Tortoise trying to escape..?

[towelie200]

Hello Everyone! I got an issue, my russian is going crazy it seems. Everyday now he climbs ontop of his log hide and trys to walk through the class. I have a background on all four sides so he cant see through it, yet he persists on it anyway. His shell banging on the glass is starting to irritate my family in the house, is there anything i can do to calm him down?

 

[kanalomele]

Sounds to me like he is after more space. If he can't see out then he may want to roam and burn some energy. How big is the tank? Normally the Russians will have a rather large territory to roam and explore. Iif he's bored or too hot he will try to get out of the enclosure endlessly. I had a rescue who did this. I couldn't let him outdoors so I let him roam around the house for awhile each day.

 

[towelie200]

He is in a 40 gallon breeder, its all i can afford. I would let him roam around my room for awhile but my dog tends to sneak up here un expected. I just want the best for my guy, hes a rescue too.

 

[Heliopteryx]

That isn't enough space. Are you sure you absolutely couldn't go to local thrift stores or anything and afford to buy a big plastic storage container? Or even a smaller one, and somehow mount it in the tank you have now and add a ramp made of scrap wood?

 

[biochemnerd808]

This month Big Lots has a large 54gal plastic container for about $18, and the Home Depot has a heavy duty storage container for $19 or so. Another option would be a shelf or something from the thrift store.

If you buy a storage container or similar, then after you've moved your tortoise, you can always sell the 40gal aquarium on Craigslist, and can probably get more $$ for it than you spend on the Rubbermaid.

Even with some paper or similar covering all 4 walls of your terrarium, the tortoise can still see the reflection, and will try to walk out.

If your family has tools, you could buy a 12-inch wide, 12 foot long board (or longer) for about $15, and could saw it into 4 walls, just screw the boards together at the corners.

He is in a 40 gallon breeder, its all i can afford. I would let him roam around my room for awhile but my dog tends to sneak up here un expected. I just want the best for my guy, hes a rescue too.

 

[towelie200]

I think I'm going to go for the board idea, I definitely have the tools to make that one happen, how big would the walls be? For reference

 

[akablair2001]

They are great climbers and tunnelers. It sounds like he needs space to bury and roam around. I used the 54 gallon container as well, before I built his new pen. Others on this forum also had great ideas of using a wooden shelving unit (Can find a lot of places cheap. Another cheap and easy way to build a tort pen is going to Home Depot and buy several sheets of plywood. They will cut to size. I have attached a picture of a pen I built. All material, dirt, mulch, stones, and sealant cost just over $50. It took about an hour to build and a day for the sealant to completely dry. Lighting is now hung from the ceiling due to an averted fire. I am making another one doubling the size(I have the room).
This pen is 2X8 and 2 feet deep. 1 foot of dirt and mulch.

Hope this helps.

 

[towelie200]

They are great climbers and tunnelers. It sounds like he needs space to bury and roam around. I used the 54 gallon container as well, before I built his new pen. Others on this forum also had great ideas of using a wooden shelving unit (Can find a lot of places cheap. Another cheap and easy way to build a tort pen is going to Home Depot and buy several sheets of plywood. They will cut to size. I have attached a picture of a pen I built. All material, dirt, mulch, stones, and sealant cost just over $50. It took about an hour to build and a day for the sealant to completely dry. Lighting is now hung from the ceiling due to an averted fire. I am making another one doubling the size(I have the room).
This pen is 2X8 and 2 feet deep. 1 foot of dirt and mulch.

Hope this helps.

I love this idea! I want to do that, except maybe 2X6 since i dont have 8 feet in my room lengthwise for him XD but i love that idea, i have a 55 gallon aquarium for my bearded dragon which is about 5 feet long but only 1 foot and a half long, and its glass so idecided not to use that how much was the wood for that enclosure? that way i have a rough guess-ta-ment

 

[Talka]

I spent $60 on fancy, coated wood to build an enclosure with a cool hide, hinges and a cover. So less than $60 for sure.