Mochi9
Member
My 7 month-old Hermann's tort has been kept largely indoors since her arrival in October, due to the cooler weather and her tender age. Over the past few weeks, I have been trying to take her out briefly at least once per week if/when the porch is sunny and warm (reaches 80's in the sun). But we can barely manage for even 15 min at a time--because she full-on panics as soon as we hit the porch.
- If I move her outside while in her enclosure (i.e., move whole enclosure outdoors and set in half-shade and half-sun), she immediately buries herself and won't come out until we are back inside
- If I put her down on the porch for a (closely supervised) roam, she becomes visibly frantic and runs around aimlessly
- If I place her in nice warm soak water while outdoors, she tries to climb out
- She also refuses to eat while outdoors--not even her beloved radicchio!
When I bring her back inside after these brief excursions, she makes a beeline for the substrate and buries herself tight, as if she has just had the scariest experience of her life. Not a particularly shy tort under normal circumstances. Any ideas about how I can acclimatize this poor baby to the experience of being outdoors and soaking up much-needed sun rays? Thank you so much in advance for your advice.
- If I move her outside while in her enclosure (i.e., move whole enclosure outdoors and set in half-shade and half-sun), she immediately buries herself and won't come out until we are back inside
- If I put her down on the porch for a (closely supervised) roam, she becomes visibly frantic and runs around aimlessly
- If I place her in nice warm soak water while outdoors, she tries to climb out
- She also refuses to eat while outdoors--not even her beloved radicchio!
When I bring her back inside after these brief excursions, she makes a beeline for the substrate and buries herself tight, as if she has just had the scariest experience of her life. Not a particularly shy tort under normal circumstances. Any ideas about how I can acclimatize this poor baby to the experience of being outdoors and soaking up much-needed sun rays? Thank you so much in advance for your advice.