Boredom breakers?

[Mrs.T]

I could be totally wrong but I have a feeling mrs t is bored through the day. She lies around with her chin resting on the ground. I have a few stones in her tank to climb on. They'll be like rocks to her lol she loved them the first couple of days then lost interest. She just lies around, eyes open and she seems to brighten up when I go to her tank and talk to her. I can't be there all day talking to her and as I'm in Scotland I can't put her outside. Is there anything I can give her to cheer her up?

 

[Moozillion]

I think my tort gets bored too. She is a 6 inch long Hermann's. When she's outside in her large 8 foot by 12 foot outdoor enclosure ( I think that's about 2.5 meters by 4 meters?) she stays busy: walking the perimeter, climbing bricks, basking, climbing on (and eating!) some of her plants etc. In her little 4 foot by 3 foot (1 meter by 1 meter?) indoors enclosure for the winter she just eats and sleeps. If possible, making a larger indoor enclosure with plants, things to climb and places to hide might perk your tort up. I'm giving serious thoughts to building my Elsa a bigger enclosure for THIS winter instead of waiting for next winter.

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I forgot to ask; what type of tort do you have and what are your temps? That can have a big impact on their activity level.

 

[Mrs.T]

Unfortunately we have people being rescued from their homes in boats etc due to storms/ rainfall and we're expecting a lot of snow over the winter so I don't think she will appreciate the great outdoors just now! I do let her out on the floor and she'll happily investigate the house. I think maybe just changing the set up of her tank. Moving the stones feed dish around ect. I added more substrate so I could make a few hills to climb. I will also need to get her a larger enclosure as I could fit more climbing things in. I read online tonight that ping pong balls can be good as they are small and lightweight. Worth a try I guess! I also had her beside a mirror at first. I thought it might upset her but I think she liked looking at herself lol she didn't try to get out but she spent a lot of time just looking at herself, lifting and dropping her head

 

[Yvonne G]

When I have to have an indoor habitat for any length of time, I use the very biggest container that I possibly can find, and I place many visual barriers in it.

You're right...how boring it must be for a tortoise to come out of his house first thing in the morning and be able to see his whole world in one glance. Much better for him to have to walk around different objects in order to get to the other side of his world. This is one reason I was so impressed with the 'L' shaped habitat that one of our members built a while back. The habitat fit into the corner of the room and it was nice a big...lots of room for the tortoise.

 

[wellington]

Add logs, sticks, rocks, another different hide. Then when she seems bored with it, change it around. Take some stuff out, put different stuff in. Add an edible plant, before it's eaten all the way down, take it out and add a different one, while you try to save the first one to switch back in.