I watch him closely and I am the only one in the area. I monitor him real closely. I follow him around. I would never let him rat anything nor get into anything harmful. Any area gets blocked and sweeped up before he is turned out. It's not like he is left out on his own. I follow him closely to eliminate any harm. I'm not that new to raising animals or that neglecting .Please do not allow your tort to roam around the house. He could hurt himself, one could kick him by mistake, he could swallow something harmful, God forbid.
And a very warm welcome to the forum.
I watch him closely and I am the only one in the area. I monitor him real closely. I follow him around. I would never let him rat anything nor get into anything harmful. Any area gets blocked and sweeped up before he is turned out. It's not like he is left out on his own. I follow him closely to eliminate any harm. I'm not that new to raising animals or that neglecting .
Unless you followed him around with a heat lamp there is no keeping them warm at floor level. Almost all floors (unless you have in floor heat) are way colder and draftier than we realize. They are cold blooded and NEED an external heat source to stay warm. Plus there are threats of the tortoise eating things it shouldn't such as hair, trash, etc... These things could lead to impaction which could lead to a very sick or even dead tortoise. All in all, probably should skip letting him wander the floor.
Plus, the other day we were having a minor heating crisis in my outdoor housing so I put my 11 pound sulcata on the floor of my living room for just a few minutes. It's something I've never done. He proceeded to poop on my floor and then track poopy footprints all over my floor. While I was cleaning that he proceeded to flash out his disgusting tort penis and drag it all over my living room floor. During this entire time my 19 month old daughter is chasing him around the room and cackling with laughter. I spent over an hour cleaning and disinfecting the room to the best of my ability. This was all for 15 minutes of time on my floor.
Here is a very good example of what can occur with allowing your tortoise to walk on the cold floors of you home. Keep in mind that tortoises will not completely empty their bowels whenever they're soaked:
If you feel that roaming space is needed, a separate temporary outdoor enclosure would be much safer than the floors of your home. The vibrations you make while closely following your tortoise on the floor may also cause stress and fear.
I agree though at the same time I would not allow Oli to roam around the flat.Here is a very good example of what can occur with allowing your tortoise to walk on the cold floors of you home. Keep in mind that tortoises will not completely empty their bowels whenever they're soaked:
If you feel that roaming space is needed, a separate temporary outdoor enclosure would be much safer than the floors of your home. The vibrations you make while closely following your tortoise on the floor may also cause stress and fear.
Any pics of the cage you mentioned?As far as heated floors I believe 92 degrees in the room was enough heat since we don't use the a.c. as far as hair and stuff like that the floor was swept before hand as far as feces he had his movement beforehand. I don't mind cleaning up after him we don't have any infants to worry about.
And now mind you his indoor cage is part of the floor he was roaming on I just opened his gates. And yes he does go outside once it warms up, but we also allow him freedom while we are watching him, key words watching him.
That's exactly what I understood, though I'm not sure.If I am reading your post correctly, the indoor cage which sits on the floor is more like a fenced off area in the room, rather then an actual cage? Then you open the gate and he can go into the rest of the room, correct?
Just be sure he is not living on a slippery floor. This will harm his legs and leg muscles and he will not be able to properly walk. Even if you can put proper substrate in his actual cage or fenced off area, if you haven't already.As far as heated floors I believe 92 degrees in the room was enough heat since we don't use the a.c. as far as hair and stuff like that the floor was swept before hand as far as feces he had his movement beforehand. I don't mind cleaning up after him we don't have any infants to worry about.
And now mind you his indoor cage is part of the floor he was roaming on I just opened his gates. And yes he does go outside once it warms up, but we also allow him freedom while we are watching him, key words watching him.
Hey, Michele: I'm sorry you feel you are being bashed. That certainly is NOT our intention. It's just that some of us have done what you're doing and have had poor to bad results from it. So we want you to not have to experience what we've experienced. It's only for the safety of your tortoise, and no bashing intended. Here's a link to a thread about this same subject for you to read:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/roaming-in-the-house.158702/#post-1498362
No one is bashing you and we certainly don't think you are neglecting him. We are just sharing what we know and have learned and seen about things you are doing that can be harmful. If we didn't point them out too you and something happened, we have failed as tortoise/animal lovers. We just want the best for your tortoise as you do and to be sure you know of the possible dangers so you can catch them before it happens.All I'm going to say is my tortoises has a clean bill of health with the vet and is a HAPPY tortoises who is very loved and cared for. He is not neglected like you all are making it sound like you all don't know me from Adam and have no right bashing me!!!!