Escape Artist

[DVSquires]

We are getting close to being at a loss with our 8 year old redfoot, Puck. Last season he managed to escape his enclosure outside (we still don't know how he climbed a wall of cinderblocks) so this year we expanded it and also added a cyclone-style fence around the cinderblocks that were already in place as walls. Well now he is climbing the fence (quite adeptly I might add). The enclosure is 10'x8' and has a tarp over the top to give enough shade but also sun when he needs it. On nicer days we pull half of it back to allow more sun. He has a little house in there that he loves (wooden kind sold for rabbits) and a pool, plenty of his favorite variety of plants to eat. Yet he still tries to climb several times an hour and we find him on his back. It's VERY hot out these days and we are having to go out there to check on him every 15 mins or so in case he's once again flipped over. I am assuming this is a hormonal issue and we're just hoping it passes, but what to do in the meantime? He goes out first thing in the morning and comes in after dinner for the night. He does not try to escape his indoor enclosure which is about 9' long and 4' wide. Would love to hear solutions to this issue that have worked for others, I'm sure our boy is not the only randy redfoot out there desperately seeking a date.

 

[wellington]

Put caps on the cinder block like a board that hangs over into the inside of the enclosure so he can't climb out. Remove the fencing or figure out a way to put a cap part way up so he can't climb.

 

[wellington]

@ZEROPILOT

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Usually adult RF don't climb much. And they also don't seem very good at it.
USUALLY.
But there are some individuals that are just never content.
I've had at least one climber before. But he was probably one out of 50- 60 individuals. @Maggie3fan also had a male RF that was a climber.
You don't have any other tortoises nearby. Correct?
Is he scaling the sheer walls or climbing up in the corners?
Is there any way you can blow the enclosure out and increase the square footage? And plant some bushy shade plants?
I generally find homes for any overly active tortoise like him that are with keepers with a lot of time to deal with them.
You may need to replace the cement blocks with walls made of pressure treated wooded pickets attached vertically. (Up and down) so that he can't easily get a foot hold. Or try a few different types of wall until you find one that he gives up on.
I currently have just 4 Redfoot. And the enclosures are very short in height and the walls are cement blocks, wooden slats mounted horizontally and the outside wall of my house.
Three of the four are males.
No one ever escapes.

 

[Maggie3fan]

I used 1 block that's over the corners, making sure it's too heavy for the tort. It's hotter than normal here and my RF doesn't care much for being in his outside pen, but he settles down inside, so I stopped putting him outside. You might just leave your guy inside....I

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I used 1 block that's over the corners, making sure it's too heavy for the tort. It's hotter than normal here and my RF doesn't care much for being in his outside pen, but he settles down inside, so I stopped putting him outside. You might just leave your guy inside....I

My RF stay inside their hides from about 8am until around 7pm.
It's almost 100 degrees and just about 100% humidity.

 

[DVSquires]

Put caps on the cinder block like a board that hangs over into the inside of the enclosure so he can't climb out. Remove the fencing or figure out a way to put a cap part way up so he can't climb.

We can't remove the fencing, because he was stolen in the past. It took us 10 days of sheer hell to get him back, so after that we put the fence up with a padlocked gate. He's been relentless, every day trying to climb the fence and we're finding him flipped over. We have to go out and check on him every 15 minutes. I don't want to bring him in, he needs the fresh air and sunshine, but we work and it's not easy to go out there constantly. Right now I have a 2' liner around the inside of the enclosure so he can't see out anymore and we're hoping that will stop him from climbing. I'm going to make him more tunnels and things to keep himself busy and maybe distract him from his pubescent craziness. Has no one else experienced this issue?

 

[wellington]

If the liner doesn't stop him from constantly pacing and trying to get out, I would suggest trying to add onto the size of the enclosure possible. He got a taste of the big world outside of the enclosure and may need more space.
You can also try rearranging the inside of the enclosure, adding more plants, maybe a few large rocks, etc .

 

[DVSquires]

If the liner doesn't stop him from constantly pacing and trying to get out, I would suggest trying to add onto the size of the enclosure possible. He got a taste of the big world outside of the enclosure and may need more space.
You can also try rearranging the inside of the enclosure, adding more plants, maybe a few large rocks, etc .

That's what we're doing now, redecorating. I went to Lowes yesterday and bought a few things to DIY for him. We don't have enough space to make it larger really (it's about 8x10), plus we spent a good amount on the security fence so I don't know how we'd make it larger without adding more fencing. These are all obstacles we definitely didn't foresee. He's got a bunch of edible plants in there that he has always enjoyed, tall fescue grass, a big boston fern to hang out under, some brushes for backscratching, water trough and a pool. Aside from the boston fern, [which is in a pot that hangs an inch or so from the ground since he kept knocking it over,] all the soil and plants are organic. He's never walked very far outside of the enclosure, and we are always with him when he does. I can only assume it is hormonal/seasonal and hopefully it won't last, but for now he's really giving us a run for our money.

 

[DVSquires]

Update - nothing has improved & he’s still giving us a runaround. We have to check on him several times an hour & on days we are not home he just can’t be out there. He’s got plenty of sunny areas, plenty of natural shade as well as his house, water, plants to snack on & hide in. But he’s continually getting into trouble & we find him on his back. Today he went under his pool (after moving the bricks we had surrounding it) dumping all the water out. After we put it back & refilled it we found it on the other side of the enclosure next time we went out. Put it back & refilled it again & found it dismantled again a half hour later. We have the perimeter lined so he can’t see out anymore but it hasn’t stopped him from trying to climb. Really at the end of our ropes with this boy but don’t want to deny him the time outside.

 

[Melaleuca]

I'm sorry he's still rampaging! My climber redfoot is only 3, but when she's rampaging and climbing at the walls non-stop it's usually a food, water, lighting, or mould issue 😬 I've learned to check and fix those things and then she settles down. The most frequent trigger for mine lately has been light; she can't sleep unless it's VERY dark so she lets us know when she's having an early bedtime and needs all the curtains closed and lights off (including the infrared on the pet cameras). Maybe your boy needs more dark hides to choose from?
In the past, spots of mould in areas that I couldn't see easily or didn't expect to grow mould were a common cause for my tort to want out, is it possible the rabbit hutch has cool damp areas that have moulded?

 

[DVSquires]

I will check that tomorrow, but we do look at it every day when we take him in & out because we have to reopen it (we keep it locked at night so no animals jump the fence and take up residence in there or worse yet use it as a bathroom). He hasn't been able to go out the last few days because we have been too busy with work to get out there regularly and check on him. He is calm in the indoor enclosure, which is smaller than the outdoor, so I don't think space is the issue. It has to be hormonal, but I have not been able to find any information to verify that or let me know if it is a passing phase or if this is something we'll be contending with next season as well. His breeder suggested I take everything out except his house and water trough so he has fewer things to climb on, but he's still just trying to climb randomly on the sides. He moves the things we put in there to block problem areas, like between his house and the fence (photo - large heavy tile and a brick - he just moved them aside and proceeded to stand up). He can't climb successfully anymore but it doesn't stop him from standing up and tipping over. As you can see from the labels I put on these photos, we are getting frustrated....

 

[DVSquires]

By the way, many thanks to all who have replied, your input is very much appreciated!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

In my few decades of experience. I've only seen a few climbing Redfoot. And I believe they were all males.
@Maggie3fan also had a crazy climber.
I'm not sure how you'd stop that behavior. Most do not climb after a certain age/size.