Tortoise Suddenly 'Out' Aware

[Sally Franklin Christie]

Hello everyone,

I am sorry for the strange Subject Line.

My tortoise, who is yet to be named, is in good health. 2 years old. I have managed to keep her alive for more than a year. She is growing, clear eyed and active.

She likes to climb so I put interesting things into the enclosure but this caused her to begin falling onto her back.

I removed most of the clutter and she began to become aware that there is something beyond the glass. She sort of tortoise rushes the glass and continues to paddle/dig into the soil. She also literally tries to climb the tank walls. And, of course she tips over.

This awareness seems to have come on suddenly.

I taped some printer paper along the front of the tank to block her view and as a result I can't enjoy the pleasure of watching her.

She moved away from the front glass after the paper went up and the last I heard she was napping.

Does anyone know why she suddenly began doing this? Is blocking her view the right thing to do?

I am not hibernating her. I am afraid of accidentally killing her. Maybe next year I will try it. In the mean time she has lots of light and warm temps during the day. At night I shut down the ceramic heaters and the lights. The enclosure temp drops down to about 65 by morning when I flip the switch and light her up again.

Is she in danger of mental collapse because of the ability to see out?

How can I provide climbing that is safe for her? I don't want her to flip and stay that way for an extended period of time. At night she sleeps so I don't worry about her then.

Thanks everyone!

She is a Hermanns Dalmatian

Sally and her Tort who has yet to be named...

 

[wellington]

RE: Tortoise Suddenly Out Aware

Blocking the glass is the thing to do. Instead of giving her things to climb, give her things she can hide in, walk around or even eat, like plants. Also things to go around like a rock that she can't climb but can walk around, dig under, and just blocks her site from the other end of the enclosure. She has to search and investigate around the rock to see what's over there. Hope that helps.

 

[Kirin]

RE: Tortoise Suddenly Out Aware

How old is she? My leopard has been fine in his house for 7 months. He has grown and I feel is getting to big for his enclosure. He has been pacing in front of the glass, climbing the walls. I just changed up and added a lot more plants, which seemed to make him happy. He needs a bigger home but will have to wait until after Christmas. Change things up and see if it changes.

 

[Pokeymeg]

Hermann torts can be very active, so this behavior is not uncommon. How large is the enclosure?

Definitely try and break up her sight lines with extra plants, etc. This will make the enclosure 'larger'. My Hermann acts similarly sometimes, but mostly he will do laps around his plants now when he is that active instead of climbing the walls.

What are you using for substrate? Maybe it is too soft and is contributing to the tipping.