Hi, I have two Horsefield tortoises who roam happily around my garden. I made a couple of nice homes for them to live in and one of the tortoises loves his new home but the other is happier burying himself under the soil. Is there any way I could persuade him to use his home?
Horsefield Tortoise
- Thread starter AngieCuss
- Start date
Welcome to the forum!
Please post pics of your torts.
Torts living in the same place do not necessarily have to behave the same way.
I have 8 Russians, and 1 who will not return to the night boxes. We have nightly search parties for the little butthead. If you figure out a way to persuade yours, please let me know. I am at my wits end!
None whatsoever bar picking them up and shutting them in.
After 46 years, Joe and I still disagree on suitable sleeping spots.
At this time of year, I don't bother moving him unless he's somewhere truly stupid. He has a couple of bushes he likes to sleep under. More often than not, he will return to his cold frame at night.
If you do move your tort and you don't have a door on the house then wait until your tort has cooled down otherwise he'll simply walk off.
It is possible that what's a 'nice house' to you doesn't look so good to your tort. Does it have a hard floor? Or can he dig in it? Is it quite high? Would he like some straw to push under and hide so he feels safer?
Joe's cold frame is on bare earth so he can dig in and positioned so it gets the sun first thing in the morning. It's against a fence and sheltered by shrubs so rain never trickles through it - it's dry under it. There's straw in one end too so he can just push under the straw.
