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My little greek tortious, Seymour, seems restless in his cage. I want to find out if I can let him roam around my house. What should I do to make it safe for him? Also, how will he stay warm if I let him roam?
Free roaming greek tortoise?
- Thread starter beccachili124
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RE: Free roaming greek tortious?
I highly recommend against letting a tortoise roam around your house. No matter what you do, it's not a suitable environment for a tortoise. Greek torts are nomadic by nature so it's in his nature to be constantly on the move. How big of enclosure do you have? Can you make it bigger?
At the very least you could change the layout every couple of weeks. Move the water bowl, plants, rocks, put new items in, etc. Make it new and interesting every couple of weeks. Hide his food and make him search for it, etc.
Hope the above ideas are helpful.
beccachili124 said:
I highly recommend against letting a tortoise roam around your house. No matter what you do, it's not a suitable environment for a tortoise. Greek torts are nomadic by nature so it's in his nature to be constantly on the move. How big of enclosure do you have? Can you make it bigger?
At the very least you could change the layout every couple of weeks. Move the water bowl, plants, rocks, put new items in, etc. Make it new and interesting every couple of weeks. Hide his food and make him search for it, etc.
Hope the above ideas are helpful.
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Re: Free roaming greek tortious?
I have a 20 gallon tank. Seymour is still a little fella so I wasn't sure when to get a bigger tank. He has a wood chips for his subtrate and a little tree in the corner of his cage for shade. I've been to pet stores and seen them have their tortious walking around in the store.
I have a 20 gallon tank. Seymour is still a little fella so I wasn't sure when to get a bigger tank. He has a wood chips for his subtrate and a little tree in the corner of his cage for shade. I've been to pet stores and seen them have their tortious walking around in the store.
beccachili124 said:
I agree. Free roaming a house sounds too risky and I advise against it. Maybe look into building a secure outdoor pen? I built mine for about $150, but if you have wood or cement, that helps lower the cost. I sunk a trough of cement 12 inches deep so they could not dig out and nothing could dig in. I put wire mesh on the top to keep rats, snakes, raccoons, etc, out and locked it to keep humans from stealing my torts.
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RE: Free roaming greek tortious?
How big is your tortoise? A baby? A small juvenile? Young adult?
It sounds to me like Seymour is ready for an upgrade. I've found that my tortoises are usually restless if something isn't quite right in their habitat. Have you checked your temperatures? A 20 gallon tank doesn't really allow for a good temperature gradient - 70s on the cool end, 95 under the basking light. It might be too warm overall?
Which brings me to the second part: a baby tortoise (and most larger ones) probably won't be very happy in bark chips. I would switch to something that holds humidity better, and is easier to burrow in, like e.g. coconut coir (sold as 'Eco Earth' bricks at the pet store - you add water and they expand), or ACE brand top soil (it has no amendments, which is why I mention that brand specifically - there are surely other good brands... just make sure there is no perlite and no chicken manure in there). You can add some moist spaghnum moss to the hide. Maybe your little one is restless because it's looking for a spot to burrow and hide in?
Even a very small tortoise needs more than a 20 gallon space... there are several options for bigger enclosures: a bigger tank (check Craigslist!), a rubbermaid bin, a cement mixing tub (the XL kind are $13 at Home Depot), or you could build something yourself. For a tortoise 4" or larger, I would say AT THE SMALLEST 4' x 2' space is necessary. Even then it might pace quite a bit.
Feel free to ask more questions, it's the best way to learn.
How big is your tortoise? A baby? A small juvenile? Young adult?
It sounds to me like Seymour is ready for an upgrade. I've found that my tortoises are usually restless if something isn't quite right in their habitat. Have you checked your temperatures? A 20 gallon tank doesn't really allow for a good temperature gradient - 70s on the cool end, 95 under the basking light. It might be too warm overall?
Which brings me to the second part: a baby tortoise (and most larger ones) probably won't be very happy in bark chips. I would switch to something that holds humidity better, and is easier to burrow in, like e.g. coconut coir (sold as 'Eco Earth' bricks at the pet store - you add water and they expand), or ACE brand top soil (it has no amendments, which is why I mention that brand specifically - there are surely other good brands... just make sure there is no perlite and no chicken manure in there). You can add some moist spaghnum moss to the hide. Maybe your little one is restless because it's looking for a spot to burrow and hide in?
Even a very small tortoise needs more than a 20 gallon space... there are several options for bigger enclosures: a bigger tank (check Craigslist!), a rubbermaid bin, a cement mixing tub (the XL kind are $13 at Home Depot), or you could build something yourself. For a tortoise 4" or larger, I would say AT THE SMALLEST 4' x 2' space is necessary. Even then it might pace quite a bit.
Feel free to ask more questions, it's the best way to learn.
beccachili124 said:
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