Russian Tortoise Clawing at Wall and Trying to Get Out

[bezthehee]

Hi everyone, ironically compared to my last post where I mentioned my Russian is sleeping a lot and staying burrowed, she is now very active which is great but she is also constantly clawing at the walls and trying to get out.

The enclosure has two levels. The bottom is 31” x 93” and the top is 31” x 79”. The temps are around 95-100 F on the warm end and 75 F around the cold end. She’s been eating normally and finishing her food by around afternoon and basks pretty often. I also spray water on the first level to keep the substrate humid.

I’m very happy that she’s been behaving normally, but she constantly claws at the walls and tries to get out. Last time she did this I added the second level to her enclosure so she would have more space, but I don’t have any more room to upgrade in my current situation. It’s fine if this is normal behavior, but she does it very often and I feel bad about how anxious she seems. I don’t know if this is related, but she also started mounting one of the hides and doing breeding behavior, and I ended up taking that hide out.

I’ve giving her more food in the afternoon and also spreading it around for more enrichment, but that seems to only distract her for a little bit. I attached photos of the enclosure and her “scratching” behavior. Any tips are appreciated.

 

[Maggie3fan]

Russians are notorious escape artists..but I think...there's no plants, or buncha rocks, or dark hide to get out of the bombardment of light, the hot side is too hot, 85 at most. Russians like to cool down at night, so 78 is ok. You need to fancy up her living quarters...plants n stuff, hides, pools...like this sorta...
just my opinion...
oh...she IS very pretty

 

[bezthehee]

Russians are notorious escape artists..but I think...there's no plants, or buncha rocks, or dark hide to get out of the bombardment of light, the hot side is too hot, 85 at most. Russians like to cool down at night, so 78 is ok. You need to fancy up her living quarters...plants n stuff, hides, pools...like this sorta...View attachment 362441
just my opinion...
oh...she IS very pretty

Thank you for the advice! I’ll definitely try and add more hiding spots and plants. That looks cool! I forgot to mention. 95 is the temp directly under the basking light because I read that somewhere. The rest of the warm side is around that 85ish. Is that okay?

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I don't own Russian tortoises.
But I once saw one climb straight up and over a four foot wall of smooth plywood.
Now THAT'S impressive

 

[dd33]

You should get those plastic shreds cleaned up as soon as possible. The tortoise will probably try to eat that if it hasn't already.

 

[Tom]

Russians are notorious escape artists..but I think...there's no plants, or buncha rocks, or dark hide to get out of the bombardment of light, the hot side is too hot, 85 at most. Russians like to cool down at night, so 78 is ok. You need to fancy up her living quarters...plants n stuff, hides, pools...like this sorta...View attachment 362441
just my opinion...
oh...she IS very pretty

The coir is fine to use, but it needs to be kept damp and hand packed. Its too fluffy and dusty when dry.

What bulbs are in all of those fixtures? Are you using any cfl type UV bulbs?

 

[bezthehee]

The coir is fine to use, but it needs to be kept damp and hand packed. Its too fluffy and dusty when dry.

What bulbs are in all of those fixtures? Are you using any cfl type UV bulbs?

They are Arcadia desert and dragon bulbs. I measured the uvi when adjusting the height, and it was around 3-5 depending on the substrate height. The heat lamps are flood incandescent.

In regards to the coir, I try to keep the spots under the heat lamps damp, but I was worried about doing the colder parts because they drop in temperature (from 76-78 to 70-72ish). I thought that being wet and cold could cause respiratory infection. Would this not be a concern if I kept all of the substrate damp?

 

[bezthehee]

Just adding this to the thread. I read on some random website that this behavior could be a result of mating season? Obviously not sure how accurate it is because of the source, but she did show mating behavior by mounting one of her old hides until I took it out. Could this be the cause of the issue?

 

[zolasmum]

Just adding this to the thread. I read on some random website that this behavior could be a result of mating season? Obviously not sure how accurate it is because of the source, but she did show mating behavior by mounting one of her old hides until I took it out. Could this be the cause of the issue?

She could just be rather bored - nowhere much to climb on or hide under or move about - or to look at, really - maybe you should let her have her mating hide back,at least part of the time !
Angie

 

[Tom]

They are Arcadia desert and dragon bulbs. I measured the uvi when adjusting the height, and it was around 3-5 depending on the substrate height. The heat lamps are flood incandescent.

What type of bulbs are these? Are they mercury vapor, compact florescent, or incandescent floods? We need to eliminate this possibility as a cause of your issue. Most people get the wrong bulbs, and most pet stores recommend the wrong bulbs.

Russian males do tend to wander a lot, so this could just be general unrest. Could be hormonal too. You said "she". Are you sure of that? Has she laid eggs? How long have you had the tortoise and where did you get it? Did it have contact with other tortoises previously?

 

[bezthehee]

What type of bulbs are these? Are they mercury vapor, compact florescent, or incandescent floods? We need to eliminate this possibility as a cause of your issue. Most people get the wrong bulbs, and most pet stores recommend the wrong bulbs.

Russian males do tend to wander a lot, so this could just be general unrest. Could be hormonal too. You said "she". Are you sure of that? Has she laid eggs? How long have you had the tortoise and where did you get it? Did it have contact with other tortoises previously?

Wow okay I feel dumb. I haven't looked at "her" tail in a while, and it seems like as they grew everything looks a lot more male-like. I feel like the last time I was at the vet, she also confirmed that Taco was a female but I guess not. I attached some pictures just to be sure.

So I got him from "Turtle Source" about 3 years ago. He was advertised as a "Yearling" and also captive bred so my guess is that his age is around 4. I'm not sure if he has had any contact with other tortoises where he was born, but while in my care he has not.

The lights that I use for heat are incandescent flood bulbs. I used to use the pet store ones, but a member here helped me find these. I attached a picture. of them.

 

[Sleppo]

Looks like a male to me.