Stress

[acidpop5]

I accidentally became the owner of a rescued turtle several months ago. We have had some struggles, but he had settled into a day to day schedule and seemed to be adapting fine. I built a large turtle table, and today is his first day in. He paces from one side to the other repeatedly. He also attempts to wall climb though the sides are wood. If I sit and talk quietly to him, and yes, my husband told me I look like an idiot, he will sit still and "listen"? but otherwise, the pacing begins again. I know he's stressed because I would be, but overall, the larger habitat will be better for him. Is there something I can do to lower the overall impact on him? Will he settle back down?

 

[Jacqui]

Hi and welcome! What kind of turtle or tortoise is it? Has he/she always been an inside animal? Have you tried feeding him or giving him his goodies? Usually keeping the area on the dark and quiet side helps them settle faster I think.

 

[ascott]

also, lots of places to hide may help? Plus if it is new, he may just want to be checking it out a bit more and will settle in....you have all your checklist checked, heat/uv's, etc.?

 

[Jacqui]

I think it's just pretty normal for any animal to want to completely check things out, to see where boundaries are, and possible ways to escape.

 

[acidpop5]

Because he didn't start out with me, I'm not sure if he was always a pet. My husband found him in the parking lot walking in circles early one morning. Someone had painted his shell with nail polish, he had bot fly larvae, a respiratory illness, was suffering from semi-starvation, and he was very confused. I guess he and I sort of understood each other. He is prone to what I call "turtle fits", but he can usually be calmed by covering his container with a blanket and bribery involving strawberries. This usually involves singing as well. (lol) Today, he seems rather inconsolable. The sides were higher on the rubbermaid container though, so he seems insistent upon attempting an escape from the new habitat.

 

[arby2774]

My russian paced a lot when he first moved in. I think it was because he didn't feel snug enough when trying to bury himself in his hide. I made him a smaller hide and added some hay under it and he rarely paces now. He buries himself in the hay and sleeps regularly. It may be a matter of trying different things to see what settles him down.

 

[acidpop5]

I'm still actively playing with the temperature and lighting. The best luck I have had with lights ended up being a mixture of a UV reptile bulb and two brooder bulbs. I liked the mix because brooder bulbs stay in a blue range and are not as hot as the reptile bulb which allowed me to create more of a total environment for him with at least a fifteen degree temperature range through out the table. He only has the one hide box currently because he continued to attempt to climb the others. I had read an article talking about how much easier it was on the turtle to add things to his environment than to attempt to remove them. I covered the area with his hide box with a blanket, and then covered the edges of the box with slender magazines so it appears to have more of a lip around the top. Oddly, this seems to lessen the attempts to climb. He is still "turtling", but at a slower pace and with more active looking around instead of that insistent pacing that he had been doing.

 

[Jacqui]

Poor guy! How about adding temp higher up sides, until he is use to the new enclosure. Then slowly taking them off as his comfort level goes up.

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Poor guy! How about adding temp higher up sides, until he is use to the new enclosure. Then slowly taking them off as his comfort level goes up.

looks like you and I posted at the same time and your already doing what I was going to suggest. Glad it sounds like he is settling down a bit.

 

[dmmj]

what kind of turtle is it? or tortoise?

 

[drgnfly2265]

I would love to see a pic of the little cutie!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi acidpop5:

Welcome to the tortoise forum!!

May we know your name and where you are?

I'd really be interested in knowing what kind of tortoise you've found. I've never seen bots in tortoises, however I have seen them in box turtles.

Can we see a picture of your new tortoise? Sounds like you really love him. (oh yeah...singing!!)

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I forgot to mention that turtles and tortoises are pretty territorial. Since you've moved him out of his old habitat and put him into a new, better one, he's just a bit stressed because its all new. He'll settle once he realized the food god knows where he is.

 

[acidpop5]

My name is Deena, and I hate to be so evasive, but the legality of Turtlez is questionable in many states at this point. I'm a law student, so with that in mind, the first thing I did after ascertaining the severity of his problems was call anyone and everyone in both my own state and the closest adjoining state because I wanted him looked after by someone who was more experienced than myself with reptiles. The answers I got were disheartening. I was told quite pleasantly that there was nothing they could do, and I should put him back outside: A sick, bright pink, and luminescent animal. I could not see how a law protecting a species could be in place if it had no intention of actually protecting it. From there, I contacted people I knew could help: a Chemical Engineer and a Biology Professor. The chemical engineer advised me short of sanding the lacquer off his shell, he would be a walking bulls-eye until it flaked off, which would take time. The Biology Professor confirmed my fears about his illness and was nice enough to walk me through taking care of him.
However, you are right; he is a turtle not a tortoise. I looked at numerous forums though before I started asking questions. I don't like the idea of getting one answer from one forum and another somewhere else, and this forum seemed to have the broadest spectrum of knowledge and the most clarity.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Deena:

Welcome!

You're never going to get a one-size-fits-all answer to questions about turtles and tortoises. There are many ways to achieve what the turtle needs. But here on the forum, we have many well-respected members and you can listen to how they care for their animals, then choose what would be right for you, your situation and your turtle!

I'm glad you decided to settle here with us. We'll take good care of you.

 

[Jacqui]

Ok fair enough, but hopefully at some point you will feel safe enough to tell us more. It may also help with our suggestions we may want to give you. I do understand not wanting to risk it and most reptile laws are stupid in my personal opinion, but the good thing is, most once you have the animal will let you keep it.

Main thing is your here and your helping him or her!

 

[dmmj]

We(I) only ask what type it is to provide the best info for it. tell us as much or as little as you feel comfortable doing.

 

[CtTortoiseMom]

If it is in fact a turtle it may feel more comfortable in a 1/2 land 1/2 water enclosure. If you post a pic the keepers here could tell you what it is, how it should be kept and what to feed. Good save it sounds like it was really in distress!