Hyperactive is an understatement!

[Nicky Wilson]

We have had Henry for 12 months now. He got off to a rough start. I know I shouldn't have but I fell in love with him because I felt sorry for him. He was in a pet shop and so small and looked sad. He had dirty water and the food they were giving him wasn't right. I thought I could give him a nice home.

When we first got him he was so tiny and lethargic. After a while I also noticed that he had a bit of a sticky eye and we thought he could possibly be blind! His eye to mouth coordination was inches out!

We took him to the vets and finally got him better and healthy. He had a terrible case of worms (the worst the vet had ever seen), he went onto 3 very strong courses of antibiotics and eye drops.

For months now he has been happy and healthy and he is in a nice large table with heat lamp (on a dimmer stat) and uvb lighting. He is living on corn cob distracted (everything else seemed to irritate his eyes). The substrate is about 3 inches deep and he loves to have a good dig around.

However recently he has been way more hyperactive than usual! I now call him hyperactive Henry.

He will climb on anything he can, he messes up his enclosure, runs around, throws his food about, climbs up the walls, frantically digs and scrapes the sides. Mishima most recent thing is he likes to climb onto the top of his logs, rocks and house and then jumps off the top! This will go on for hours and hours.

I don't think he is too hot as he sits under his heat bulb, surely he wouldn't do that if he was.

Does anyone else experience anything similar? Any ideas what could be wrong?

He is only 1 and with his past ill health we have not hibernated him. We plan to build an outdoor enclosure but we haven't got around to doing it yet. I'm also worried that if I start getting him out, he might get used to it and get worse so that I get him out!

Below is a photo of him threatening to jump!

 

[Sara G.]

Was he a hatchling when you got him? Odds are that he's already full grown, most pet stores keep wild caught adults in store. If he is definitely a male, then it could be that he's ready to breed, or thinks he is at least.
Do you have any issues with him trying to eat the substrate?

 

[wellington]

I know you said the other substrate bothers his eyes, but corn is not a natural substrate. If you not using the coil type bulbs then it could be from being too dry, they should have a humidity level of around 50% as adults higher for hatchlings and plain dirt, not sand would be much better for him then corn. I have read about some Russians that act like yours. It could be one of the things Sara G mentioned

 

[Nicky Wilson]

I bought him in June and I was told that he hatched on 5th January 2016 so he is probably about 16 months old now. He was so tiny so I do believe that he was that young.

Don't really have problems with him eating substrate, only if some gets stuck to his food but 9 times out of 10 he spits it out.

Humidity could be the solution. His shell does feel dry. I bath him daily and he does sometimes get in there himself (sometimes he falls asleep in it though so need to keep an eye on him).

I wasn't aware that Russians needed humidity. How do I get humidity into his enclosure?

 

[Nicky Wilson]

We have just come back from a 2 week holiday. Henry went to stay with his grandma. We set his enclosure up exactly as it is at home a left strict instructions to follow his usual routine. His behaviors started like this during the first week of our holiday and has continued since we got back (about 3 days ago).

Do you think that we have upset him by moving him backwards and forwards and this is why?

 

[wellington]

If you replace the substrate with dirt, you can sink the water dish down to be level with the dirt. A low sided clay saucer works best. They can get in and out on their own. Cover the enclosure or at least most of it and dampen the dirt. It's possible the moving from one placate or another could have stirred him up

 

[Jodie]

Threatening to jump, that is adorable. It is spring. This seems common in tortooises kept inside. I would also question his age.

 

[Nicky Wilson]

Thank you for your comments guys. I will keep you informed of how he's doing.

 

[JoesMum]

Hi.

Whereabouts do you live? It may affect our advice.

Russians are very active torts as you have found. They love to dig and climb as you are discovering. They need lots of space.

You should do what you can to reduce the flipping risk by attempted jumps - maybe pile substrate up round the hide so there's more of a ramp?

Some plants will help to add cover and will give your tort something to browse. Sink pots into the substrate so they grow better and can be swapped out easily.

Please read the following guides which will help you understand the best care for your tort. They're written by species experts working hard to correct misinformation from pet stores, the internet and, sadly, some breeders and vets too.

Beginner Mistakes
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Russian Tort Care Sheet
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

Baby Russian Care Sheet
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...or-other-herbivorous-tortoise-species.107734/

 

[John Franzwa]

My Russian tort is fairly active and uses her whole cage and its big it's 5 by 3 feet it uses the hole thing exept for a sectioned of part for a 3 week old one eyed red foot tortoise I rescued, other wise sh uses the hole thing, I use coco fiber it holds humidity well and a simple humidity therm electric works best or even the glass circle ones I don't recommend. Also a good misting once and a while like daily but don't get the ground to damp!

 

[Kasia]

We have had Henry for 12 months now. He got off to a rough start. I know I shouldn't have but I fell in love with him because I felt sorry for him. He was in a pet shop and so small and looked sad. He had dirty water and the food they were giving him wasn't right. I thought I could give him a nice home.

When we first got him he was so tiny and lethargic. After a while I also noticed that he had a bit of a sticky eye and we thought he could possibly be blind! His eye to mouth coordination was inches out!

We took him to the vets and finally got him better and healthy. He had a terrible case of worms (the worst the vet had ever seen), he went onto 3 very strong courses of antibiotics and eye drops.

For months now he has been happy and healthy and he is in a nice large table with heat lamp (on a dimmer stat) and uvb lighting. He is living on corn cob distracted (everything else seemed to irritate his eyes). The substrate is about 3 inches deep and he loves to have a good dig around.

However recently he has been way more hyperactive than usual! I now call him hyperactive Henry.

He will climb on anything he can, he messes up his enclosure, runs around, throws his food about, climbs up the walls, frantically digs and scrapes the sides. Mishima most recent thing is he likes to climb onto the top of his logs, rocks and house and then jumps off the top! This will go on for hours and hours.

I don't think he is too hot as he sits under his heat bulb, surely he wouldn't do that if he was.

Does anyone else experience anything similar? Any ideas what could be wrong?

He is only 1 and with his past ill health we have not hibernated him. We plan to build an outdoor enclosure but we haven't got around to doing it yet. I'm also worried that if I start getting him out, he might get used to it and get worse so that I get him out!

Below is a photo of him threatening to jump!View attachment 174200View attachment 174201

My Russian tort is very active and does pace around the yard whole day long. In my opinion it's normal behavior. If he eats well, has good care and is kept in good conditions (temperature, light and humidity) it's pretty normal that his one the rampage .

 

[Nicky Wilson]

Thanks for all your comments guys. He is really well otherwise so it might just be him!

In in Yorkishire in England. We had a rare sunny day today so I left him have free reign of the garden (with me watching him very closely from about 1 foot away at most). He absolutely loved it. He was racing around exploring and didn't attempt to eat anything as he was far too excited to explore!

He was only out for about an hour but he covered an awful lot of ground for his little legs.

He has now been fast asleep for 5 hours. Poor thing tired himself out. I've not heard a peak since!

 

[Nicky Wilson]

Because he enjoyed it so much we've decided to build him an enclosure for outside. It will only be used in nice weather during the day. I will fill it with soil so he can have a good dig around and plant some of his favorite weeds.

This is how far we've come along with it.

Is like to paint it to protect it from weathering. Can I use fence paint or will this be toxic for him? Also do I need to line it with plastic or something before filling it with soil?

 

[Rue]

I just made something similar...but I repurposed an old shallow plastic trough for the base.

I would be inclined to paint a wooden base with a oil-based marine paint. Let it cure/gas off properly before using. I have had good luck using this paint outdoors and also in our chicken coop.

Then again...how long do you expect it to last for?

Climate will also affect how fast it breaks down...ours is cool and dry and wooden items last quite a long time before they start to decay.

So...you might opt just to let it age without preserving it.

 

[Nicky Wilson]

We get a lot of rain here so keen to treat it to prevent rotting.

I will give it a lick and leave it to air out properly before filling it up

 

[Kasia]

View attachment 174402 View attachment 174403 Because he enjoyed it so much we've decided to build him an enclosure for outside. It will only be used in nice weather during the day. I will fill it with soil so he can have a good dig around and plant some of his favorite weeds.

This is how far we've come along with it.

Is like to paint it to protect it from weathering. Can I use fence paint or will this be toxic for him? Also do I need to line it with plastic or something before filling it with soil?

You can put inside ordinary garbage bags and seal them at sides with pipe Insulation tape (or cover whole bottom in it but it's more expensive). Works fine with my tortoise table. I grow grass in it and water it daily, never had a leakage.

 

[JoesMum]

We get a lot of rain here so keen to treat it to prevent rotting.

I will give it a lick and leave it to air out properly before filling it up

Generally people suggest pond liner, but you will need the rain water to drain through otherwise you will have a pond!

You can buy pet safe wood treaments. This article suggests a number of them that you should be able to pick up from Homebase or B&Q
http://www.therabbithouse.com/outdoor/petsafewoodstain.asp