Is my tortoise ok?

[Hawkins94]

Hi all

Im a little vague on complete details as it is not my tortoise as such. My sister purchased a tortoise quite a few years back now, I believe it is a russian horsefield. Whilst she has an enclosure outside we do not put her in this enclosure a lot as we live in the UK and it gets cold so for the majority of the year and day she roams the downstairs of our house. It has been like this for years and she has always seemed pretty content, walking from sleeping spot to sleeping spot and having her food when we feed her etc.

Recently this year however she has suddenly been non stop walking round downstairs, going from room to room and barely taking time to rest. Before she would rest for hours but now she may be still for half hour and then shes off again. This seems a little strange and unlike her usual behaviour. Has anyone got any idea why she has suddenly become so active and if there is something wrong what I can do to make sure she is ok.

Thank You for any help

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi all

Im a little vague on complete details as it is not my tortoise as such. My sister purchased a tortoise quite a few years back now, I believe it is a russian horsefield. Whilst she has an enclosure outside we do not put her in this enclosure a lot as we live in the UK and it gets cold so for the majority of the year and day she roams the downstairs of our house. It has been like this for years and she has always seemed pretty content, walking from sleeping spot to sleeping spot and having her food when we feed her etc.

Recently this year however she has suddenly been non stop walking round downstairs, going from room to room and barely taking time to rest. Before she would rest for hours but now she may be still for half hour and then shes off again. This seems a little strange and unlike her usual behaviour. Has anyone got any idea why she has suddenly become so active and if there is something wrong what I can do to make sure she is ok.

Thank You for any help

It's really not a good idea to allow a tortoise to freely roam on the floor around the house. You can find an article on the dangers in our Frequently Asked Questions section.

Your tortoise may be going through sexual maturity. . . might be too cold and trying to find a warmer spot. . . looking for a better place to hide and be safe . . . any number of reasons.

The tortoise needs a large, safe indoor enclosure, with hiding places, plants and lights/heat, in order to be safe and settled. Because Russians are so small, they lose their inner core body heat more quickly than a larger tortoise. They can't digest their food unless they can get their inner core up to 80-85F degrees. If at all possible, set this tortoise up in a large indoor enclosure. She'll still be scratching at the corners, trying to escape, but after she realizes she's safe and warm she'll settle down.

 

[Hawkins94]

It's really not a good idea to allow a tortoise to freely roam on the floor around the house. You can find an article on the dangers in our Frequently Asked Questions section.

Your tortoise may be going through sexual maturity. . . might be too cold and trying to find a warmer spot. . . looking for a better place to hide and be safe . . . any number of reasons.

The tortoise needs a large, safe indoor enclosure, with hiding places, plants and lights/heat, in order to be safe and settled. Because Russians are so small, they lose their inner core body heat more quickly than a larger tortoise. They can't digest their food unless they can get their inner core up to 80-85F degrees. If at all possible, set this tortoise up in a large indoor enclosure. She'll still be scratching at the corners, trying to escape, but after she realizes she's safe and warm she'll settle down.

Thank you for the reply.

She seems to be digesting okay as she is still pooping regularly and all of that stuff. She also has plenty of places to hide that she has always used before, under sofas, under cabinets, behind chairs etc.

She also is able to get directly underneath radiators that we have on for practically the entire day. She used to often sit under them which I presume would be to heat up.

We have also built a house for her with hay inside so she can go inside and hide in there should she wish too.

Any other things you can suggest doing?