paceing back and forth

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sara

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So my new guy, ( had for a week now) id a good little guy. eats well sleeps well active and is regular with his " buisness". But he is starting to pace.
His housing needs to be bigger, this i know, its a temp thing untill i decide what i want for him. I know that they need space, will he stop paceing once he has a larger enclouser? Once we get back to california, he will have nice out door enclouser, but all this paceing makes me nervous.
so i let him out to roam around the apartment, he seems better when i put him back after he gets some exorcise. is this a bad thing to do? is there anything else i can do about this?
 

JoesMum

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Tortoises roam for miles in the wild and the pacing is what they do. Some are worse than others (my Joe for example).

How long is your tort and how big is your enclosure?

To keep him happy, you need to have plenty of landscaping... plants that can be grazed, hidden under and trampled.... mounds, caves, hideouts... places to go things to do... water/mud to be climbed in and out of... and as much space as possible.

Large outdoor enclosures are what suit torts best as there is space to behave naturally. Even then though they can spend a fair amount of time patrolling the boundary fence!
 

sara

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JoesMum said:
Tortoises roam for miles in the wild and the pacing is what they do. Some are worse than others (my Joe for example).

How long is your tort and how big is your enclosure?

To keep him happy, you need to have plenty of landscaping... plants that can be grazed, hidden under and trampled.... mounds, caves, hideouts... places to go things to do... water/mud to be climbed in and out of... and as much space as possible.

Large outdoor enclosures are what suit torts best as there is space to behave naturally. Even then though they can spend a fair amount of time patrolling the boundary fence!

L0L.. I am gonna need a HUGE indoor enclosure!! Right now he is in a rubber maid tote. He is actually doing very well, and its just temporary...even when i let him roam.. he seems to stay in a pattern and makes a big loop. sometimes he will venture into the hallway or kitchen. we are in an apartment at the moment. This is my first russian.. before him i had a red foot.. and as a kid we had a desert tortoise that lived in the back yard for 20 years... she took care of herself and went into hybernation by herself.. but this indoor stuff is still pretty new to me. I hope to eventually learn how to.. L0L..
 

JoesMum

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Your Russian will be outdoors where it's happiest soon enough by the sounds of it. Letting it roam the floors isn't generally recommemded as he may try to eat something that's not food.
 
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