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Fun Facts about Russian Tortoises

Russian Tortoise

  • With proper care, Russian tortoises can live to be over 50 years old.
  • Russian tortoises have a very social personality—they are considered to have a personality much like a dog.
  • Although they are called Russian tortoises, they are found in more countries than just Russia. They range throughout a large part of Asia and the Middle East.
  • Even though they have big, bulky shells, Russian tortoises love to climb and explore through all different terrain.
  • Russian tortoises do not grow large like many other tortoise species and grow to be only six to eight inches in length.
  • Russian tortoises are diurnal, meaning they are mostly active during the day.
  • Wild Russian tortoises are known to burrow through the cold winter months.
  • Russian tortoises also have one of the highest tolerances for temperature extremes.
  • Females are normally a little larger than males at full size.
  • In higher or lower temperatures, they attempt to burrow underground to insulate themselves from the extremes.