Habitat Guidelines: Outdoor Pens for Russian Tortoises and Greek Tortoises

• pen must be outdoors
• pen must be predator-proof as appropriate to your area (dog, raccoon, fox, skunk, coyote, etc.)
• fencing must be opaque, at least 18" high, and buried at least 4" in substrate
• in Colorado, nighttime low temperatures should be at least 45F by May 15th and turtles should be able to live outdoors for at least 5 months of the year
• minimum size for one or two turtles/small tortoises: 80 sq. ft.; Three: 100 sq. ft.
• if a non-hibernating species, 36 sq ft minimum indoor pen during winter
• recessed water dish accessible from all sides for entry and exit
• artificial or natural hides (one for each turtle plus one additional)
• brush pile for burrowing
• live vegetation
• CoRHS recommendations: Spiderwort(Tradescantia ssp.), strawberry, squash, sunflower, dandelion, globe mallow, bindweed, grasses
• for a list of toxic plants to avoid, please see the California Turtle & Tortoise Club's list of poisonous plants: www.tortoise.org/general/poi sonp.html
• areas of shade and areas of morning sun
• males should not outnumber females