Horsfield Tortoise

Horsfield tortoise is commonly known as Russian tortoise, afghan tortoise, Afghanistan tortoise, steppe tortoise, central Asian tortoise and four toed tortoise. One can differentiate a male Horsfield by its size and tail. The male Horsfield tortoise can grow up to five to six inches whereas female can grow up to eight inches. Male Horsfield tortoises have long tails whereas female have short stubby tails. These tortoises are green, yellow, and brownish in color. They have round and slightly flattened shell. They are admired by people because of its small size. This tortoise can live for about 50 years. It is important for one to provide proper care to their pet Horsfield tortoise to make them survive for long. Some of the basic care tips on Horsfield tortoise are mentioned below.

Horsfield tortoise care tips:

1. Housing for Horsfield tortoise: Since these tortoises love to climb and dig, therefore their house should be deep enough to allow them to dig down and have high walls to allow them to climb. It is important for one to maintain cleanliness in their pet Horsfield tortoise. One should not provide damp environment or high humidity in their pet Horsfield habitat. One can provide an open top tortoise table with a 100 watt UVB lamp to their pet. Try to put sand and grass in their enclosure. Male tortoise can prove dangerous to female one so provision must be made to keep male Horsfield separately.
2. Feeding Horsfield tortoise: Horsfield tortoise require high fiber and low protein diet. Orchard hay, mixed grasses, timothy hay, berries, clove, prickly pear pads, Dutch clover, sow thistle, romaine, red leaf lettuce, rose leaves and petals, hibiscus and dandelion leaves and flowers can be included in your pet Horsfield tortoise diet. They mostly like to feed on grasses, vegetation and flowers of non poisonous plants. One should try to avoid fruits in your pet’s diet. Water should be available at all times to Horsfield tortoise. One should not feed animal protein, high carbohydrate and high sugar food to their pet Horsfield tortoise.
3. Breeding Horsfield tortoise: Mating processes usually take place in the month of March and lasts till June. After eight weeks of mating process females can lay 3- 5 eggs. One should regularly monitor the mating process because male can harm females during the mating process. It is important or one to provide proper care and attention to baby Horsfield tortoise until they grow big.
4. Heating and lighting: One should provide combination of a separate basking bulb and UVB strip light to his Horsfield tortoise enclosure. It is important for one to provide efficient heater to their pet.

Horsfield pet tortoise requires proper attention and care to survive. It is important for you to fulfill all the basic needs of your pet Horsfield tortoise. These tortoises should be provided with clean environment, food and water. Some common cryptograms of Horsfield illness are - wheezing, breathing with head held high and mouth open, cheesy matter inside mouth, wet patches of shell damage, lethargy and refusal to feed. If you find any of these symptoms in your pet then you should immediately consult vetererian.