Sulcata pacing in new enclosure

[Ccaldarelli]

Hi! I just moved my 1 year old sulcata to a large outdoor enclosure. For the last year she has lived inside in a tortoise table so her new enclosure is much bigger than she is used to. It is made of solid wood so she is unable to see out. Lots of shade provided by bushes/plants as well as a heated tortoise house. She has a “pool” that she is able to soak in and lots of options for grazing. Since I moved her outside (2 days ago) all she has done all day is pace the borders of her enclosure. Is this because it is a new place? Is there something I can do to make her more comfortable? I am worried she is going to become too stressed.

 

[vladimir]

It's definitely due to the change. I imagine she'll pace the perimeter for awhile (days, maybe a week or two) before starting to explore and settle in to the new enclosure.

Do you have pictures of the setup?

 

[Maro2Bear]

Hi! I just moved my 1 year old sulcata to a large outdoor enclosure. For the last year she has lived inside in a tortoise table so her new enclosure is much bigger than she is used to. It is made of solid wood so she is unable to see out. Lots of shade provided by bushes/plants as well as a heated tortoise house. She has a “pool” that she is able to soak in and lots of options for grazing. Since I moved her outside (2 days ago) all she has done all day is pace the borders of her enclosure. Is this because it is a new place? Is there something I can do to make her more comfortable? I am worried she is going to become too stressed.

Very normal! It’s checking out the new spaces & smells & sniffing about for “the weakest link”. Once it figures out that all is good, safe, can’t escape easily, I’m sure it will settle down. Give it a week, maybe two.