Little horsefield peed in his sleeping hide?

[tsemiller]

Had our little horsefield for 6 months now and he has a wee bath every night. He soaks happily for 10-15 mins then does his pee and poo and then tries to get out. On a handful of occasions he will do the toilet in his food dish after he has eaten but in all fairness that is usually only if he has missed a soak or it's a bit later than usual. Today he peed in his wee hide where he sleeps - it has thick Cotton on the bottom and some alfalfa hay (dandelion and marigold). He only goes in there at night usually. During the day he'll hide under plants or in a plant pot or burrow into the dirt under his heat lamp. He has never peed anywhere else other than in water or hid food dish . Should I be concerned about this? Is it a sign something may be wrong with him ? Hasn't eaten much today be he sometimes has days like that and nothing else in his enclosure has changed. He's kept in a large indoor tortoise table but gets to roam the garden for a couple of hours on days it's warm enough (I live in Scotland lol). Would be interested to hear everyone's thoughts on this??

 

[Yvonne G]

Sorry...if you wanted a potty-trained baby, you're not going to get in a tortoise. Tortoises poop and pee whenever and wherever the spirit moves them. The inside of my 110lb sulcata's hiding place looks and smells like a sewer sometimes. That's just the facts of tortoise life.

 

[tsemiller]

Wasn't a problem - he's still only a little guy so easy to clean up lol. Was just worried cause he seems to stick to using the same 2 places always. Seems to like routine with everything. Could almost set your watch by him in the morning - 8 every morning he's out of his bed and sitting in his food dish looking for his food - even though there's plenty of weeds growing in his enclosure. Same at night, sits in his dish till he gets another wee snack then straight to bed. Was amazed how strictly he sticks to the same routine! At bath time I put him in a tub of water under his heat lamp. If I'm even 10 mins late he's on the stone where I put his bath scratching away till his bath appears.

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

Was amazed how strictly he sticks to the same routine! .

He, I'm sure is amazed by the gods,(you) sticking to a routine!

 

[tsemiller]

Why thank you kind sir lol

 

[ascott]

hide where he sleeps - it has thick Cotton on the bottom

I think this stuck out to me more than the tort doing his business in the hide.....I am curious why cotton would be a substrate?

 

[tsemiller]

His table has about 4 inches of organic topsoil with a variety of weeds and plants, a plant pot, food and water dishes and various rocks . At the end of the enclosure is a wooden hide and the floor is lined with a piece of cotton material with alfalfa hay on top. He only goes in here at night, preferring under plants or in the plant pots for during the day. Only reason I put the cotton in was to make the hide more cosy and keep heat in. He seems to like it as he goes in voluntarily and sometimes burrows right under it. When cleaning it, I use boiling water and sterilising fluid you would use for baby bottles and rinse it well. Don't use any soap or detergents on it. Should I just take it out?

 

[tsemiller]

Here are some pics to give you a better idea of his indoor enclosure. Outside, he pretty much has free run of the garden for a couple of hours every afternoon it is warm enough. Any advice on changes more than welcome as only had the wee guy a few months and he is my first tortoise

 

[tsemiller]

Anyone else have any tips on how I can improve his indoor enclosure?

Also wanted to ask about when he is outside. I live in Scotland so we don't have the best weather but when it's warm enough I let him roam the garden for as long as I can - at least a couple of hours at a time and he happily munches the grass and dandelions. Also have an area where I planted tortoise food seeds which is a mix of weeds recommended for them. He is always supervised but I wondered whether they know what not to eat? Do they instinctively stay away from things that aren't good for them? Have noticed he avoids the daisies which are dotted around and I know they're not supposed to eat those. Anyone any advice ?

 

[ascott]

So the cotton is a piece of cotton like a cotton cloth? If the tort enjoys it and does not try to consume it then hey, go for it...I just had not ever heard of it being used...does not mean it is bad, just was curious to me is all Does the temp in the enclosure stay stable in the entire enclosure? Or does it cool markedly as the tort moves out from directly under the basking/uv bulb? Cute tort by the way .....

 

[tsemiller]

I brought him home in a shoe box with a hot water bottle wrapped in that piece of Cotton. He burrowed right into it so put him in his hide still wrapped in it to let him come out in his own time. After a good soak, he went straight back to it and it's been there ever since lol.

Temp under the basking lamp is. 90-95 degrees with the rest of the enclosure between 70-80 depending where you check. No lights or heating during the night so temps drop lower then but house thermostat is set at 60 degrees so never gets colder than that. I also spray water over substrate couple of times a day to stop it getting too dry.

 

[ascott]

Cool. I personally would not spray to close to the time the lights/heat goes off for the night...I would not want the temps to drop too low in combination with cool/wet soil....

 

[tsemiller]

No probs will keep that in mind

 

[lynnedit]

I suppose it is possible he was trying to raise the humidity in his hide. That's one reason they would pee there.
Mine love burrowing in hay at night in our climate indoors.
I would consider not soaking him daily. He may pass poo, etc., but too much soaking could perhaps increase the transit time in the gut, and thus, reduce adsorption of nutrients. Instead, consider soaking 2x per week.
You can spot clean if he does his business elsewhere.
I like his indoor enclosure, and the fact that you get him outside, supervised!
With the weather in Scotland, you could build an enclosure with access to a cold frame, and that way he would have a spot to stay dry on wet days.