Printable owner manual
An animal that can outlive its owner deserves the setup right.
A 51-page printable manual with real UVB (ultraviolet B) and basking targets, the brumation decision and protocol, outdoor pens and escape-proofing, honest space requirements, the law in every state, and health triage, not the glass tank that is the wrong shape for this species.
Not sure yet? Download the first 5 pages free, contents page included.
- 51 pages, print or view
- Intermediate level
- No external links inside the PDF
Edition 3.1
Oct 2026 路 51 pages
Care-sheet roulette
- A closed glass tank that holds damp air and a wall it paces along
- UVB treated as optional instead of required
- No plan for winter, brumation just happens or doesn't
- Pyramiding and shell rot nobody explained how to spot
This guide
- Real long-term space requirements, indoors and out: the floor figure, the target, and the open table instead of a tank
- UVB, basking and night low targets stated plainly, with the equipment that controls them
- The brumation decision and the protocol: a fridge or an insulated box, or kept warm all year
- Pyramiding, shell rot and metabolic bone disease called out where you cannot miss them
What's inside 路 51 pages
Everything from first setup to daily routine.
Housing and UVB
The enclosure and where it goes, temperature, basking and night lows, thermostats and timers, UVB tube and distance, humidity, substrate and cleaning.
Outdoors and diet
Outdoor pens and escape-proofing, diet by age and how much, weeds, hay and growing your own, the never-feed list, and calcium and water on their own page.
Health and red flags
Metabolic bone disease and pyramiding, respiratory infection and herpesvirus, shell rot and abscesses, parasites, vitamin A, bladder stones and beak overgrowth, and reading droppings.
Behavior and brumation
Handling, daily rhythm, courtship and living alone, enrichment, and the brumation decision and protocol, so winter is not left to chance.
Arrival, eggs and the law
Choosing a tortoise, quarantine and the first vet visit, sexing, eggs and egg binding, and where a Russian tortoise is legal, with the four-inch rule.
Owner tools
Setup checklist, emergency card, budget and shopping list, first 30 days, symptom reference, routine, outage and heat-wave plan, pet-sitter sheet, and the logs.
Every page, section by sectionThe package's own contents page, all 51 pages of it. Nothing here is a teaser for something sold separately.
Getting Started
- How to Use This Package
Profile
- Quick Profile & Cost Overview
- The Species, Size & Lifespan
Housing & Environment
- Enclosure Size, Type & Where It Goes
- Temperature, Basking & Night Lows
- Thermostats, Timers & Thermometers
- UVB: Tube, Strength & Mounting Distance
- Humidity, Substrate & Furnishings
- Outdoor Pens & Escape-Proofing
- Cleaning & Hygiene
Feeding
- Diet by Age & How Much
- Weeds, Hay & Growing Your Own
- Fruit, Protein & the Never-Feed List
- Calcium, Multivitamin & Water
- Growth, Weight & Body Condition
Handling & Behavior
- Handling & Hygiene
- Daily Rhythm, Courtship & Living Alone
- Enrichment & Common Mistakes
Arrival & Life Stages
- Choosing a Tortoise, Quarantine & the First Vet Visit
- Sexing & Females That Lay
- Egg Binding
- Brumation: the Decision & the Protocol
The Law
- Is a Russian Tortoise Legal Where You Live?
- The Four-Inch Rule & the Trade
Health & Common Issues
- Red Flags & Finding a Vet
- Metabolic Bone Disease & Pyramiding
- Respiratory Infection & Herpesvirus
- Shell Rot, Shell Trauma & Abscesses
- Parasites & Hexamita
- Vitamin A, Bladder Stones & Beak Overgrowth
- Reading Droppings, Urates & Hydration
Quick Reference
- Setup Checklist & Targets
- Emergency & Quick Targets Card
Owner Tools
- Budget: Setup & Shopping List
- Budget: Yearly Costs
- First 30 Days
- Symptom Quick Reference
- Daily, Weekly & Seasonal Routine
- Power Outages, Heat Waves, Travel & Transport
- Pet-Sitter Sheet
- Owner Log
- Equipment & Vet Log
- Enrichment Checklist & Log
Reference
- Glossary, A to M
- Glossary, N to Z
- Sources
- Sources, Continued
- Where the Sources Disagree
- Version History & About
Take a look inside
Print-first pages, clearly marked.
Click a page to see it at full size. The contents page is complete; the others fade out where the paid content starts.
The first 5 pages, free
Pages 1 to 5 as a PDF: the contents page and the opening pages before the care sections start, so you can see every page the full package covers.
Who this is for
- New Russian tortoise owners setting up correctly the first time
- Keepers weighing indoor winter against brumation
- Anyone who wants to catch pyramiding or shell issues early
What it's not
- Not a substitute for a reptile-experienced veterinarian
- Not a live website mirror, a clean printable package instead
- Not a subscription, one purchase and every corrected edition is free
What changed
This is edition 3.1.
Bought before? Re-download free from your library. State legal status as of October 2026.
- 3.1, Oct 2026. 51 pages. Costs: every item priced and rounded to the nearest $5; setup $490 to $935, yearly $370 to $695, the budget now over two pages. Other changes are wording only.
- 3.0, Oct 2026. Rebuilt on the current outline, 49 pages. Safety: basking surface about 95掳F (35掳C); adult surface humidity 40 to 50%; substrate 4 in juvenile, 6 in adult, dig zone 6 to 12 in; daytime air 75 to 85掳F; UVB tube 14 to 16 in through mesh, 17 to 20 in without, replaced every 6 to 12 months, never past 12; growing tortoises fed daily as much as they eat, adults a shell-sized daily portion; multivitamin lightly, no weekly schedule; hatchlings soaked daily 15 to 30 minutes; first vet exam within a week; substrate fully replaced every 3 to 6 months; car trips below 65掳F over 30 minutes get a wrapped hand warmer, checked every 20 to 30 minutes. Legal: own section, all 52 jurisdictions and the eleven with stricter local rules. Costs: first checkup about $75; start-up $497 to $1,250; forty years $14,600 to $28,600. Other changes are wording only.
- 2.3, Oct 2026. Safety: enclosure 7脳3.5 ft; adults soaked weekly, juveniles twice a week, never unattended; vitamin D3 only when a vet asks; no fruit; pen walls about 2 ft with an inward lip, buried 12 in. Legal: West Virginia added, so 5 states require a permit.
- 2.2, Sep 2026. Legal: Colorado bans the species, and more states were found to require a permit or attach a condition.
- 2.1, Sep 2026. Safety: brumation at 35 to 50掳F, ideally 41掳F, for at most 10 to 14 weeks by size, after a 1 to 3 week fast at 70 to 80掳F, and not under about 4 years old; quarantine six months with testing; medicine doses removed.
- 2.0, Sep 2026. Rebuilt, 37 pages. Replaced by 3.0.
- 1.0, Aug 2026. First edition, 21 pages. Replaced by 2.0.
Coming in the next edition
The site has been corrected on the points below and the book has not caught up yet. They ship together in edition 3.2, free to anyone who already bought this one.
- Adult size changes from 5 to 10 inches to 5 to 9 inches, matching the largest verified animals at about 22 cm. From: Russian Tortoise Handling
Ready when you are
Russian Tortoise Care Package
51 pages. PDF. Print it or keep it open on your phone, tablet, or computer. Yours the moment you check out.
Edition 3.1, published October 3, 2026. Paid through Stripe. The download link arrives on the next page, and it stays in your library for as long as the package exists, always as the current edition. Not a substitute for a vet.
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The free Russian tortoise guide is still free
This package is the same research as our Russian tortoise care guide, reformatted into an offline manual with the checklists, logs, and triage tables the web pages do not carry. Read the free guide first and buy this only if you want it in your hands.