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Hello all. My sweet RT Milly digs all the time. Is that normal? Is there something I can do different? Is she bored? We take her outdoors every evening. 
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Digging to China
- Thread starter mrsturtlelady
- Start date
Normal.
Russians need large enclosures with lots of room to roam. Your enclosure is on the small side for a tortoise that size, something bigger might make things a little better.
Russians need large enclosures with lots of room to roam. Your enclosure is on the small side for a tortoise that size, something bigger might make things a little better.
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Thanks so much!
I don't thing digging means their bored as Mo loves to do this in different parts of his enclosure! Like this....
Look carefully in the middle of the photo! Lol.... It took me ages to find him! Get a bigger enclosure and make your topsoil/coconut coir mix deep in different areas.
Look carefully in the middle of the photo! Lol.... It took me ages to find him! Get a bigger enclosure and make your topsoil/coconut coir mix deep in different areas.
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Russian Torts dig a lot in the wild and this behavior is completely normal. Just means you've got a healthy tort!!
agreed, my Russian LOVES to dig and roam around all the time. theyre known for it, and with that in mind make sure your enclosure is of good size.
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Russian tortoises are a true burrowing species. What your tortoise is doing is natural for the species and really shouldn't be discouraged. Russian tortoises that constantly dig are usually be trying to establish a permanent burrow. In captivity some are content with man made shelters or artificial burrows. Some will just bury themselves. Others have a stronger natural instinct and will only settle with an actual burrow as they would inhabit in the wild.mrsturtlelady said:
I just adopted this little lady. She is a peach! I have her running around my living room right now because it was too dark to put her in the garden when we got home. She is not shy! I am going to get some more fence to separate her from the boys in the morning! Until then, she will be in the 5 x 4 play pen on the patio! I can't wait to let her meet the boys. Supervised visit of course! Thanks for trusting me with her Heather!
Yep. My RTs love to dig. They really like to burrow into hay. Its weird.
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My tort has a burrow that is like a foot deep in the outdoor enclosure
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At least part of the effect of being in a burrow is the small secure space. The wooden hide you have might offer that better if you stuff it full of dry cut grass, or hay, etc. That way the tortoise will feel itself in an secure closed space, and that may settle it down.
This seems true of leopards when they hunker up against a grass clump or push up under a small shrub. They feel it on their carapace, and seem to benefit from that as a secure hide. So, even non burrowing tortoises get some sort of security with being enclosed, or hunkered in.
This seems true of leopards when they hunker up against a grass clump or push up under a small shrub. They feel it on their carapace, and seem to benefit from that as a secure hide. So, even non burrowing tortoises get some sort of security with being enclosed, or hunkered in.
