House trained red foot!

[Lira]

Hi guys,
Anyone else had the experience of your red foot only going to the toilet in one place?
Since Lira began to have free rein in our house, she always goes to the same room to poo (unfortunately the lounge ), usually the same corner, but after I moved the furniture a little she now has a backup corner on the other side of the room. She'll even come inside from the courtyard to go to her toilet spot inside!

 

[wellington]

When my leopard was little he always went in his water. I never had to clean up after him, except change the water out. Now, he still poops in his water inside, but when he is outside he doesn't.

 

[Tom]

Your tortoise should not be running loose in the house. It is dangerous for a wide variety of reasons and I've seen many tortoises die from the practice.

And before you say how safe you make it and how careful you are, so was every single person I know of who killed their tortoise by letting it run around loose.

 

[TMartin510]

Your tortoise should not be running loose in the house. It is dangerous for a wide variety of reasons and I've seen many tortoises die from the practice.

And before you say how safe you make it and how careful you are, so was every single person I know of who killed their tortoise by letting it run around loose.

I would worry about my tort getting stuck behind a couch or a tv or chewing on cords or whatever is possible. It seems when they are in a house, they go to the only place you DON'T want them to go to lol..

 

[stojanovski92113]

I would also advise against free roaming. Only because they really are curious creatures...eating non-edible items off the ground, not natural for them, too cold on the ground, getting smashed by doors, death, etc.

 

[christinaland128]

My reds poop every time I soak them. I soak them every day around 3 pm. They go consistently every day. Rarely do I find poop in their enclosure.

 

[Lira]

Your tortoise should not be running loose in the house. It is dangerous for a wide variety of reasons and I've seen many tortoises die from the practice.

And before you say how safe you make it and how careful you are, so was every single person I know of who killed their tortoise by letting it run around loose.

I understand your concern, however it is common practice in Brazil, it is also not cold in the least (tropical climate), I have safety proofed the house in any place that could have potentially been a danger and as it is only her and I here there is nobody to stomp on her etc. She has the option to live outside, but choses inside and is extremely well looked after, everything basically revolves around her! She had an enclosure before we moved to this house, and almost killed herself on a daily basis because she was so inquisitive to get out that no matter what I did, she climbed the walls and tipped over. I was frantic every time I went to work, went out, even to sleep because she could not tip herself back. So, for us this option is by far the best for now! I know where she is and that she won't tip over and she feels relaxed and settled in her routine.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

It is very common to assign motive and intention to our pets. We often project when we do so, and are often mistaken. Tortoises don't climb because they are inquisitive. They climb to get out. Why do they want out? Because the environment is not suitable in some way: too small, wrong temperature, insufficient grazing and food opportunities, something compelling on the other side... In any case, you recognized that the habitat didn't work and changed that, so that was good.

 

[Tom]

I understand your concern, however it is common practice in Brazil, it is also not cold in the least (tropical climate), I have safety proofed the house in any place that could have potentially been a danger and as it is only her and I here there is nobody to stomp on her etc. She has the option to live outside, but choses inside and is extremely well looked after, everything basically revolves around her! She had an enclosure before we moved to this house, and almost killed herself on a daily basis because she was so inquisitive to get out that no matter what I did, she climbed the walls and tipped over. I was frantic every time I went to work, went out, even to sleep because she could not tip herself back. So, for us this option is by far the best for now! I know where she is and that she won't tip over and she feels relaxed and settled in her routine.

It is common practice here too and that is why all the tortoise vets that I'm friends with show me so many cases of tortoises with broken legs, cracked shells, ingested foreign bodies and mauling damage from other visiting or resident pets.

We had one member here squash her tortoises head in the door. She didn't mean to. She was always very careful...

Another member's tortoise swallowed a 2" sewing pin. She has no idea where it came from or how the tortoise got it, and her house was made "safe" and "tortoise proof" too...

NO ONE thinks anything bad will happen, until the day it does. I am trying to help prevent the suffering your tortoise will endure while you learn this lesson the hard way. Make a large well designed enclosure with the proper temps and lighting, and a large safe outdoor enclosure for fair weather, and put your tortoise in them.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Yes, my tortoise also poops in the same spot. It used to be right outside the back door on the patio concrete...ugh I didn't like that! Now he goes on the dirt under a specific bush. He must have seen how upset I was with his first location LOL