Help! Russian trying to dig out of sweaterbox.!

[solaress]

Hi all,
I'm new here.
I just got a russian tortoise, from Petco, probably ranch-raised not wild caught.
She has settled in and eats very well, but she constantly is trying to dig out of here 3'xsweaterbox she lives in. It makes a lot of noise, too!
I live in an apartment and will not being able to make an outdoor enclosure for her, so I maybe returning her.
It s depressing because she is cute and getting friendly-- I'll miss her...
Any one have any thoughts about this?I need some answers soon, thanks!

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Correction. There is a typo, the sweaterbox is 3 x 2 ft. Do I need a larger enclosure? Like a 6 X4 tort table? She is only about 4 inches .
solaress

 

[solaress]

Will RT stop trying to dig out if container shape is changed

Hi all,
I'm new here.
I recently got a russian tortoise who is quite often trying to dig out of her 3' x 2'' underbed sweater box. She is about 4 inches long.
I was just reading that a round or oval container is best.
(For now I have to keep her indoors in an apartment.)
How is that working for some of you that have pond liners or ?
Thanks ahead of time! I need answers soon!
solaress in PNW

 

[dolfanjack]

RE: Will RT stop trying to dig out if container shape is changed

Hi all,
I'm new here.
I recently got a russian tortoise who is quite often trying to dig out of her 3' x 2'' underbed sweater box. She is about 4 inches long.
I was just reading that a round or oval container is best.
(For now I have to keep her indoors in an apartment.)
How is that working for some of you that have pond liners or ?
Thanks ahead of time! I need answers soon!
solaress in PNW

Your new RT is in a new enviroment and is checking things out, in time she 'may' settle down. I say 'may' because some individuals are more nervous then others. I don't believe her digging is a reason to return her, give her time and I bet she settles down, RT's are very good and adaptable. As all things in life bigger is better, so a larger incloser with more hides might calm her down sooner. Hope this helpes, Jack.

 

[solaress]

RE: Will RT stop trying to dig out if container shape is changed

Hi all,
I'm new here.
I recently got a russian tortoise who is quite often trying to dig out of her 3' x 2'' underbed sweater box. She is about 4 inches long.
I was just reading that a round or oval container is best.
(For now I have to keep her indoors in an apartment.)
How is that working for some of you that have pond liners or ?
Thanks ahead of time! I need answers soon!
solaress in PNW

Your new RT is in a new enviroment and is checking things out, in time she 'may' settle down. I say 'may' because some individuals are more nervous then others. I don't believe her digging is a reason to return her, give her time and I bet she settles down, RT's are very good and adaptable. As all things in life bigger is better, so a larger incloser with more hides might calm her down sooner. Hope this helpes, Jack.

Hi jack,
Thank you so much for replying.
I've had her for 12 days, the last 2 she seems to have been unusually active with a lot of scraping in the corners. Earlier she was doing that, but for the last several hours she was basking and now is just resting in the middle of the enclosure. The sweaterbox is milky white, but she can still see out of it. Maybe if I glued dark construction paper on the sides so she cant see through that would help? And capping the corners with tile or ?
I can put in another hide in the hotter area, maybe that would help.
I do intend to evetually build some kind of larger portable play area so that I can bring her over to my mother's property on warmer days.

 

[tortoisenerd]

Welcome to the group! How long have you had the tort? Why do you think ranch raised (not heard that for Petco Russians before so I'm curious...don't believe a thing they say in the store)? Could you give us more information about the digging?

How tall are the enclosure sides? Can she see out (clear sides)? If the sides are clear I would put up paper or spray paint the outside. If she can climb up and catch her arms on the top at all, then you need something taller. Do you let her ever roam the house? If so, stop this, as it just reinforces her wanting to get out into more space, and is dangerous. If they can see out, they will want out. It is normal for a tort, especially a Russian, to do a lot of burrow digging, especially when settling down at night, in which they will scratch at the sides of the enclosure (which of course annoys us humans!).

Is it climbing up the sides and pacing type of behavior, or digging burrows and scratching at the sides/corners? 6 sq ft is on the small side of sufficient...I don't think its small enough to cause this type of behavior unless it had been a downsize (but I think more so its an upgrade, since she is a pet store tort). If she is really a girl, she will do a bit more of growing, possibly double in size, and you will need a larger enclosure someday (or else the enclosure will shrink for her if she grows). If she is really a he, possibly close to full grown.

Torts will want to get out of any enclosure. How much of the day is spent making the noise, and what part of the day? The more description the better, so we can try to guess whether this is normal or abnormal. My gut says this is normal, and although a larger enclosure with more to do may help, this tort may always do this. Getting a different tort may not help, so unless your return time frame is about to run out, I wouldn't make any rash decisions if you like this tort. There are some little fixes you can do to try to cut down on this behavior, but not much...at my house, we still struggle with this, even with a 17 sq ft enclosure for a 4.3 inch tort. My little Russian is very stubborn...lately we're struggling with him trying to dig under his water dish, which makes a huge mess, a lot of noise, can get him stuck, and he actually scratches his shell (and the dish) by doing this. He doesn't understand us pulling him out of the hole means he should stop doing it! As cute as they are, they aren't very smart in some aspects.

 

[tortoisenerd]

RE: Will RT stop trying to dig out if container shape is changed

From your description I think both higher sides and less clear would help. You can build a tort table pretty cheap. I assume the sweater box wouldn't be too much of a monetary loss to use for something else, or possibly you could return it. Those under the bed types (like I assume you have) are too short for adequate substrate and safety for a Russian. Since you need higher, not clear, and someday larger, I would upgrade now from 6 sq ft to more like 10-20 sq ft, and block off part for now to expand it as she grows (I assume if a she, she is not fully grown). Otherwise, you would just have to build another one in a couple years. I have an awesome but ridiculously expensive Vision plastic tub for my tort. I'm also in the PNW...not too conducive to keeping torts outdoors anyways, despite the lack of yard, which I also have.

Tort tables from bookcases seem to be the cheapest way to get a lot of square footage. Look for something closer to 16-18 inches high to allow for deep substrate (higher is fine too, for a large enclosure). The more space and the more to do, captive torts will be more occupied. Some just can't get past the "I'm in an enclosure...I have to get out" sort of behavior though. Hard to know in a couple weeks. I personally haven't heard anything about round being better than square/rectangle (source??), but I have heard that rectangular is better than square. If you did want to go round, you'd be looking at a stock tank (metal or plastic), which is likely more expensive than a tort table, but a nice choice. A hide in each temp zone is good (at least 3...hot, medium, cold). Can you provide enclosure pics? Maybe we can spot something. Also see my reply on your other thread. Good luck! Don't give up on her (don't be afraid to let the return period pass because you can always re-home her later on if its not a good fit, but you wouldn't want to have regrets and "what ifs").

 

[solaress]

RE: Will RT stop trying to dig out if container shape is changed

From your description I think both higher sides and less clear would help. You can build a tort table pretty cheap. I assume the sweater box wouldn't be too much of a monetary loss to use for something else, or possibly you could return it. Those under the bed types (like I assume you have) are too short for adequate substrate and safety for a Russian. Since you need higher, not clear, and someday larger, I would upgrade now from 6 sq ft to more like 10-20 sq ft, and block off part for now to expand it as she grows (I assume if a she, she is not fully grown). Otherwise, you would just have to build another one in a couple years. I have an awesome but ridiculously expensive Vision plastic tub for my tort. I'm also in the PNW...not too conducive to keeping torts outdoors anyways, despite the lack of yard, which I also have.
Hi tortoisenerd,
Thanks for answering . The tort was scraping away until several minutes ago. She's quiet now, probably worn out!
I think tha the RT is a she because she has a small tail.
I don't have a working camera at the moment so I cant show the setup.
Yesterday, I DID put her on the kitchen floor a a very brief time ,maybe 2 minutes or less...But she was already doing all the digging in the corners before that. But maybe it made things worse.( I didn't know I shouldn't do that.)
I chose her because she was sitting in the food dish with food all over her beak. (BTW, she eats VERY weLL!) Then I noticed after that she was walking all over the cage while the 5 other torts were just sitting there. I thought that at least she was healthy!! Maybe she is a neurotic -compulsive type, LOL! I did read alot about RT's before I bought one, but mostly just general care info.
Tomorrow I'll buy some construction paper.. I dont know what to put in the corners. Small pieces of tile?
Thank so much for the help.


Tort tables from bookcases seem to be the cheapest way to get a lot of square footage. Look for something closer to 16-18 inches high to allow for deep substrate (higher is fine too, for a large enclosure). The more space and the more to do, captive torts will be more occupied. Some just can't get past the "I'm in an enclosure...I have to get out" sort of behavior though. Hard to know in a couple weeks. I personally haven't heard anything about round being better than square/rectangle (source??), but I have heard that rectangular is better than square. If you did want to go round, you'd be looking at a stock tank (metal or plastic), which is likely more expensive than a tort table, but a nice choice. A hide in each temp zone is good (at least 3...hot, medium, cold). Can you provide enclosure pics? Maybe we can spot something. Also see my reply on your other thread. Good luck! Don't give up on her (don't be afraid to let the return period pass because you can always re-home her later on if its not a good fit, but you wouldn't want to have regrets and "what ifs").

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tortoisenerd,
OOps I answere your last post right in the miidle of your answer, see above!
BTW, I think she was farmed because originally there were 15 or more?, all the same size. Just a guess.
She pulls in her shell when I pick her up but soemtimes she'll let me touch her head. Still a bit shy, though. I only started handling her the last few days. I didnt want to disturb her.

 

[tortoisenerd]

RE: Will RT stop trying to dig out if container shape is changed

Some thick cardboard with duct tape maybe? I'd be wary to put something heavy like tile in case it fell. If it was wood its easy to attach wood pieces, but on plastic, a bit tougher. Did the container come with a lid? See this thread with what was done with the lid: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Looking-for-criticism-Russian-Tortoise#axzz1DECVkFrL Long term with a growing girl you will need a larger enclosure (and it likely would help), but yes in the meantime, the paper on the sides + capped corners + keeping her in the enclosure (no roaming) may help. Feel free to read up on it, but in short, letting a tort roam the house is dangerous because the floor is cold, they could ingest hair/dust/etc, come in contact with other pets, and they like a safe place to call home with places to hide).

 

[Yvonne G]

RE: Will RT stop trying to dig out if container shape is changed

Hi solaress:

Welcome to the forum!! May we know your name?

 

[solaress]

RE: Will RT stop trying to dig out if container shape is changed

Hi solaress:

Welcome to the forum!! May we know your name?

Hi emysemys,
Thank you for welcoming me here. I know, I didn't post an introduction. Didn't have enought time!
My name is Jennifer.

 

[Laura]

There are some things to try.. but Russians kinda do that... drive you crazy with trying to 'escape'

 

[jensgotfaith]

Welcome! it took my Maggie McGee a while to settle down but I wouldn't trade her for anything. I've had her for almost 1 year and she still pulls her head in all the time. But she also comes running every morning for her food and is looking for me if I'm later than normal. She totally rocks! Hang in there, it'll get better!

 

[Torty Mom]

Welcome to TFO hopefully she will settle down soon. Then she will learn you are the food goddess and come running when she sees you!! It's very cute!

 

[GBtortoises]

Ranch-raised is one of a few "feel good" terms that suppliers and pet shops use for wild caught tortoises. Chances are extremely good that your tortoise is most likey wild caught. Russian tortoises, especially wild caught males, are generally very active and restless tortoises. The digging is instinctual with Russian tortoises that often bury themselves in substrate. Adding more hide areas may or may not calm that. It depends upon the individual tortoises sense of security and it's surrounding habitat and environment.


Read more: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Help-Russian-trying-to-dig-out-of-sweaterbox#ixzz1DJ1hvENx

 

[tortoisenerd]

Sorry mine was confusing but I think its because your two threads were combined and I replied to both.