russian torts

Question
QUESTION: I have 2 russians (M/F) is a very large custom built enclosure. It's 3ftX2ftX2ft, they are loving all the space. My only question is what do you believe in a natural veggie/fruit diet (lettuces,veggies&fruits) or a commercial diet (i.e pellets) I have them both eating both. The my boy, Rocky, seems to love the greens more then the pellets, and my girl, Adrian, is the opposite pellets more then greens...But they eat very well, just want an experts opinion

ANSWER: I hate to tell you this, but neither the enclosure nor the diet is what we would recommend.

The space needs of a tortoise are about 100 square inches per inch of shell length- your tank offers about 846 swquare inches, so is OK for about 8.5" total of turtle- a couple of 4' long tortoisoes would be OK, but pushing the edge. We usually recommend something like an 8'x8' outdoor enclosure for them.

The diet really should be drier- grasses, Timothy hay, yard plant leaves, stems, and flowers, etc. Some dark leafy greens are OK, as are some other veggies- but no fruit (it gives them diarrhea or stomach problems- too wet and sugary). Most of us also avoid pellets for tortoises- the main ingrediants are oats, corn, etc., also unnatural things for them to eat.

A couple of great websites for Russians are: http://www.russiantortoise.org or http://www.tortoisetrust.org

Tortoise Trust also has a good article on housing for Horsefieldi (the scientific name of the Russian.)

This is a species that is sold cheaply- mostly because they are being imported in large batches- and has a LOT of misinformation told about it. This is complicated by the fact that tortoises can put up with less-than-perfect conditions for quite some time and appear perfectly healthy.

However, if you follow much of the advice out there, your tortoise will start to show shell problems, and then just plain stop doing well. Most will not last 5 years in captivity, when they should be able to hit 30-40 easily.

It sounds like you really enjoy your tortoises, and I wish you the best of luck with them!

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I will stop feeding them pellets then, and start with the grasses, hay and plants as u said. This enclosure is kinda a temporary one, cuz I live in an small 2 bedroom apartment. But in about 1 yr from now I'm looking to move to a house, hopefully with a yard, then they'll get their big outdoor pen they really deserve...Yea and I love these too there is nothing I wouldn't buy or make for them to make them HAPPY!!!!

Answer
Whenever possible, even now, let your guys graze in a grassy place with dandelions and other 'weeds' that have not been sprayed (perhaps a friends yard, etc.?) That way, they get more variety and sunshine at the same time.

Timothy hay is great, but a little low in calcium, so be sure to use a decent calcium supplement- a good idea in any case. I prefer pure powdered calcium carbonate without D3 added- but if you cannot get them good sunshine daily, or do not use a UVB bulb, you may choose to use a calcium supplment with D3 added.

Good luck!