Do Tortoises go "wild" after being put in an outdoor enclosure????

[Sheldon the russian tortoise]

Ikr ! Doesent it make you so jealous to see other peoples torties pigging out,:--0

 

[KevinGG]

The reason he may not be using his burrow is because there is slate on the bottom . Torts like to burrow in to the ground

 

[jmhoesch]

Nope, it's COVERED in organic soil and AZ dirt. It's nearly to the top, he can bury himself in 8 inches if he wanted to. And yes, it does make me jealous to see all these cute pics of torti's pigging out and their cute little tongues all out. I follow him around all the time w/ a camera in hopes of catching him eating and nada.............

 

[Saleama]

Mine went wild when I put them outside as well. One still is but the two older torts will now come towards me when I drop their food and my big male will actually eat flowers out of my hand. I also built them a"den" of sorts and the older ones still hang out under their favorite sage bush. Every now and then they will go in their den or sit in the shade on top of it. Try putting food in different spots in the garden. It might be he just doesn't like where you are putting the food or he doesn't want to eat out of a dish.. I have areas where spring mix will dry up and they won't touch it and they will not eat well out of a dish. I have to put their salad in the grass.

 

[Moozillion]

Elsa did this to me. Wouldn't touch her greens or even treats. If I try to hand feed her, she walks on by, UNLESS she happens to be hungry and I have something she likes (sow thistle flower or day lily flower). Luckily, last week I saw her standing with her front feet holding down a runner of St. Augustine Grass, and really chomping hard on a little fresh sprout in the middle. I also just happened to find a hibiscus blossom that was hanging low, and she had apparently eaten off the part that she could reach. So I assume she's eating the plants. Every thing I put in her enclosure is tort safe/edible. Good luck!

 

[KevinGG]

Try placing food in the shade. It wont wilt therefore giving them more of a chance to eat fresh greens

 

[lynnedit]

Definitely do not worry! He is happy as a clam. Mine are out year around, and they decide what they will eat, where they will bask, and love traveling over the whole enclosure. They like to graze; a little here, a little there, as they walk around.
Sometimes I see them, sometimes I don't. Because I sit out there, and work in the enclosure, they are 'used' to me. Sometimes now they march up and say, 'Knave, give me a dandelion flower, now!' And I have to find one quickly, or leave the premises.
However, most if the time they tolerate me.
But they are so happy (OK, in a tortoise way), and thriving, and that is how I want my tortoises to be. I don't think of them as pets, as much as creatures that I am providing as natural a home for as possible.
Remember, weeds and flowers are far better for your tortoise than spring mix (which is just a stop gap in winter when we don't have enough weeds).
He looks very good, and your enclosure is wonderful. You should be proud.

 

[Blgreek08]

Freaking awesome! I'm jealous!

 

[jmhoesch]

Hubby caught him munching on some leaves this morning. I wish he'd go into his burrow in the afternoon though. It's supposed to be 107 here and his burrow is much cooler. O and Lynnedit, we're transitioning him food wise. I didn't want to put him out there and have him only eat the weeds and flowers considering he didn't get much of them when he was in his tank so we still put a "bit" of spring mix out there, then we lesson it each time and put some weeds and flowers in it. By next week, we probably won't be putting anything out there, only a treat or two every now and then. I just threw some cactus out there in different spots to see if he'll munch on that. It's ABUNDANT out here (southern AZ) and we only have to go to the front yard to get some. lol His enclosure is completely overrun w/ weeds now. You can barely see the bottom of the enclosure. There are SO much clover, dandy lion and other weed mixtures out there we got from the AZ Tortoise Compound here in AZ. They grew quickly. We just threw them out there in April and watered a lot and 6 weeks later it's a jungle!

He has dead cacti to climb over, a rock pile to climb, he climbs over his burrow cause my husband threw seeds on that and now it's over run w/ weeds too! He also has a huge (well big for him) water spot to get into and soak or drink. We're going to put another flowering plant or two in there as well.

 

[Maro2Bear]

Just wanted to thank you for sharing all your trials and tribulations! Given his beautiful, well thought out enclosure, your tort is probably just grinning as he passes up his old food in preference for fresh just picked tasty natural morsels. Keep us posted and good luck!

 

[ascott]

He's been out there nearly a month now and I have NEVER seen him eat anything. I'm guess he DOES because he'd be dead now

Actually, just for reference sake a tort can go several months without food and water and still be alive....of course not desirable, but can happen.....torts have their own schedule, so just because you don't see them chowing down does not mean he is not....

 

[yillt]

I envy all of you guys. You worry about the heat getting to your tortoise but I worry about the cold getting to mine. I put Billy outside for a couple of days and he didn't eat any of the kale I put in his enclosure. He prop ably thought He was going to go back soon and so he knew he got given kale in his enclosure.He didn't exactly go 'wild' but something along those lines.