Horsefield potentially depressed ?

[Terence's mum]

Dear all,

We have a lovely little 2 and a half year old Horsefield tortoise called Terence (who I actually think might be female..... ?). Anyway, he seems really depressed. He's disappearing for up to 6 days at a time at the moment, just going into his sleeping area and well, sleeping! I'm in Ireland just so you know. I always bring him outside in the garden with me on a sunny day. I made him a new temporary outdoor space (still waiting for the husband to make the permanent one, yawn!) but all he wants to do is escape.

My husband tells me I made a huge mistake letting him roam in the garden with me because now he knows he's still caged when I put him in the enclosure. He's seen freedom!! Also, when I put him in the enclosure he just goes and hides. He never stops roaming in the garden, but in the enclosure he just wants to dig down somewhere and guess what.... Sleep.

Thanks folks!
Nicky.

 

[Terence's mum]

Sorry, didn't realise that posts had to be so short .... To continue.....

I genuinely think he/she's depressed. Any advice folks? Is he lonely? Or aware that he's trapped? The past few times I have had to gently wake him up and give him a soak and some food as I'm concerned he's not getting enough UV sunlight from his lamp.

Any advice would be great. I do have to make him a bigger indoor enclosure as he has grown out of his current one. I also think he's pyramiding a bit. EEEEEK! So much that I'm worried about. Will try and post pic of him.

Thanks folks!

Nicky.

 

[Duckster RT]

Try to hand feed him. Show him how u r the food machine. Be patient. Offer food. He might start to get excited when he sees you. Maybe start to walk to u. Torts r smart and will learn. Try a little stimulation for a while. Some react well. Others are just more solitary. Good luck.

 

[Yvonne G]

Your husband is right. If you want your tortoise to be content to live in an enclosure you must first make sure it's large enough, then second, don't let him know there's more to the world on the other side of his walls.

 

[wellington]

But a tortoise should be able to live outside when it is nice. So if they can't see thru the enclosure walls then they wont really know there is something on the other side. The enclosure has to be a good size or s/he will always want out. Lots of plants for cover helps too.
As for bringing her/him outside and then having to bring back in. I do the same with mine in the fall and spring when night temps are too cold. Once it's done enough they get used to the routine with no problems. Not a reason to not bring him outside.

 

[Lyn W]

Hi, I don't know if you've found this yet but this is the caresheet you need for Terence.

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

www.tortoiseforum.org

Do you have WHAT stores in Ireland? I noticed the other day that they are selling good sized dog paddling pools (at least 1.5 m diameter if not more) for £10.99. They are quite deep and made of rigid plastic so with some substrate, a shady area and water tray in them they would make a great temp outdoor enclosure for small torts to get some contained supervised time in the sun. I'm not sure how big Terence is at his age, but until he gets his custom made enclosure it could be ideal.
Your tort is not lonely so don't be tempted to get another tort, they are solitary creatures and having to share would be very stressful for both of them - probably resulting in illness, injury or even death. There are lots of threads warning about keeping pairs of torts and Russians can be especially aggressive.
When you do make the enclosure bear in mind that for young adults of the smaller species a minimum of 4 x 8 feet is needed but the bigger the better. There are some good upvc raised garden bed kits that could be adapted for tort use.

 

[Jacqui]

*waves* Hello

 

[Terence's mum]

Try to hand feed him. Show him how u r the food machine. Be patient. Offer food. He might start to get excited when he sees you. Maybe start to walk to u. Torts r smart and will learn. Try a little stimulation for a while. Some react well. Others are just more solitary. Good luck.

Thanks for replying. I hand feed him all the time and he loves it. He just seems to want to stay in bed at the moment. I don't let him stay in bed for more than 5/6 days. I didn't hibernate him. We've had him for a year and a half and he loves it when he hears my voice and we spend time together but when I put him back in either enclosure he seems angry and stomps off to bed.

 

[Terence's mum]

Try to hand feed him. Show him how u r the food machine. Be patient. Offer food. He might start to get excited when he sees you. Maybe start to walk to u. Torts r smart and will learn. Try a little stimulation for a while. Some react well. Others are just more solitary. Good luck.

 

[Lyn W]

Thanks for replying. I hand feed him all the time and he loves it. He just seems to want to stay in bed at the moment. I don't let him stay in bed for more than 5/6 days. I didn't hibernate him. We've had him for a year and a half and he loves it when he hears my voice and we spend time together but when I put him back in either enclosure he seems angry and stomps off to bed.

Are his temps high enough?
Spring has been pretty cold and wet in our part of the world so maybe he's reacting to that.
If you post some pics of his enclosure with details of what lamps you are using, members can see if there's anything affecting his behaviour.

 

[Tom]

Thanks for replying. I hand feed him all the time and he loves it. He just seems to want to stay in bed at the moment. I don't let him stay in bed for more than 5/6 days. I didn't hibernate him. We've had him for a year and a half and he loves it when he hears my voice and we spend time together but when I put him back in either enclosure he seems angry and stomps off to bed.

Something is off in the environment. Possibly temperatures or the wrong lighting. If you followed pet shop advice, it could be either. Read the care sheet the Lyn posted and see what you are doing differently.