Oshkosh Zoo
Russian Tortoises

Meet our Russian Tortoises

Anastasia and Vlad are our Russian Tortoises! They are full grown adults, and not Dash’s (our African Spurred Tortoise) babies. Russian tortoises have many common names such as; the Afghan tortoise, the steppe tortoise, the central Asian tortoise, the four-toed tortoise, and Horsfield’s tortoise. These tortoises are native to Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan. They prefer sandy, dry habitats that have water access for drinking. Currently, our Russians are 10 years old but can easily exceed 50 years of age. Females are naturally larger than males, and therefore it is easy to tell Anastasia and Vlad apart. On a nice, warm day you may see these two outside near our Aviary eating grass, dandelions, and clover.