KeeprHusbandry You're a Pro? Click here to meet Rex
Atlas / Library / Testudinidae / Russian Tortoise
BeginnerDiurnal · active nowCITES IIIUCN VU
Testudinidae

Russian Tortoise

Testudo horsfieldiiเต่ารัสเซียHorsfield's Tortoise

Narrower than the page we cite. The source we cite, read on 10 Aug 2026, gives a wider range than the one above. The narrowing is ours and nobody here has written down why. reptifiles.com

Photograph: Kudaibergen Amirekul · CC BY-SA

Photographed by an observer on iNaturalist and published under a Creative Commons licence; the photographer and the licence are named under the image. It is not an animal of ours, and no animal was handled by us to produce it.

14:00
Day

Drag the sun. Russian Tortoise is diurnal, so what it is doing changes with the light. The sheet states a night temperature, and the rail follows it.

Burrowing · temperate · dryFrom the sheet: 24–27°C, humidity 35–50%

The way of life is written in this sheet, word for word. The climate words summarise the two figures above them, they do not add to them.

CITES II is a global listing and holds in every country. National law is not global, and we hold no national wildlife law for any country, Thailand included. Check your own authority before buying or selling.

Back to the globe My keep

https://keepr.pet/husbandry/en/testudo-horsfieldii

‹ All husbandry guides
Temperature24–27 °C
Humidity35–50 %
Enclosure240×120

The numbers

Temperature

152025303540 °C
24–27°Cool side
21–23°Night
Warm side: not in our data

The cool side, 24–27°C, dropping to 21–23°C at night. This sheet states the cool side only. It gives no warm side or basking figure, so the hot end is not in our data. Same scale on every sheet here, so two species compare by eye.

The sheet statescool 24-27 °C (75-80 °F) / night 21-23 °C (70-75 °F)

Humidity

35–50%Target RH

The sheet states35-50% (dry species)

UVB

T5 10–12%required

The sheet statesT5 10–12%; replace ~6 mo

Identity

Adult size

1.75 m13–20 cm
1520100400 cm
13–20 cmNose to tail, adult

The size the sheet states for a grown animal.

Why

Two drawings, because they answer two questions. The silhouette is at true scale against a 1.75 m person: it says how big this animal actually is, which no number does for someone who has never seen one. The bar under it is logarithmic and shared by every sheet here, so a 2 cm isopod and a 4 m python both stay readable on the same axis and two species can be compared at a glance.

Family / Order
Testudinidae / Testudines
Adult size
13–20 cm
Lifespan (captivity)
40–50+ yrs
Activity
Diurnal; terrestrial burrower
Temperament
Hardy, active, personable: top beginner tortoise

How common this animal is

339,847Live individuals in declared US trade filings

NOT a measure of how many are kept. These filings count animals shipped for any purpose, including the food trade and laboratory supply, and they are United States records only. The three largest volumes in the source belong to a food frog, a bait species and the standard laboratory amphibian.

US Fish and Wildlife Service LEMIS declared wildlife import and export records, as compiled in the received dataset

Enclosure and conditions

Enclosure

substratewater240 cm120 cm
watersubstrate
50100150200 cm
240 × 120 cmWidth × depth
288dm² of floor
Warm side: not in our dataHides: not in our data

Drawn from the stated numbers. Seen from above: the sheet gives a footprint and no height.

Why

The rectangle carries the exact width-to-height ratio of the figures above it, and the ruler under it places that width on the 0–250 cm scale every sheet here shares, so two species still compare at a glance. Nothing is added that the sheet does not name: a lamp drawn on a sheet that never mentions one would be invented equipment. What the sheet leaves out is listed rather than left blank, because an empty tank reads as « none needed ».

The sheet states240 × 120 cm (8×4 ft) ideal; outdoor best

Basking
35 °C (95 °F)
Cool side
24–27 °C (75–80 °F)
Night
21–23 °C (70–75 °F)
Humidity
35–50% (dry species)
UVB (required)
T5 10–12%; replace ~6 mo
Min. size
240 × 120 cm (8×4 ft) ideal; outdoor best
Substrate
Topsoil / coco + sand (burrows)
Water
Shallow dish

What your climate adds

This sheet states a range to hold. Your local climate decides how much work holding it is. Pick the nearest city: nothing is sent anywhere, the choice stays in this browser.

Diet

Diet type
Herbivore
Grasses & greens
Weeds, dandelion, collard, mustard, hibiscus
Avoid
Fruit (<10%), high-protein, pellets
Calcium
No-phosphorus Ca 1–2×/week + cuttlebone

Behaviour and handling

HandlingMinimal (ground tortoise) but interactive
DiggingProlific burrower
CohabitationMales can be territorial: watch
DefenseRetreats into shell
ChildrenGreat to observe

Reproduction

Sexual maturity
~3–4 yrs (by size)
Clutch
2–6 eggs
Incubation
~60–75 days
Note
May brumate in winter: research first

Common health problems

Metabolic bone disease
Signssoft/deformed shell
PreventUVB + calcium
Shell pyramiding
Signsbumpy raised scutes
Preventhydration + high-fiber low-protein diet
Respiratory infection
Signsrunny nose, wheezing
Preventcorrect temps; see vet
Bladder stones
Signsstraining
Preventproper hydration

When to see a vet

This is not veterinary advice. If red flags appear (open-mouth breathing, months of weight loss, 'stargazing', persistent regurgitation) consult a qualified exotic (herp) veterinarian. Quarantine new arrivals 30–90 days.

Good to know

  • Also called Horsfield's tortoise; a champion burrower digging deep to escape heat and cold.
  • Can live 40+ years: it may outlive its owner.
  • Active and curious: one of the most engaging small tortoises.
  • Can live 40+ years — it may outlive its owner.
  • Active and curious — one of the most engaging small tortoises.

Common questions

Glass tank okay?

No: needs a large open-top table or outdoors.

How long do they live?

40–50+ years: a lifelong pet.

Do they hibernate?

Can brumate: research carefully first.

What it needs

A thermometerbecause tempcool 24-27 °C (75-80 °F) / night 21-23 °C (70-75 °F)
A way to check the night figurebecause tempcool 24-27 °C (75-80 °F) / night 21-23 °C (70-75 °F)
A hygrometerbecause humidity35–50% (dry species)
UVB 10-12% (T5), stated as requiredbecause uvbT5 10-12%; replace ~6 mo
Not stated: The heat sourcethis sheet names only the cool side: « cool 24-27 °C (75-80 °F) / night 21-23 °C (70-75 °F) »
Not stated: The size of the enclosurethis sheet describes the enclosure without a figure: « 240 × 120 cm (8×4 ft) ideal; outdoor best »

Every line above is deduced from a value this sheet states, and names which one. Nothing here is a general recommendation. What the sheet does not state is listed too, rather than left out: a kit that looks complete is worse than one that names its gap.

  • Tortoise table / large enclosure
  • T5 UVB 10–12%
  • Basking lamp + thermostat
  • Topsoil/coco substrate
  • Hide
  • Shallow water dish
  • Calcium + cuttlebone + weed mix

Sources

Others in this group

What this sheet states

100%
TemperatureHumidityEnclosure sizeActivityOriginDietSourcesUVB

Every field this product runs on is stated here. That is not a claim that the values are right: it says what the sheet states, not whether it is true. Whether a human has read it is the badge at the top of this page.

UVB is measured but does not count: it is absent from 421 of 678 sheets, and on most of them that is not a gap, since a nocturnal snake's sheet has no reason to state a UV index. Counting it would call the library incomplete without cause.