Fun things to do

[WillTort2]

I love the height and space of your enclosure. Nice job!

 

[Oxalis]

I love the height and space of your enclosure. Nice job!

Thanks! My boyfriend says we should buy paver blocks and build him a pyramid!!!!

 

[rhondak]

My Russian can be outside for an entire summer day, like today, in his "jungle" of tortoise treats, but sometimes it seems he's just sitting in the same spot all day, neither eating or digging. At night, I will bring him inside to his indoor enclosure, and then he'll start running in circles like crazy. If he spends most of the day out there hiding, does that mean he's scared or stressed? He is completely protected by chicken wire though. Here's our 96 sq. ft. outdoor enclosure garden:

View attachment 138613

Here he is now, just sitting under his Spiraea for shade:

View attachment 138614

Is this normal? Maybe he is too hot outside? It is 81 degrees F here in Michigan with 57% humidity.

I like your enclosure. I would love to be able to do some thing like that for ur RT.

 

[tortoisegirl5]

My Herbert just loves climbing his hut (his hut is a cut out log) and loves climbing mounds of dirt and stones and of course he loves exploring. I know that when I'm gone during the day he gets immensely bored from climbing, digging, and sleeping. Is there anything fun I can put in his day enclosure for him to do, and is there anything fun we can do together?

Side note- he is absolutely terrified of balls that he can play with.

no balls for mine then! I heard that they like burying themselves in the shade! Is that true?

 

[Oxalis]

Russians seem to like a climbing challenge...

I have placed around his enclosure some piles of various sizes of rocks, which he likes to climb on. I have also dug out his underground cave a little so that it's easier for me to pull him out of there and now there's a bit of a moat around it, so he has more of a climbing challenge.

 

[Arran Askey]

hi i have a Hermans Tortoise and my 'Bob' or 'Roberta' unsure yet of the sex, has a habit of sleeping in my dog's basket. My dog does not like this and has to sit somewhere else. it is so cute to watch, sometimes 'Bob' or 'Roberta' is a bit naughty and tries to bite the dog. How do we train 'Bob' or 'Roberta' to not bite the dog?

 

[Gillian M]

My Herbert just loves climbing his hut (his hut is a cut out log) and loves climbing mounds of dirt and stones and of course he loves exploring. I know that when I'm gone during the day he gets immensely bored from climbing, digging, and sleeping. Is there anything fun I can put in his day enclosure for him to do, and is there anything fun we can do together?

Side note- he is absolutely terrified of balls that he can play with.

Oli also enjoys climbing though it keeps me worried all the time. A couple of months ago he used to climb an flip on his back time and one again, till I finally managed to solve the issue, thank GOD.

I too sometimes get the feeling that he gets bored. So I take him out for a "walk" when the weather is suitable. Don't know what else I can do, to be quite honest.

 

[Arran Askey]

Hi Gillian, where do you take him for a walk? it must take you all day to get a newspaper.

 

[Gillian M]

Hi Gillian, where do you take him for a walk? it must take you all day to get a newspaper.

Hi @Arran Askey. We go out for "walks" (notice the QUOTE), downstairs beside home. Obviously, whilst Oli is roaming around so happily, I'd be literally standing there like a BODY GUARD following him step by step. Just imagine the PATIENCE needed here. I do it willingly, as I feel that it is not fair to keep any animal/pet "imprisoned" in an enclosure all year round, no matter how comfortable the enclosure may be. Know what I mean?

 

[Gillian M]

hi i have a Hermans Tortoise and my 'Bob' or 'Roberta' unsure yet of the sex, has a habit of sleeping in my dog's basket. My dog does not like this and has to sit somewhere else. it is so cute to watch, sometimes 'Bob' or 'Roberta' is a bit naughty and tries to bite the dog. How do we train 'Bob' or 'Roberta' to not bite the dog?

Welcome to the forum.

I do not believe a tort can be trained to do much. Sorry.

 

[Oxalis]

Hi @Arran Askey. We go out for "walks" (notice the QUOTE), downstairs beside home. Obviously, whilst Oli is roaming around so happily, I'd be literally standing there like a BODY GUARD following him step by step. Just imagine the PATIENCE needed here. I do it willingly, as I feel that it is not fair to keep any animal/pet "imprisoned" in an enclosure all year round, no matter how comfortable the enclosure may be. Know what I mean?

Since moving into a house with my fiance, we have really gotten into gardening, and me especially into what I like to call "tortoise gardening." I did a lot of research to provide my Russian with plants that aren't toxic and some tort-friendly plants that are also Michigan natives, so they grow better in my climate and provide the local birds with the occasional snack. We built him a ~98 square foot enclosure, covered in chicken wire (to protect him from hawks) and he has his own personal buffet! I've since added in a little wooden house I built him, a broken terra cotta pot to hide in, and a couple cinder blocks to crawl through. He loves all of this. He has plenty of space, all to himself, to explore and pick out his favorite treat. He's become a better eater and he's tried new foods! And he's getting the UV from the sun that is so important to his health. More than anything else, I think his garden is likely the best "fun thing" for him in the spring/summer/fall that could possibly stimulate a tortoise's interest. So I highly recommend outdoor time!

Here's a photo of his playpen:

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

hi i have a Hermans Tortoise and my 'Bob' or 'Roberta' unsure yet of the sex, has a habit of sleeping in my dog's basket. My dog does not like this and has to sit somewhere else. it is so cute to watch, sometimes 'Bob' or 'Roberta' is a bit naughty and tries to bite the dog. How do we train 'Bob' or 'Roberta' to not bite the dog?

The problem is the other way around.
Dogs sometimes see tortoises as chew toys. They may be a lovable, good-natured, obedient creature for years and then BLAM!
Do not risk it .
We see the results far too often on here.

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

hi i have a Hermans Tortoise and my 'Bob' or 'Roberta' unsure yet of the sex, has a habit of sleeping in my dog's basket. My dog does not like this and has to sit somewhere else. it is so cute to watch, sometimes 'Bob' or 'Roberta' is a bit naughty and tries to bite the dog. How do we train 'Bob' or 'Roberta' to not bite the dog?

It isn't a matter of training the tortoises, it's just a matter of preventing the situation from occurring. Your tortoises shouldn't have access to the dog to bite them or steal their bed. Keep their spaces separate.

 

[Gillian M]

Since moving into a house with my fiance, we have really gotten into gardening, and me especially into what I like to call "tortoise gardening." I did a lot of research to provide my Russian with plants that aren't toxic and some tort-friendly plants that are also Michigan natives, so they grow better in my climate and provide the local birds with the occasional snack. We built him a ~98 square foot enclosure, covered in chicken wire (to protect him from hawks) and he has his own personal buffet! I've since added in a little wooden house I built him, a broken terra cotta pot to hide in, and a couple cinder blocks to crawl through. He loves all of this. He has plenty of space, all to himself, to explore and pick out his favorite treat. He's become a better eater and he's tried new foods! And he's getting the UV from the sun that is so important to his health. More than anything else, I think his garden is likely the best "fun thing" for him in the spring/summer/fall that could possibly stimulate a tortoise's interest. So I highly recommend outdoor time!

Here's a photo of his playpen:

Looks great. But I cannot see your tort? Or was he not around when you took the photo?

 

[Oxalis]

Looks great. But I cannot see your tort? Or was he not around when you took the photo?

Oh sure! Here's my garden thread with more photos: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...nclosure-and-garden.92343/page-8#post-1357924 It's a jungle this time of year, so Steve can be hard to find sometimes!!

 

[bouaboua]

My Russian can be outside for an entire summer day, like today, in his "jungle" of tortoise treats, but sometimes it seems he's just sitting in the same spot all day, neither eating or digging. At night, I will bring him inside to his indoor enclosure, and then he'll start running in circles like crazy. If he spends most of the day out there hiding, does that mean he's scared or stressed? He is completely protected by chicken wire though. Here's our 96 sq. ft. outdoor enclosure garden:

View attachment 138613

Here he is now, just sitting under his Spiraea for shade:

View attachment 138614

Is this normal? Maybe he is too hot outside? It is 81 degrees F here in Michigan with 57% humidity.

Just discovered this post. What a nice enclosure~~

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I had attached some brushes to the walls of my outdoor pen and my tortoises would scratch themselves on them several times a day.
Then one day they just stopped doing it.
Go figure?

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

I had attached some brushes to the walls of my outdoor pen and my tortoises would scratch themselves on them several times a day.
Then one day they just stopped doing it.
Go figure?

That's funny - I had a tipped over log in my enclosure that my guy was rubbing his rear shell against, but he stopped when it started to get cold last year and never started up again.

 

[Oxalis]

That's funny - I had a tipped over log in my enclosure that my guy was rubbing his rear shell against, but he stopped when it started to get cold last year and never started up again.

Torties are so funny sometimes!

Just discovered this post. What a nice enclosure~~

Thanks! It was a lot of hard work, but always worth it for the health and happiness of my Stevie (Russian tort)!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

My group had a big issue with worms a while back.
I'm thinking that maybe they stopped scratching when the worms went away?
Just a theory.