Why does magnate insist on trying to climb his walls? It made of wood...I. thought it would only apply to glass and clear tubs. Should I place a black background?
Thanks
Thanks
sight barrier
- Thread starter dreadyA
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How long has Magnate been in this habitat? If its fairly new, it sometimes takes a while for them to settle down and realize this is now there home. No, lining with black paper won't change anything. Is the habitat too small? Does he have a hiding place? Please either send us a picture or tell us a bit about how you are keeping the tortoise.
Yvonne
Yvonne
Taco also has that problem. Today I found her pressed up against the far wall of her indoor house, trying so hard to bulldoze through that her back legs had made deep tracks in the substrate from her efforts. I did put up some National Geographic pictures taped to cardboard to try to convince her this really is a fixed barrier, but she has a long memory and knows that at first it was an opaque plastic wall, which she could see through to Freedom.
Today when I found her there it was warm enough outside to just take her out to her pen, where she marched around the perimeters and tried to climb out of THOSE walls, so I got out my gardening tools and let her roam the open plains of the back yard while I trimmed flowers and watched her explorations.
Today when I found her there it was warm enough outside to just take her out to her pen, where she marched around the perimeters and tried to climb out of THOSE walls, so I got out my gardening tools and let her roam the open plains of the back yard while I trimmed flowers and watched her explorations.
yvonne, darn auto spell...its maynard Haha. Well, hes in a 4 x5 table and yes he as plenty of hiding spots In the cool and hot side.
here in this pic, I have clear plastic liner, which he would btry and go through so I decided to remove it and see if it would work but he kept trying. Ivory hag maynard for almost a month now I didn't notice I since I work during the day .
Tacos mom, I debated on taking him out too but I vwas blistering hot here where I live. I'm thinking he just needs to adjust for a a few days, as yvonne mentioned.
I've had maynard*
Sorry. I'm on my mobile phone
I also have the 1/3 of the (right)side covered for shade and to keep Humid.
here in this pic, I have clear plastic liner, which he would btry and go through so I decided to remove it and see if it would work but he kept trying. Ivory hag maynard for almost a month now I didn't notice I since I work during the day .
Tacos mom, I debated on taking him out too but I vwas blistering hot here where I live. I'm thinking he just needs to adjust for a a few days, as yvonne mentioned.
I've had maynard*
Sorry. I'm on my mobile phone
I also have the 1/3 of the (right)side covered for shade and to keep Humid.
I think just about all tortoises do this at some time and to different extents. Having a large area with several hides and site barriers will help, but never fully fix the problem. You may notice an increase at different times of the year too. They just are wanting to roam, seek new food sources, and just be tortoises. In captivity, we seldom are able to give them the size enclosures that would mimic the amount of territory they have in the wild. Tortoises are stubborn too, they usually just figure that wall is just one mountain they just have not yet climbed and it challenges them (at least that's my fanciful guess on their thoughts.).
In captivity, we seldom are able to give them the size enclosures that would mimic the amount of territory they have in the wild. Tortoises are stubborn too, they usually just figure that wall is just one mountain they just have not yet climbed and it challenges them (at least that's my fanciful guess on their thoughts.).
I think some tortoises, such as Red-foots, are programmed by nature to go somewhere else to find new food sources, hides, microclimates, mates, etc. In the wild, many of them lead a semi-nomadic lifestyle of shifting their 'home base' periodically as the roam. With Red-foots, for example, THIS treefall is home for a couple days, then they move to an armadillo hole many yards away for a couple days, then to a debris pile, then another hole... often working back to one of the original hides.
In a rainforest, you need to do this to keep looking for new sources of the surprisingly rare food sources. I'd be willing to bet that if we tracked it, our Red-foots tried to roam less when fed a big pile of some of their favorite fruits than they would when fed greens, etc.
It seems as though offering them a 'long run' part of the pen helps- a stretch where they can get up and walk for a ways before seeing a corner or wall. In my outdoor pen, when it was smaller and more square, they tried to get out a corner. When I changed the shape to long with a curved outer wall, they would walk quickly along the wall for a bit, then seem to get bored and wander elsewhere.
In a rainforest, you need to do this to keep looking for new sources of the surprisingly rare food sources. I'd be willing to bet that if we tracked it, our Red-foots tried to roam less when fed a big pile of some of their favorite fruits than they would when fed greens, etc.
It seems as though offering them a 'long run' part of the pen helps- a stretch where they can get up and walk for a ways before seeing a corner or wall. In my outdoor pen, when it was smaller and more square, they tried to get out a corner. When I changed the shape to long with a curved outer wall, they would walk quickly along the wall for a bit, then seem to get bored and wander elsewhere.
thanks everyone for your replies. Makes perfect logical sense that they would be sort of "nomads ". Searching for food, hides, and climate, as madkins put it. I know he probably just enter to explore and find something new and better. I'm planning on making a brief outdoor pen until it starts to cool down. I thought I would go with the indoor enclosure to prepare for the fall/ winter, considering I got maynard early Sept.
Madkins, are you saying that I were to feed him a good amount of "goodies" then wouldn't try as much? I don't wanna overdo it.
thanks
Madkins, are you saying that I were to feed him a good amount of "goodies" then wouldn't try as much? I don't wanna overdo it.
thanks
That was just a thought, based on wild behaviors. In captivity, I think the idea of small meals is a better plan.
Let me rephrase and expand on the passage: "As for their roaming, wild Red-foots are known to sleep off a large meal for some time and to 'make camp' near a fruiting tree. I would bet that if we did a study, our tortoises would show less tendency to roam/climb/escape after a big fruit meal then they do after smaller meals of greens."
Of course, if we DID do a big fruit meal, we would also have to simulate nature by not feeding them for a few weeks afterwards, letting them rest in a nice warm hole and figuring out some other way to make sure they got the other nutrients they would be missing- like calcium, fiber, etc.
And of course, this would not apply to the young'uns, since there is less evidence they eat this way in the wild.
So, all in all- it was just a thought, NOT a care recommendation.
Let me rephrase and expand on the passage: "As for their roaming, wild Red-foots are known to sleep off a large meal for some time and to 'make camp' near a fruiting tree. I would bet that if we did a study, our tortoises would show less tendency to roam/climb/escape after a big fruit meal then they do after smaller meals of greens."
Of course, if we DID do a big fruit meal, we would also have to simulate nature by not feeding them for a few weeks afterwards, letting them rest in a nice warm hole and figuring out some other way to make sure they got the other nutrients they would be missing- like calcium, fiber, etc.
And of course, this would not apply to the young'uns, since there is less evidence they eat this way in the wild.
So, all in all- it was just a thought, NOT a care recommendation.
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