Russian Tortoise Housing

As of now I have about 25 gallon aquarium for my tortoise. However this is not ideal. Tortoises will never figure out the concept of glass so they run into it. Also the high walls can lead to bad circulation. The best house would have to be a rubbermaid 50 gallon storage container. They are cheap (only about 15 bucks) and are a good size for any russian tortoise.

The substrate (stuff on the bottom of the pen) should not be newpaper, recycled paper clumps, or alfalfa pellets. The best is a mixure of Bed A Beast and sand that is about 2 inches deep. The Bed A Beast can be found at most pet stores or carolina pet supply. It also good to put a pile of timothy hay at one end of the pen so it has a place to burrow and hide. In my cage i also put a piece of bark that stands up so he has a place to hide under.

You will also need a heat lamp. Some of the better lighting is the new T-Rex Active UVheat, PowerSun, and Capture The Sun bulbs. These are used extensively in zoo's. The 100 watt flood is the most commonly used. While they do put out heat you may need to add a ceramic heat emitter to get the right temperature. The temperature should be in the low 70's during the day and in the low 90's for his basking spot. During the night it shoud be in the 60's. The humidity should be about 55%. Also make sure to get a good clamp on light fixture with a ceramic socket that is rated for the wattage bulb you buy.. Home Depot has them for about 10 bucks. Whenever I use a clip on fixture, I always use a "C" clamp to anchor it. The UVHeat bulbs can be bought at carolina pet supply.

An outdoor house is always good if the weather is right. There should always be a place for it to hide and fresh water and shade. Tortoises are escape artists so make sure they cant dig there way out.