Free roam of the house

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Meesh

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Hi, im not here to have anyone tell me im right or wrong for how I raise my tortoises. Im here to see if anyone else houses theirs the same & give my opinion & experience on free roaming/cage free.

I started with 2 Hermann's torts. Male & female. The pet store claimed they were "paired" and would apparently die without the other if separated so i got them both. Thats extremely false btw. Tortoises are loners, very solitary animals.. They werent paired, basically just tolerated each other.. Anyway, my female hermann didn't mind her enclosure but the male no matter what I did, how much stimulation, or realistic i made it he was not happy. Constantly climbing the walls, being destructive, & was just miserable, he wanted out. So I took him out & set up his lights to heat him while he was on the floor. He has made himself a "bed" to bask & a burrow beside the bed to sleep. He could not be happier.. His little personality has shined since then.
I bought another pair of hermanns that the same store again swore they had to be sold together bc they were "paired" & I encountered the same thing with this male. So in a completely different part of the house I did the same for him. Cant put 2 males together bc hermann males are extremely territorial & aggressive towards other males. They did happen to meet accidentally at one point. it was a bunch of bitting & ramming into each other smh. No one got hurt thank goodness. Ive been able to house multiple females but only one male in each area.
I also have 2 Russian torts who I set up cage free & now they're thriving as well. I have nothing against tortoise enclosures. If you can make it work, id recommend it. & If they work for you, great! But if you have a restless, destructive tort & you're at your witts end having tried everything, this is last resort type option. It has to be turtle friendly meaning clean floor, No other animals can get to them, No stairs, etc...
Like i said I am not interested in who thinks im wrong by doing this. I am curious if anyone else is doing this?
 

Chubbs the tegu

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Ur gonna get some feedback u dont like when you post practices that are not recommended for the safety of the animals,
The reason being is that new members come here for correct care info and if nobody disagrees with this post then the newbies think its ok to free roam.

If you had the correct sized enclosures for them you wouldnt run into these problems
 

wellington

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Just an fyi, this forum is for helping people with the correct housing and care info. We don't let bad wrong info go uncorrected. So take the criticism with an open mind as you are not the only newbie and many need correct info not bad info. There is enough websites and other forums for that!
Now that said, it sounds more like you have designated rooms or spaces within your house to house your tortoises instead of an enclosure. Quite a few members do that. Its freely roaming the house that is very bad, dangerous and deadly. We seen enough on here to know!
As long as you have a designated area that is set up correctly for the tortoise with lights, heat, hides, etc, etc, then it's not so bad. Freely roaming the floors of your house is.
 

Meesh

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Ur gonna get some feedback u dont like when you post practices that are not recommended for the safety of the animals,
The reason being is that new members come here for correct care info and if nobody disagrees with this post then the newbies think its ok to free roam.

If you had the correct sized enclosures for them you wouldnt run into these problemah,

You have no idea what size enclosures I have to even form that opinion. Thank you anyway
 

Meesh

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Just an fyi, this forum is for helping people with the correct housing and care info. We don't let bad wrong info go uncorrected. So take the criticism with an open mind as you are not the only newbie and many need correct info not bad info. There is enough websites and other forums for that!
Now that said, it sounds more like you have designated rooms or spaces within your house to house your tortoises instead of an enclosure. Quite a few members do that. Its freely roaming the house that is very bad, dangerous and deadly. We seen enough on here to know!
As long as you have a designated area that is set up correctly for the tortoise with lights, heat, hides, etc, etc, then it's not so bad. Freely roaming the floors of your house is.
Your opinion is its bad. There is no "scientific data" on this. I clearly said this would be a last resort option. I said im curious if anyone else is housing the same which from posts ive seen many are! If you are not, this post is not for you. Youre not an expert & I clearly stated I dis not want your feedback. Thanks anyway though! Have a great day
 

wellington

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Then maybe enlighten us on the size you had them in. You might actually learn something from us if you open your mind and realize others may know more.
So far you havent told us anything we didnt already know.
 

Meesh

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Your opinion is its bad. There is no "scientific data" on this. I clearly said this would be a last resort option. I said im curious if anyone else is housing the same which from posts ive seen many are! If you are not, this post is not for you. Youre not an expert & I clearly stated I dis not want your feedback. Thanks anyway though! Have a great day
I did not come on here telling people to do this. I CLEARLY stated this would be a last resort option. This forum is for me too, & should be allowed to use it without people like you throwing your 2 cents in when i clearly asked for those ppl to move on. Thanks!
 

wellington

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Your opinion is its bad. There is no "scientific data" on this. I clearly said this would be a last resort option. I said im curious if anyone else is housing the same which from posts ive seen many are! If you are not, this post is not for you. Youre not an expert & I clearly stated I dis not want your feedback. Thanks anyway though! Have a great day
And like the other poster said, your going to get it anyway!
We will not let bad care go unanswered!
If you are letting them roam your whole house then be sure you let us know when something bad happens cuz it will.
If you are housing them like I think you are, in the second part of my original post that sounds like you were too closed minded to pay attention too, then things should be fine!
 

Meesh

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Then maybe enlighten us on the size you had them in. You might actually learn something from us if you open your mind and realize others may know more.
So far you havent told us anything we didnt already know.
One hermann in a 6' by 8' enclosure. And thats the point i am not trying to learn something about enclosures. I clearly stated I was curious if anyone else was doing this. That's it. I am not trying to be rude to anyone & i know you and others provide great feedback to people but when someone comes on here saying they don't want that, then dont please. Everytime i post someth on here I get 4 or 5 self proclaimed "tortoise experts" forcing unwanted opinions
 

wellington

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One hermann in a 6' by 8' enclosure. And thats the point i am not trying to learn something about enclosures. I clearly stated I was curious if anyone else was doing this. That's it. I am not trying to be rude to anyone & i know you and others provide great feedback to people but when someone comes on here saying they don't want that, then dont please. Everytime i post someth on here I get 4 or 5 self proclaimed "tortoise experts" forcing unwanted opinions
First, no one on here claims to be an expert. Second, neither are you!
Maybe if you are getting opinions you don't like, then open your mind to the fact that you don't know better then the members on here with more years caring for tortoises then you have been alive.
We will not let incorrect info go by without being corrected. Too many newbies could see your threads and think it's okay.
If you are wrong, someone or many someones will be posting the correct info.
That's what this forum is about! Giving correct info and helping people do things right so they can enjoy a long healthy life with their tort.
Btw, I did house my first leopard in a large closet on the floor. It was set up the same way any other enclosure would be set up and he could not get out to roam any other areas. Substrate, heat, lights, humidity, etc. Nothing wrong with that, if that's what you are doing. Lots of members do basements or rooms for winter housing. As long as it's set up correctly for the tortoise and then are held to that particular area only.
 
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Blackdog1714

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One hermann in a 6' by 8' enclosure. And thats the point i am not trying to learn something about enclosures. I clearly stated I was curious if anyone else was doing this. That's it. I am not trying to be rude to anyone & i know you and others provide great feedback to people but when someone comes on here saying they don't want that, then dont please. Everytime i post someth on here I get 4 or 5 self proclaimed "tortoise experts" forcing unwanted opinions
Well 6' x8' is something well above our minimum requirement of 4' x8'. Also if you pay attention to your tort they will let you know when they outgrow their enclosure. Temper tantrums involve moving, knocking down, climbing over, and just plain wrecking all the things we add. My 2 year old leopard moved his humid hide hide like it was a solo cup.
 

Meesh

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Well 6' x8' is something well above our minimum requirement of 4' x8'. Also if you pay attention to your tort they will let you know when they outgrow their enclosure. Temper tantrums involve moving, knocking down, climbing over, and just plain wrecking all the things we add. My 2 year old leopard moved his humid hide hide like it was a solo cup.
Aww, leopard torts are beautiful!!? ive always wanted one but ive had my hands full with hermanns.. & yes they're extremely strong, I named one of my male hermanns, "Tank" lol he just plows through where he wants to go. i was out of ideas trying to make him happy before I let him out. I tried rocks, logs, pebbles, different substrate to dig, a ball, multiple hides, nothing amused this guy. He loves to walk, sometimes he walks for what seems like miles then returns to his heat lamp to bask or sleep. Hes completely calmed down & let his personality shine. Like i said in my post I wouldn't recommend it and should only be used as a last resort but it has worked for tank and turned him into a completely different, happy tort
 

Meesh

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First, no one on here claims to be an expert. Second, neither are you!
Maybe if you are getting opinions you don't like, then open your mind to the fact that you don't know better then the members on here with more years caring for tortoises then you have been alive.
We will not let incorrect info go by without being corrected. Too many newbies could see your threads and think it's okay.
If you are wrong, someone or many someones will be posting the correct info.
That's what this forum is about! Giving correct info and helping people do things right so they can enjoy a long healthy life with their tort.
Btw, I did house my first leopard in a large closet on the floor. It was set up the same way any other enclosure would be set up and he could not get out to roam any other areas. Substrate, heat, lights, humidity, etc. Nothing wrong with that, if that's what you are doing. Lots of members do basements or rooms for winter housing. As long as it's set up correctly for the tortoise and then are held to that particular area only.
I never claimed to be an expert. When someone clearly states they don't want your opinions on if they're doing someth right or wrong, respect that! I came on here trying to talk to others who house similar. That's it! Save your advice for those who ask for it* lol omg this is getting awkward & weird
 

Meesh

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Krista S

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Hi, im not here to have anyone tell me im right or wrong for how I raise my tortoises. Im here to see if anyone else houses theirs the same & give my opinion & experience on free roaming/cage free.

I started with 2 Hermann's torts. Male & female. The pet store claimed they were "paired" and would apparently die without the other if separated so i got them both. Thats extremely false btw. Tortoises are loners, very solitary animals.. They werent paired, basically just tolerated each other.. Anyway, my female hermann didn't mind her enclosure but the male no matter what I did, how much stimulation, or realistic i made it he was not happy. Constantly climbing the walls, being destructive, & was just miserable, he wanted out. So I took him out & set up his lights to heat him while he was on the floor. He has made himself a "bed" to bask & a burrow beside the bed to sleep. He could not be happier.. His little personality has shined since then.
I bought another pair of hermanns that the same store again swore they had to be sold together bc they were "paired" & I encountered the same thing with this male. So in a completely different part of the house I did the same for him. Cant put 2 males together bc hermann males are extremely territorial & aggressive towards other males. They did happen to meet accidentally at one point. it was a bunch of bitting & ramming into each other smh. No one got hurt thank goodness. Ive been able to house multiple females but only one male in each area.
I also have 2 Russian torts who I set up cage free & now they're thriving as well. I have nothing against tortoise enclosures. If you can make it work, id recommend it. & If they work for you, great! But if you have a restless, destructive tort & you're at your witts end having tried everything, this is last resort type option. It has to be turtle friendly meaning clean floor, No other animals can get to them, No stairs, etc...
Like i said I am not interested in who thinks im wrong by doing this. I am curious if anyone else is doing this?
I know you said you just want to know if anyone else is doing this, but I am curious and have a couple questions. I don’t currently do what you describe, but I have a Hermann’s tortoise as well and have been considering converting his bedroom into an “enclosure”. He’s in an approx 4ft x 7ft enclosure right now, and to give anything bigger, it seems like moving him to the floor is the most economical and easiest way to accomplish this. I envision having something lining the floor of his bedroom and substrate on top of the lining and I‘d have barriers so he can’t leave his bedroom. Is this what you’re doing or do your tortoises literally have free range of multiple rooms? If you do something more like the bedroom conversion I’m thinking of doing, I would love to hear more about what you used to line the floors and pictures of your setup. Do you use substrate? What have you found to be the best way to maintain the heat requirements they need in a large space? I haven’t been able to come across much information or examples on converting a room into a tortoise enclosure.
 

wellington

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I never claimed to be an expert. When someone clearly states they don't want your opinions on if they're doing someth right or wrong, respect that! I came on here trying to talk to others who house similar. That's it! Save your advice for those who ask for it* lol omg this is getting awkward & weird
Again, that's not what this forum is about, letting wrong, bad, dangerous info sit on this forum without corrections. There are other forums that will let you get away with putting your torts in danger and say nothing. That is not thi forum. So if you think that is what you will get on thiz forum, you won't. So get used to it.
Btw, did you give the Male enough Tim's to even settle into a new enclosure without the female being around for him to hassle? Tortoises do everything slow. Giving him enough time to realize there was no one else in his territory probably would have settled him down. Months sometimes it can take.
 

Meesh

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Is this a link of a sick tort who swallowed something off a floor
I know you said you just want to know if anyone else is doing this, but I am curious and have a couple questions. I don’t currently do what you describe, but I have a Hermann’s tortoise as well and have been considering converting his bedroom into an “enclosure”. He’s in an approx 4ft x 7ft enclosure right now, and to give anything bigger, it seems like moving him to the floor is the most economical and easiest way to accomplish this. I envision having something lining the floor of his bedroom and substrate on top of the lining and I‘d have barriers so he can’t leave his bedroom. Is this what you’re doing or do your tortoises literally have free range of multiple rooms? If you do something more like the bedroom conversion I’m thinking of doing, I would love to hear more about what you used to line the floors and pictures of your setup. Do you use substrate? What have you found to be the best way to maintain the heat requirements they need in a large space? I haven’t been able to come across much information or examples on converting a room into a tortoise enclosure.
Yes! I gave him my spare room. I put a tarp down & use the same substrate from his enclosure. I also let him roam the back yard which is close to his room thru a sliding glass door in the hallway so he has to cross the hallway to go out so I always make sure the floor is clean of any small objects. But at night I block it off so he is only in his area
 
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