...and he's gone...

[mini_max]

Has this ever happened to anyone? You build your tortoise a lovely new enclosure with deep substrate and lots of plants, and when you take a little break from watching him explore it.....he disappears. Poof! Not in his hide, and for the life of me I cannot tell where he burrowed. And to boot we're talking about a guy who never burrows. Hehe, oh well, at least I might actually get something done with the remainder of my day.

 

[Yvonne G]

...and you're very sure he didn't climb out and escape?

 

[mini_max]

Yes! He was back out when I picked my son up from school. I still can't tell from where, and he's gone again!

 

[lismar79]

My box turtle did this when I first got him. Now I know his normal spots!

 

[PixelAdams]

Uh oh, I'm getting my first tort on Friday and I know this kind of thing is gonna make me frantic with worry! :-(

 

[wellington]

It does make you panic. When mine was little, even though I knew there was no possible way for him to escape, I would panic every time I couldn't find him to bring him inside for the night. I have even done it just last summer a couple times and my torts are much bigger now, but boy, can they blend in. Maybe you can find his little hiding spot. But, then that's when he will find a different one, just to keep you guessing

 

[Moozillion]

Although I had read on here many times how well tortoises hide, I was astonished and a little spooked when Elsa disappeared the day I got her! I knew she was in her enclosure somewhere, so I carefully poked my finger down through the dirt of her enclosure several times, then BINGO! I touched tortoise shell: 2 inches down in 1 spot!
In her outdoor enclosure she's got lots of deep grass, shrubs and piles of dry leaves to hide under. So our standard daily game is "Spot the Tortoise Butt!"

 

[stinax182]

I have a giant African bullfrog with 10" of substrate.... When he buries himself i literally lose him because i cannot dig up the dirt in a 2x4 enclosure with 10" deep substrate! I get so worried about him and i always end up digging him up.....

 

[stojanovski92113]

I have a hard time finding my baby cherryheads...they like to burrow deep down in the soil & moss. And I panic...I don't know why because they certainly couldn't get out, unless someone stole them (they are cute ).

 

[bouaboua]

Look the trick they love to pull on us.

We better have strong heart to having tortoise as pet.

 

[katfinlou]

Look the trick they love to pull on us.

We better have strong heart to having tortoise as pet.

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I had no idea they could climb like that!!

 

[bouaboua]

Oh.....They do indeed! !

 

[Moozillion]

Look the trick they love to pull on us.

We better have strong heart to having tortoise as pet.

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THOSE LAST 2 SHOTS LOOK JUST LIKE MY ELSA!!! Lol! She loves hiding in the deep grass!
And that photo of your star climbing out is another one of my favorites! I keep a screen shot of it on my iPhone and show it to people when I can tell they don't really believe me when I talk about tortoises climbing! They're always amazed with it, and ALWAYS impressed with that tort's beauty!

(I've decided to start saving money now to get a Burmese star in a couple of years!)

 

[Jacqui]

I have this happen to me more often then I would like to admit outside in their enclosures. The strange thing is, it's normally the bigger ones I lose. I am talking adult redfoots doing the invisible rock thing on me. A few years back, when I was still trucking Jeff and I came home for the purpose of me getting all my tortoises into their inside winter housing. At that time the redfoot area was something like 30 by 50' and very well planted. We found them all, but the biggest one. I called Jeff out in frustration and he started helping. I swear I several times crossed the entire enclosure on my hands and knees feeling everything, but no tortoise. Finally we gave up. We put off leaving til the next morning hoping with daylight we would find her. That night was cold and we had a frost. It just added to my worry. Next morning the sun came out and so did she, safe and sound. Never did figure out where she was.

 

[Yvonne G]

It really is surprising that the bigger ones can climb as well as they do. I have a 25lb Manouria emys emys and when she's ready to nest she always climbs over her fence looking for a better nesting site. Her fence is about 20" tall. I've never actually seen her climb, but I find her on the other side frequently.

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

I had no idea they could climb like that!!

It's a fact that tortoises can levitate

 

[katfinlou]

I can see now that my Belle has lulled me into a false sense of security lol. Shes probably out living it up all night and returns just in time for me switching her lights on. No wonder it takes her ages to wake lol

 

[seiff]

Shhhh... they can fly...

Mine dig in every evening, and come out every morning looking homeless.

 

[AmRoKo]

All of my animals enjoy putting my panic disorder in full throttle on a daily basis.

 

[mini_max]

But I'll say one thing though, burrowing into that nice moist coir all night is making his shell look so shiny! I'm really surprised that 2 nights could make a difference like that!