Russian or Sulcata Tortoise?

[tkilgour]

I have been offered a CB baby Russian Tortoise and a CB baby Sulcata Tortoise as a trade. Obviosly, I have been doing tons of research to see if they are something I would be interested in keeping. Therefore, I thought I would turn to the forum community and get your opinions on these animals. Does anyone keep either species of Tortoise and can you offer some pros and cons of keeping them?

My goal would be to keep them outside for 5-7 months out of the year, then the rest of the year I would have to make an indoor habitat.
Thanks kindly for your advice.

 

[chams1]

I know there are a few people on here who have sulcatas, but maybe you might want to ask this question to Tyler Stewart/Tortoise Supply (formerly Bluebeast Reptile), as I'm sure you know he breeds them and could give you first-hand knowledge and feedback.

 

[Lancecham]

Russian tortoises are a small species of tortoise.
I breed sulcatas and while they are born small, they quickly grow. They are the third largest species of tortoise. Adults can get very large (150 to 175 pounds). So while the first several years of it's life, moving them inside and outside wouldn't be a big deal. As they grow, this becomes very impractical on many levels.
Large sulcatas need a secured yard if kept outside as they can escape fairly easily as they are very strong.
Aside from that, sulcatas are a joy to have and have great personalities.

 

[pssh]

I was going to get a Russian tortoise a little while ago, but my mom decided it would take up too much floor space. I am now adopting a rescue sulcata tortoise to keep in my courtyard! I just have to re-land scape it with some hibiscus, wild flowers, and grasses for him. I've very excited. I have a bunch of stuff coming in the mail, and I'm hoping to plant some butterfly friendly plants in there as well.

 

[tkilgour]

I know there are a few people on here who have sulcatas, but maybe you might want to ask this question to Tyler Stewart/Tortoise Supply (formerly Bluebeast Reptile), as I'm sure you know he breeds them and could give you first-hand knowledge and feedback.

Yeah, I need to contact him through email or something. I was trying to get him through Facebook w/o Luck. He has a lot of great looking tortoises available too.

Russian tortoises are a small species of tortoise.
I breed sulcatas and while they are born small, they quickly grow. They are the third largest species of tortoise. Adults can get very large (150 to 175 pounds). So while the first several years of it's life, moving them inside and outside wouldn't be a big deal. As they grow, this becomes very impractical on many levels.
Large sulcatas need a secured yard if kept outside as they can escape fairly easily as they are very strong.
Aside from that, sulcatas are a joy to have and have great personalities.

Thanks for the heads up, moving a 150 -175lbs would be quite challenging. I thought they got up to 100lbs, but either way that is heavy. I was thinking about making some type of stone barrier to keep them in, but still am thinking of different possibilities. The person that wants to trade says they have many other species, but they just offered 2 popular ones. Do you recommend any medium to large sized species?

I was going to get a Russian tortoise a little while ago, but my mom decided it would take up too much floor space. I am now adopting a rescue sulcata tortoise to keep in my courtyard! I just have to re-land scape it with some hibiscus, wild flowers, and grasses for him. I've very excited. I have a bunch of stuff coming in the mail, and I'm hoping to plant some butterfly friendly plants in there as well.

That sounds Exciting!

 

[fluxlizard]

I keep a pair of sulcata. They are super cool- smart, curious, have a memory, and they are active and big (which is a nice bonus for a big tortoise- the other large species I see at zoos aren't very active compared to sulcata when they are large). They are also living bulldozer/tanks with an appetite like a cow. If they get the notion they can and do dig craters and long tunnels in their outdoor pen (several yard long tunnels have been recorded. Mine tunneled the first year but only a yard or so and I filled it in during the winter and they never felt like tunneling again.)

Unless you have an out building like I do for winter, and a large pen for summer (mine have a pasture ~40'x30' and will probably make it larger at some point- I have to re-seed the grasses every fall and spring to keep up with their appetite during the summer) I would not recommend them. They graze all day and poop all day (much like cows- they are both grass eaters), and poops are probably mindbogglingly huge for non-tortoise keepers. Not something most people want in your house even with constant cleanup.

The russians are nice little torts but most people don't keep correctly- they do best with long cold winters. See this link here-

http://www.agamainternational.com/pages/russian_tortoise.htm

 

[pssh]

If you go for a sulcata, you can make a tortoise shed that's insulated and heated with a heat mat for the winters. Then you dont have to lug in a massive 2 foot tortoise every winter. I'm just going to make a square or rectanglular box out of sealed wood that's insulated with an opening for him. Keeps him cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

 

[tkilgour]

I keep a pair of sulcata. They are super cool- smart, curious, have a memory, and they are active and big (which is a nice bonus for a big tortoise- the other large species I see at zoos aren't very active compared to sulcata when they are large). They are also living bulldozer/tanks with an appetite like a cow. If they get the notion they can and do dig craters and long tunnels in their outdoor pen (several yard long tunnels have been recorded. Mine tunneled the first year but only a yard or so and I filled it in during the winter and they never felt like tunneling again.)

Unless you have an out building like I do for winter, and a large pen for summer (mine have a pasture ~40'x30' and will probably make it larger at some point- I have to re-seed the grasses every fall and spring to keep up with their appetite during the summer) I would not recommend them. They graze all day and poop all day (much like cows- they are both grass eaters), and poops are probably mindbogglingly huge for non-tortoise keepers. Not something most people want in your house even with constant cleanup.

The russians are nice little torts but most people don't keep correctly- they do best with long cold winters. See this link here-

http://www.agamainternational.com/pages/russian_tortoise.htm

A cow pooping in my house would probably be a bad idea. Since they tunnel so well they can probably tunnel under a stone wall, correct?
Also, thanks for the link, very helpful!

If you go for a sulcata, you can make a tortoise shed that's insulated and heated with a heat mat for the winters. Then you dont have to lug in a massive 2 foot tortoise every winter. I'm just going to make a square or rectanglular box out of sealed wood that's insulated with an opening for him. Keeps him cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

That is a good idea. I just wonder how practical it would be in my area, considering we usually get 2 or 3, 12" deep snows every winter and several smaller snow storms that accumulate several inches. Would the shed still work under these conditions?

 

[fluxlizard]

The small shed a couple of feet on a side like that won't work for winters in ohio. It's much too cold for much too long.

A small outbuilding with heating will be necessary. Even a tool shed converted and insulated and heated for the torts for the winter will seem cramped by these active torts, but would work. These are big, active torts.

 

[pssh]

Small? Sure mine will be short, but for one tort, I imagine a 10x8 would be okay until it gets over 2 feet? Or is that still to small? The one I'm getting is only 7-8 inches right now.

 

[chams1]

Yeah, I need to contact him through email or something. I was trying to get him through Facebook w/o Luck. He has a lot of great looking tortoises available too.

Um, he's a site sponsor. You can PM him or even go to his Tortoise Supply website and contact him directly through there.

 

[fluxlizard]

The stone wall- depends on the construction and depth of the footers. They probably would not try too hard because of the solid visual barrier.

What I did was take hog fencing (these are very strong tortoises) and bury it a couple of feet below the ground. Above the ground I covered the bottom couple of feet of fence near the ground with currigated roofing material to provide a smooth solid barrier they could not see through. With chain link fencing and other fencing, if they can see through it, they will spend considerable time trying to get through - if not buried they are strong enough that they sometimes will be able to push and stretch the fencing and get under it. Or dig under it to get through. When they can't see through it, they don't try to go through it. But they might start a tunnel near it, using the fence to shelter the entrance to the tunnel.

It's not quite like a cow pooping- I meant they poop all during the day, not once a day or something. The poops aren't the size and consistency of cow poop, but they are as big as my fist...

 

[tkilgour]

The small shed a couple of feet on a side like that won't work for winters in ohio. It's much too cold for much too long.

A small outbuilding with heating will be necessary. Even a tool shed converted and insulated and heated for the torts for the winter will seem cramped by these active torts, but would work. These are big, active torts.

Thanks for the pointers fluxlizard. I do not have a barn, but was thinking of installing one. It will just have to be large enough for lawn mowers and tools too.

 

[tkilgour]

Um, he's a site sponsor. You can PM him or even go to his Tortoise Supply website and contact him directly through there.

Yes, thank you. His website is very helpful.