Is this odd behavior?

[Whinhill]

Hi

I have a captive born 3 year old Eastern Hermann female. I've had her 2 months or so and she is in quarantine for another 4 month.

Recently (over the last three days or so) she has started some odd behavior she wiggles from side to side carving out furrows in her bedding (shredded aspen).

It's hard to explain but here is a a video of her doing it and the furrows she has made (she's eating well as you can see in the video; remnants of tonights meal around her mouth.)

Here's the link to the video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4kjuEQwPks

cheers

Ian

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Looks like she's scratching her plastron to me. Her plastron is itching and she's rubbing it or she's dancing

 

[Whinhill]

Her plastron looks fine, maybe she's going to audition for a remake of Saturday night fever

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Her plastron looks fine, maybe she's going to audition for a remake of Saturday night fever

That movement is exactly the same that my Sulcata does when he climbs on something and rubs his plastron just like it itches. I doubt you could see an itchy plastron. She's pretty cute tho. I'm thinkin you'll never know what it is...

 

[dmmj]

Dancing with the stars audition?

 

[dmarcus]

It could be the an adition for, so you think you can dance show.....I have no clue

 

[Starjelly]

She has the chills.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Wow, I've never seen that behavior from any chelonian before. However, I would also think her plastron is itchy. She looks like she's in great shape overall, but inspect her plastron closely; you might find that one or two scutes are peeling a bit. Judging by the video, it looks like her substrate is cedar bark shavings, which do not hold moisture very well. If her plastron is dry, it could be itchy. I would suggest switching to a moister substrate, like cypress mulch, orchid bark, or coconut coir. The kind of substrate you have there is good for rodents because it is dry, but it is not recommended for reptiles. Also, that kind of wood contains terpenoids which can be an irritant. I think you might be able to end this apparently distressed behavior by switching to a different substrate.

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

Wow, I've never seen that behavior from any chelonian before. However, I would also think her plastron is itchy. She looks like she's in great shape overall, but inspect her plastron closely; you might find that one or two scutes are peeling a bit. Judging by the video, it looks like her substrate is cedar bark shavings, which do not hold moisture very well. If her plastron is dry, it could be itchy. I would suggest switching to a moister substrate, like cypress mulch, orchid bark, or coconut coir. The kind of substrate you have there is good for rodents because it is dry, but it is not recommended for reptiles. Also, that kind of wood contains terpenoids which can be an irritant. I think you might be able to end this apparently distressed behavior by switching to a different substrate.

2nd the idea of switching to cypress mulch, as my former sulcatta did the same "dancing" when I kept her on pine or cedar shavings, but stopped when I changed her substrata.

If that doesn't work... http://assets.fox.com/shows/dance/downloads/auditions/SYTYCD_ELIGIBILITY_REQUIREMENT_Season_8.pdf

 

[bikerchicspain]

Just a wild stab in the dark here..
Has she been wormed, because sometimes when an animal has parasites or soft feces their bottom itches.

Oh by the way she is gorgeous, so cute.

 

[GBtortoises]

I have a female Eastern Hermann's that does that exact same thing! But in the mud! When ever it's warm and it rains she will go out in an area that is bare ground within the enclosure and go through the same actions as yours does. By doing so in the mud she ends up creating a small shallow bowl shaped depression which she will sit in for a few minutes and then walk away as if nothing just happened. She has lived outdoors year round for the past 15 years and has never had a single health problem, in fact she is one of my most active, alert tortoises of any of the species I have. I've tried to figure out the purpose of that action forever and I cannot associate with anything else (nesting, resting, etc...). When I first saw her doing it I was assuming that she was preparing a future nesting site, but she never nests in the area that she digs the depression in. I have never seen any of my other Eastern Hermann's, or other species do that.

My female doesn't do it with quite so much vigor as yours does either.

Anybody got any ideas?

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Well, maybe the softness of the substrate is triggering that wallowing instinct. How long does she do it for at a time?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4kjuEQwPks[/youtube]

 

[Isa]

It is the first time I see that. I agree with the 2 ideas of the substrate and the worms. Could it be that she has a blockage or a hard piece of urates to pass and it is hard for her and it is hurting her?
She is totally beautiful by the way

 

[Fernando]

haha cute tortoise!

 

[Whinhill]

She is a babe

I tend to use aspen for quarantining animals because it is so light in color and you can see the feces/urates easily, but I'm going to change it on Saturday. She's eating and growing well (I've just fed her and the rest of the crowd.) I also misted her and her bedding well tonight and she didn't do for the the half an hour I was working in the tortarium (my tortoise room) just now. When she gets her wiggle on it's for about a minute and then she stops. The video shows pretty much the whole event. And she went back to feeding straight away afterwards.

I wormed her the day I got her and she certainly had worms when she arrived, but I haven't run a worm check since her feces were egg free, about a month ago. If she's wormy again I suspect she hasn't got a big parasite load.

She does it for about 2 or minutes stops, wanders off as if nothing has happened and may, or may not, do it somewhere else straight away.

I'll post some ultra close up of her Plastron over the weekend

@GBtortoises
Gary
just to say those three beauties are doing wonderfully and I haven't forgotten those photos for you
Ian

Forgot to say thanks for all the replies much appreciated

 

[african cake queen]

HI, TO ME SHE LOOKS LIKE SHES TRYING TI MAKE AHOLE IN BEDDING ,MAYBE ADD A FEW INCHES MORE AND SEE IF SHE COVERS UP . LINDY P.S. FEMALE AND MALE PANCAKE DO THAT DANCE TO BURY THEMSELFS.AND THEY DO. LNDY

---

HI, TO ME SHE LOOKS LIKE SHES TRYING TI MAKE AHOLE IN BEDDING ,MAYBE ADD A FEW INCHES MORE AND SEE IF SHE COVERS UP . LINDY P.S. FEMALE AND MALE PANCAKE DO THAT DANCE TO BURY THEMSELFS.AND THEY DO. LNDY

 

[Isa]

Did you mist the aspen bedding? I am asking because aspen bedding can/will mold if you mist it.
I am glad that she is eating and growing well

 

[Whinhill]

Her bedding is a mix of hay and sphagnum moss and is in the other end of the enclosure off to the left in the video and not shown (She's in a doubled up zoo med tortoise pen at the moment)

 

[GBtortoises]

"@GBtortoises
Gary
just to say those three beauties are doing wonderfully and I haven't forgotten those photos for you
Ian"

HaHa-I'm still holding you to those pictures buddy!

When you figure out why your female Hermann's is doing her little dance let me know so I can figure out why mine does the same thing in the mud!

 

[Whinhill]

Yep I'll get them for you.

If I ever figure it out I'll tell everyone