Various species of tortoise have "gone mainstream" across the globe when it comes to the trade involved with them. Sulcata, red foot, leopard, Hermann's and even elongated tortoises have shown up in collections, rescues and pet expos in large numbers but one tortoise really seems to take the cake, especially here in the United States. The Russian or Horsfield's tortoise (Testudo horsfieldii) has been a long time favorite in herpetoculture and its size, personality and climate tolerance prove why. Sadly, Russian tortoises are ripped out of their native lands and shipped to other countries for the demanding pet trade at significant numbers and this has gone on for what seems like forever. They are now listed as vulnerable by the IUCN and surely will make it to at least threatened in the coming years. Regardless, they are here to stay as they remain one of, if not the most, heavily traded and kept tortoise species. At Garden State Tortoise we take in Russian tortoise rescues more than any other tortoise species. They're a bulldozer of a tortoise, full of charisma and people just LOVE them. Unfortunately, many keepers don't provide for them properly so in this video we cover that, proper identification and even a little bit about their flight to the moon.....yes, the MOON.
