We also planted some nice flowering plants along the outside walls.
Where the hedge stops the grass starts, so they have a hedge along the back to hide under , lots of dead leaves fall of the hedge and they dig around in those. Then the sunny grass area infront of the hedge. With rocks, logs and edible landscaping.
This enclosure houses one pair of Russians.

For photos of habitats check out this web site, you'll also find lists of edible plants/flowers here:

http://www.turtlecafe.net/habitats.htm

For even more info first hand from other keepers of Russian torts, subscribe to the Russian Tortoise email list. It's free and will put you in contact with over a hundred other keepers of Russian Torts.
Check out the link below, at the bottom left of the linked page you'll find another link to sign up to the list!
Terry.

Russian Tortoise

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: Hi, : you can feed a wider variety of greens. Romaine, endive, escarole, chicory, dandelions, hibiscus flowers,clovers, grated yellow squash, rose petals and other edible weeds, flowers. : Here are some web sites/pages you may find interesting. : http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/horsfield_habitat.html : http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/horsfield.html : My Russians are housed outdoors year round, but I live in a warm climate. : The enclosure is around 10'-16' it was cheap and easy to make. : First dig trenches as the walls should be sunk into the ground to prevent the torts digging out. : For the walls we used fencing boards, as there are no predators here we made the walls quite low, just two boards high.Make sure that there is nothing up against the walls that the torts could use to climb up and out. Make sure the walls are sunk in the ground to prevent digging out. : If there are predators in your area, dogs, racoons etc you'll need to build a predator proof enclosure. : The back wall of my Russians enclosure is actually our house wall, there's a hedge that runs along that wall up against the house. The torts love it under the hedge, that's where they've dug their overnight holes. : So we only used 12 fencing boards. 8 5' boards for the end walss, two boards high. 4 8' boards for the long wall, the back wall is our house. : We also used wooden stakes every couple of feet to nail the walls to. : Then we put a low , white picket type fence ( from home depot) around the outside to cover up the fencing boards and make it more attractive. We also planted some nice flowering plants along the outside walls. : Where the hedge stops the grass starts, so they have a hedge along the back to hide under , lots of dead leaves fall of the hedge and they dig around in those. Then the sunny grass area infront of the hedge. With rocks, logs and edible landscaping. : This enclosure houses one pair of Russians. : For photos of habitats check out this web site, you'll also find lists of edible plants/flowers here: : http://www.turtlecafe.net/habitats.htm : For even more info first hand from other keepers of Russian torts, subscribe to the Russian Tortoise email list. It's free and will put you in contact with over a hundred other keepers of Russian Torts. : Check out the link below, at the bottom left of the linked page you'll find another link to sign up to the list! : Terry.

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