Does anyone else's tort...?

[Punkkid364]

So I have noticed a couple of irregularities with my Russian tort Sugar. I feed her on a flat rock, but rather than sitting to the side to eat, Sugar will climb up on top of the rock, plop herself in the middle of her food and kind of eat around it. Is this pretty normal, or just a weird thing Sugar does?

Also, I've never seen her use her hide. Is this something I should be concerned about? She usually rests on the warm side (it's about 95) and will sometimes dig into the substrate a little, but never really covers herself. It seems like she's okay with being out in the open, which doesn't jive with some of what I've read on here.

Thanks for any help, I'm just wondering if either of these are signs of a problem or if she's just a weirdo.

 

[Yvonne G]

Some tortoises feel they have to "protect" their food from other tortoises. Sometimes they poop or pee on it, sometimes they just sit on it.

Russian tortoises are very good at digging themselves into the ground and not leaving a hole behind them. They much prefer this mode of hiding over a house or man-made hiding place.

 

[Punkkid364]

That would make sense; I got her from a pet store where she was kept with a couple of other torts. Protecting food would be something she'd have had to do. Thanks Yvonne!

 

[thatrebecca]

I put out two piles of food -- one for each of my juvenile CDTs -- in one giant dish. Often they walk up and sit on a pile for a little bit before they eat it. I always assumed it's territorial.

But Yvonne, I thought when they pee on it, it had something to do with the fact that they've found a new hydration source, so they know it's OK to empty their bladder. I only notice that happening once every few weeks.

 

[Punkkid364]

Yvonne, do you recommend leaving the hide in just in case, or should I take it out to give her more room to run around? I have it set up with substrate "ramps" so she can climb up on top anyway.

 

[kimber_lee_314]

I use several flat stones in my enclosures and my Russians still like to plop themselves in the middle of the food! (I have a lot of other tortoises that do this too - even babies!) It sure makes a mess when I feed them Mazuri!

 

[Caitlin]

My tort used to walk alllllll over her food for a good five mins then plop down in the middle and eat.

 

[Mrturtle527]

Mine has only done that after one of my other pets (usually the cat) tries to eat her hey mix - then Mr T will go over and stake claim to it . I of course yell at the cat to get out and stop but well yeah...


Check us out on Facebook
www.facebook.com/mrturtle527

Sent from my iPhone using TortForum mobile app

 

[ColinF87]

My Hermann parks in the middle of his food too. I assumed he was just trying to get to something tasty he spotted on the bottom of the pile, but he came from a breeder who had a few babies sharing an enclosure so the protection theory makes sense.