Russian Tortoise

Looks how to spot one

Rounded, fairly flat-topped shell with scutes; scaly limbs

A compact, almost round tortoise built for digging. It has only four claws on each front foot, where most tortoises have five, along with small bumps on the back of the thighs and a little scale at the tip of the tail. Females grow larger than males; males have longer tails and longer claws.15

Personality what they are like

A lively, busy little tortoise that loves to dig, climb and roam. In the wild neighbours will even visit each other's burrows. Males can be quite feisty toward other males, so keepers usually give each male his own space.143

Daily activity how busy a day looks

Very active for a tortoise, walking long distances and digging tunnels that can run several metres. It needs a roomy, secure pen with deep, diggable soil, rocks and slopes to climb, and walls sunk into the ground. Tortoise Trust describes a working outdoor pen of about 2 x 1.6 m with walls about 30 cm high and mesh sunk about 30 cm deep.456

Grooming and care the hands-on bits

Provide clean, fresh water at all times; young tortoises benefit from a lukewarm soak once or twice a week. The species naturally has a winter dormancy lasting anywhere from about 8 weeks to 5 months; in captivity this should be prepared for carefully and only for tortoises in good condition. Keep the tortoise dry and warm during cold, wet spells.145

Home where they are happiest

Dry, well-drained housing is the key. Outdoors, a sunny pen with about 15 cm of fine sandy soil over a drainage layer, with opaque walls at least 45 cm high, works well. Indoors, ReptiFiles recommends at least 7 x 3.5 ft (about 2.1 x 1.1 m) for an adult, and Tortoise Trust suggests 2 x 2 m; give 10-15 cm of diggable soil and sand, a basking spot of about 35 C (95 F), a cooler zone of 24-29 C (75-85 F), nights around 21-24 C (70-75 F), UVB lighting and a slightly humid hide.361

Food basics what goes in the bowl

Herbivore. Feed a high-fibre, low-protein, calcium-rich diet of weeds, flowers and leafy greens, such as dandelion leaves and flowers, clover, plantain and lamb's lettuce. Fruit is best kept to a rare treat, and pet food, bread and dairy should be left out.1456

Company who they like around

Mostly solitary and content on its own. Females can share a large pen, but males should not be housed together and the species should not be mixed with other tortoises.34

The story where it all began

British zoologist John Edward Gray described the species in 1844 from a specimen collected around Kabul, naming it in honour of Thomas Horsfield, an American naturalist and physician who worked for the East India Company in Java. Because its four-clawed feet and shape set it apart from other Testudo, it was placed in its own genus, Agrionemys, in 1966, a name used for decades. In 2021 the Turtle Taxonomy Working Group returned it to Testudo and kept Agrionemys as a subgenus. Five regional subspecies have been described across Central Asia, though not all experts accept them. In 1968 two of these tortoises made history aboard the Soviet Zond 5 probe, becoming the first animals to travel around the Moon and return. The species later became one of the most widely kept pet tortoises, valued for its small size and hardiness.217

Recognised by the official bits

The Reptile Database

Valid species Testudo horsfieldii Gray, 1844 (type locality Kabul, Afghanistan); type species of the subgenus Agrionemys; five subspecies listed2

Turtle Taxonomy Working Group

Moved back into Testudo in 2021, with Agrionemys kept as a subgenus1

IUCN Red List

Vulnerable (IUCN 2.3)1