Please help! (tortoise wants out)

[JessXO]

Hi Guys,

I'm new to this site although I have been reading threads on here since I got my little Lammy! He's such hard work!

I got him around 7 months ago, he's 2 years old and he is soon active it's unreal! The place I got him from had light heatmats & wood chips as his flooring so I basically just copied there set up. A couple of months later I went into a pet shop to look for a new food bowl & she told me that I absolutely had to change his flooring & that it was really bad for his feet. So I changed it to tortoise substrate from pets at home. He became really sluggish and just not the little Lammy I knew so I changed his flooring again he now has a straw type floor he seems to be happy with this.

The problem I have is that he doesn't EVER want to be in his enclosure he's so happy just plodding around the house chasing people's toes!!!! At bedtime I put him back in his enclosure turn all his lights off jus leave his heatmat on but he takes FOREVER to go to sleep! It's now 12.41am & he's still banging and trying to climb out he's been like this since 10pm & it's driving me bonkers as his enclosure is in my bedroom all the lights are off so he can't see anything but I don't know what to do. He is like this every single night!

Any tips pleaseeeeeee

 

[Yelloweyed]

If you could add pictures of the enclosure, lighting and your tort, some members may be able to give advice.

 

[Yvonne G]

In my opinion, it is a BIG mistake to let a tortoise know there's a big, wide, wonderful world outside the walls of his enclosure. Once he knows about it, he always want out there again. So now you have to suffer the consequences. Make him a bigger enclosure and give him some time to live in it and realize he's not getting out.

 

[JessXO]

I will post some pictures of his enclosure tomorrow as I don't have any at the moment, my dad is currently working on a new one for him also.

I have to let him out because a number of times I've ignored him (bad mother I know) come to check on his 15 mins later and he's been on his back so I can't just ignore him now. He's such a naughty boy!

I've taken him to see a specialist vet and she said he's heathy & one of the most active torts she's ever seen so that's a good thing.

He's still at it & I'm up for work in 5 hours! Ear plugs at the ready but I won't be able to sleep until he stops otherwise. I'm too scared of him going on his back

 

[wellington]

I would get rid of the straw flooring it's not good for him too dry. Get him a large enclosure and some dirt for a substrate. Make sure it has no fertilizer or pesticides in it. Make it deep so he can dig into it. Some leaf litter would be good too. Try adding some humidity too, around 50% even a humid hide would be fine. It's dangerous to let him roam the floors of the house. They can get badly hurt and eat things that could hurt him. Making an escape proof outdoor enclosure would be the best thing. Keeping him inside only at night or during cold weather. My Russian is outside all day and goes into an indoor enclosure only at night

 

[JessXO]

Thanks for your reply.

Unfortunately I live in the UK so he very rarely goes outdoors due to the rain & very cold temps.

I had him in tortoise substrate before the straw & it seemed to dry his skin up an awful lot, it also used to make him get little bubbles in his eyes, is this normal? I could have been buying the wrong one.

 

[wellington]

Hay and straw are very drying. Plain dirt, coconut coir or orchard bark are all good. I add leaf litter also to my Russians enclosure.

 

[JessXO]

Thank you very much I will try this in his new home

 

[Alexio]

Also just to add on to the tipping part if they have substrate as deep as they are wide and or long and its something like orchid bark or cypress mulch they can easily flip them selves back over. YouTube Russian tortoise flips it's self back over.
I have personally witnessed one of my lil Marginated tortoises do it as well. I went into check on him one day and he was on his back. I went to go turn him over but I stopped and thought what if I had been at work or the store or something. So i watched, and not 45 seconds later he had flipped himself right back over.
They are remarkably resourceful creatures. Just don't leave the water dish by the side of the enclosure.

 

[Tom]

You've gotten some of the typical bad pet store advice. Please read these:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

 

[JoesMum]

Thanks for your reply.

Unfortunately I live in the UK so he very rarely goes outdoors due to the rain & very cold temps.

I have no idea where you are in the UK, but I am there too, and it is a myth that torts cannot get outside here. (Forget yesterday - it was weather nationally for ducks and fish)

There are plenty of TFO members living in the UK and Ireland who manage it. @spudthetortoise is one of our most junior members for example. @CathyNed is in Ireland where the rain challenges are wetter than most.

Once your tort is past the fragile hatchling stage it can go out. Maybe not full time, but it can go out.

Please see this thread for some ideas on things you can do to get your tort out
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/outdoor-accommodation-in-a-colder-uk-climate.140866/

 

[JessXO]

I have no idea where you are in the UK, but I am there too, and it is a myth that torts cannot get outside here. (Forget yesterday - it was weather nationally for ducks and fish)

There are plenty of TFO members living in the UK and Ireland who manage it. @spudthetortoise is one of our most junior members for example. @CathyNed is in Ireland where the rain challenges are wetter than most.

Once your tort is past the fragile hatchling stage it can go out. Maybe not full time, but it can go out.

Please see this thread for some ideas on things you can do to get your tort out
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/outdoor-accommodation-in-a-colder-uk-climate.140866/

Hi, thanks I will give that a good read on my lunch break, I'm in miserable manchester lol! He goes out when it's warm he loves being outside but I thought it may have been too cold for him to be out.

 

[JoesMum]

Hi, thanks I will give that a good read on my lunch break, I'm in miserable manchester lol! He goes out when it's warm he loves being outside but I thought it may have been too cold for him to be out.

If the sun is out, even weakly, a sheltered spot at ground level can be much hotter than the recorded air temperature for the day.

Get yourself a temperature gun thermometer, if you haven't already, and have a play outside. You will be surprised.

I did that in this thread
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/demonstrating-the-effect-of-blue-slate-on-temperature.141716/

On a cooler day, let him warm up under the basking lamp properly before putting him out.