Are two enclosures stressful?

[sheilae04]

I've had my Russian for 3 weeks now. He has two enclosures...one for weekdays in my classroom and one for weekend at home? Eventually, I week be leaving him at school (in his larger, favorite enclosure) and going in to feed and check on him daily. But fir now, I've been bringing him home. Is this too stressful for him? It's just a five minute drive and I bring all his same accessories back and forth.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I think that the short answer is YES.
Just keep both enclosures as they are and hopefully, he'll get used to the switch.

 

[Yvonne G]

In my opinion, he'll get used to it in time. It might be stressful at first, but he should settle down once he realizes he's ok.

 

[Jodie]

I agree. He will adjust to the routine.

 

[Tom]

There is no question that there is some stress involved, but this is not necessarily bad. The question should be is this routine TOO stressful. If he's eating, basking and behaving normally, then I would say no, it is not too stressful for this tortoise.

 

[Gillian M]

A very warm welcome to the forum!

As far as I know torts do not like change. However you can give it a try and let's hope for the best.

Please post pics of your tort as well as his two enclosures.

 

[Lyn W]

If the 2 enclosures are identical he may settle more quickly in one or the other

 

[Tortoise_Wrangler]

My Russians move between 3 different setups and they do fine. First is their main outdoor enclosure, second is their rainy day/winter indoor enclosure and third is never the same, but I have parts for a quick makeshift set up on my lawn. It always takes time for them to get used to their environment, but so as long as your torts know you, at least in my case, they take to any changes very quickly. They just got released back into their main outdoor enclosure and you wouldn't have thought they just spent two and half months indoors, they were instantly back to business as usual. It also rained yesterday, and I haven't fixed up my enclosure to house my two 7 inchers properly, I made a den for them, but it isn't water proof, so I closed that one up and let the smaller torts use their raised waterproof den. The two larger ones went inside and they took to that instantly, business as usual. As for the third makeshift, I make a 30ftX 10ft pen and let them graze in the sun and they love it. To be fair, this is all on the same property so transportation is quick. My torts know me, so if they see me, they act pretty chill when I move them around.

If I were you, I would leave your tort in his main enclosure for the next few months until you see him develop a regular routine. When you know he's good, that's when I would try getting him used to being at your house. He'll trip a little but he should get used to it, Russians are remarkably resilient to change. I think what's important is that your tort knows you, mine know me as the food man and i assume they love me... maybe. Anyways, it'll be easier for him to adapt to one environment at a time, rather than two at a time. Also don't worry about feeding him over the weekend, I only feed mine 3 times a week when outdoors (They have plenty to graze on.) and only feed them twice a week during the winter since they get very little exercise during that time. My torts are thriving, growing and laying eggs, so I know my system is working for them.

Don't sweat it too much, i used to worry all the time if I was doing things right, but if they're eating and active, you're doing good. Just remember, actually caring for their well being is half of what every keeper should practice and that part comes from the heart, you either have it or you don't. Sounds like you got it, so good luck, sounds like your tort is in for a good life.

 

[sheilae04]

Thank you, Tortoise Wrangler! He really is doing well. I am planning on leaving him in his enclosure in my classroom this weekend, since that is my larger, nicer enclosure. I just noticed that this past Monday, he seemed more anxious than usual, so I'll try this and see how it goes. Sure do love this guy!

 

[sheilae04]

Update: Saturn's in a nice routine and seems healthy and happy. I've left him in the one enclosure rather than transferring him back and forth. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Tortoise_Wrangler]

Glad to hear he's doing well.

 

[Oxalis]

Glad to hear he's doing well! Your terra cotta pot gave me a simple solution for something for my Russian to climb when I expand his enclosure. Thanks! I think one thing that helped comfort my Russian when I moved him to his new enclosure is the nice, toasty heat lamp. It's the first place he goes whenever he leaves the enclosure to go outside or take a soak.

 

[sheilae04]

I saw the terra cotta pot idea on someone's thread here, and I'm not even kidding you - it was a life changer for my tort. I was worried about him being so lethargic, but as soon as I put that pot in there, he's up and climbing all morning between that and the log. Such a simple solution

 

[Oxalis]

I saw the terra cotta pot idea on someone's thread here, and I'm not even kidding you - it was a life changer for my tort. I was worried about him being so lethargic, but as soon as I put that pot in there, he's up and climbing all morning between that and the log. Such a simple solution

That's good! I think the temp and light really get them up and moving more, but maybe there's something to be said for challenges. They really do love climbing, silly boys!