We do not know why he likes to bite us; the little mouth can break the skin on feet or hands, and it is painful. These tortoises cannot be trusted with young children.
We started out with wood chips too, but later some chips developed ticks. As an alternative, we lined the bottom of the enclosure with some plexiglass and used a long sheet of paper towels for the water and food dishes. Last we covered the tortoise at a night with hand towels and they feel...