why does my Russian always want to get out of his enclosure

Elnewman622

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I'm constantly finding my Russian always on the side of his enclosure. I've never really found out why. Does it mean anything or is it just normal and I just worry too much ?:confused:
 

Elnewman622

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Is his enclosure glass? Can he see through it?
its not glass, its a one of those christmas tree boxes but I put duck tape around the edges to where he can't see. Crush has done this even when he was in his old enclosure which was made of wood.
 

leigti

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It probably needs to be bigger and have deeper substrate. Can you get another one of those boxes and connect them together? How deep is it? You can add more substrate and he can dig in it. My Russian Doug at the corners continually until I added more substrate and then she was much better about it.
 

Elnewman622

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It probably needs to be bigger and have deeper substrate. Can you get another one of those boxes and connect them together? How deep is it? You can add more substrate and he can dig in it. My Russian Doug at the corners continually until I added more substrate and then she was much better about it.
Thanks ! I was actually going to add more substrate and like you crush mostly does it at the corners. His enclosure is pretty big but if the substrate doesn't work I will try adding another one.
 

spud's_mum

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Thanks ! I was actually going to add more substrate and like you crush mostly does it at the corners. His enclosure is pretty big but if the substrate doesn't work I will try adding another one.
Mine does that a lot but not all the time. I have no clue why though :p
 

dmmj

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Russians like to roam. A bigger enclosure would work, sight barriers, so he can't see the end of his enclosure, several hides, things like that.
 

Elnewman622

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Russians like to roam. A bigger enclosure would work, sight barriers, so he can't see the end of his enclosure, several hides, things like that.
His enclosure is pretty big I would say. I'm probably going to add more stuff to his enclosure next week or even earlier than that! :p
 

dmmj

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Remember russians territory in the wild is several square miles, no indoor, and very few outdoor enclosures can compare with that. No judgement here, just info.
 

Elnewman622

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Remember russians territory in the wild is several square miles, no indoor, and very few outdoor enclosures can compare with that. No judgement here, just info.
Yeah. I've come to realize no matter how big the enclosure is he will always think its too small:D
 

leigti

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But if you do increase the size of the enclosure you will notice a difference in your tortoises behavior, at least I did. Once I made her enclosure larger she was more active. Much less digging in the corners.
 

Elnewman622

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But if you do increase the size of the enclosure you will notice a difference in your tortoises behavior, at least I did. Once I made her enclosure larger she was more active. Much less digging in the corners.
I think one of the problems he has is that there isn't a lot of things to do. that what I think don't know if I'm right. But if I am I have been planning to get more stuff to put in such as plants for him to hide under ect.. but if that does work I will definitely try what you said!
 

leigti

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I think one of the problems he has is that there isn't a lot of things to do. that what I think don't know if I'm right. But if I am I have been planning to get more stuff to put in such as plants for him to hide under ect.. but if that does work I will definitely try what you said!
I would do both :) bigger and more plants hides hills etc. I know it can't happen overnight. It seems like we are always tweaking the enclosures but I think you will be glad you did it.
 

Tom

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His enclosure is pretty big I would say.

A big bin is fine for a baby, but way too small for an adult. I recommend 4x8' as a minimum for indoors. All the sigh barriers, hills, caves, plants and things are all very good too, but your tortoise needs room to move.
 

Tom

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A big bin is fine for a baby, but way too small for an adult. I recommend 4x8' as a minimum for indoors. All the sigh barriers, hills, caves, plants and things are all very good too, but your tortoise needs room to move.

Imagine it this way. As a human you might like to walk a mile or two a day. If I stuffed you in a square closet, you might not be to content to sit or stand in there all day every day. If however, I gave you an entire large house to live in, it wouldn't be so bad, right?
 

Elnewman622

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A big bin is fine for a baby, but way too small for an adult. I recommend 4x8' as a minimum for indoors. All the sigh barriers, hills, caves, plants and things are all very good too, but your tortoise needs room to move.
His enclosure right now is actually 4x16' his still young. not like baby young but young
 

Elnewman622

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ignore the one above. its actually 4x2'. Its the best size I can find. I am not good at building from scratch and can't find anyone who is willing to do it for me not even family members. So I am doing the best I can until I can find one bigger.
 

WillTort2

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You do not have to be good at building to enlarge your enclosure and give your tort more exercise.

Many of the home improvement stores like Home Depot and Lowes will cut your lumber purchase to the size you specify. You can also buy prebuilt items that can be modified to your torts use. Shipping boxes and shipping tubes can be used as hides.

If you can use a drill, you can build a very substantial addition to your enclosure from one sheet of plywood and a couple of 1" by 1" support boards.

If drilling and screwing seem too difficult; think about using a liquid nail type adhesive.

Often, the easiest way to increase space is to add a second story to your existing container. Just think of overlapping the second story box so it can sit on top of the container and add a ramp for easy access.

Good luck!
 

Elnewman622

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You do not have to be good at building to enlarge your enclosure and give your tort more exercise.

Many of the home improvement stores like Home Depot and Lowes will cut your lumber purchase to the size you specify. You can also buy prebuilt items that can be modified to your torts use. Shipping boxes and shipping tubes can be used as hides.

If you can use a drill, you can build a very substantial addition to your enclosure from one sheet of plywood and a couple of 1" by 1" support boards.

If drilling and screwing seem too difficult; think about using a liquid nail type adhesive.

Often, the easiest way to increase space is to add a second story to your existing container. Just think of overlapping the second story box so it can sit on top of the container and add a ramp for easy access.

Good luck!
Thanks! I never thought about putting another on top thats an idea I will definetly will put into consideration.
Since I have been in school I havent had the time to look for new enclosures. But since its almost summer I will have more time to look.
 

johnsonnboswell

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I have found that several of my tortoises try to climb the walls when they're hungry. A meal settles them down. Sometimes they just need more food than usual. You can try that and see if it makes any difference.

Still, increase the habitat size as much as you can.
 
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