Hyperactive Russian tortoise

[Isserley]

Hello! We have a two year old Russian called Eddie (no idea if male or female yet, but we like to hope he's a boy!) who is extremely hyperactive at present. He has been getting up from about 5:30am and spending the entire day doing what we call 'scrabbling'... Basically running around his box like a mad man, trying to climb up the walls, dragging his bedding everywhere, constantly knocking his water all over the place and not really eating. He's happy enough to explore our home but seems hell bent on destruction when he's in his box. He's got a lovely bespoke box with plenty of everything that he needs and hasn't had any changes to his living environment, he just appears to be having some sort of breakdown. Does anyone have any experience of this sort of behaviour?! Any help would be appreciated! Attached is a picture of today's destruction....

 

[JoesMum]

Tell me about it... I have his 50 year old Greek cousin in the same state.

How big is that table? It may be time to get a bigger one. I put Joe outside to cool off. Unfortunately the weather isn't good enough for him to stay out 24/7 at the moment.

 

[Tortoise]

Tell me about it... I have his 50 year old Greek cousin in the same state.

How big is that table? It may be time to get a bigger one. I put Joe outside to cool off. Unfortunately the weather isn't good enough for him to stay out 24/7 at the moment.

JoesMum
You always make me laugh-I would love to meet Joe!!
I guess a run around in large spaces - supervised can only help!
Some of these males..............

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Isserly:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

I'm afraid Eddie is telling you its time for him to move outside. The habitat you have him in is way too small for a tortoise of his size. Russian tortoises do very well outside, and are quite good in weather that isn't too hot.

I got the impression from your post that you allow Eddie out of his habitat to roam the house? This is another reason he's no longer happy in his habitat. He now realizes he's living in a very small area and wants more.

What would you like us to call you?

...and may we know appx. where in the world you are?

 

[bingbongbibidybobbo]

Haha! Eddie seems a right character

 

[Isserley]

Thanks for the responses! We live in England in a flat so unfortunately Eddie moving outside isn't really feasible. His table is three feet by two feet, we have been looking at bigger boxes but as he's only the size of my palm at the moment, about four inches long, I'm a little concerned about buying a bigger table and him outgrowing that before he's even reached maturity.

We do let him scrabble around the house as much as possible and have done since we first got him, however this behaviour is relatively new (a month or so), but from what you guys have said this sounds like normalish behaviour so perhaps he's just finally growing up a bit!

A bit of a random question, but what are your views on mirrors in tables? We put a small foil-like sheet on one of the walls which he seemed to enjoy staring at, but my boyfriend removed it as he thought Eddie might be too confused by it!

 

[JoesMum]

Even in England, tortoises can go outside. You just need the sun out and some sheltered spots for sun bathing. Joe was out from March when we had that really hot spell. It might only be for an hour or two, but it does the world of good. Keep an eye on him and bring him in if he gets cold and starts to dig.

I should warm you that they are escape artists, so make sure he can't dig or climb out of wherever you put him.

 

[Jacob]

He could be trying to tell you alot of things by doing that
Maybe he is trying to see out, maybe hes hot, bored, wants to go outside, or even the enclosure might be too small
all these all be factors

 

[JoeImhof]

I agree that he might realize now that its summer outside.
The larger the better on enclosures.
You could try to take him outside on carefully supervised walks somewhere. But that won't stop him from being active, if anything, it will make him more active.
On a positive note, I've got to think when they get very active, they must be healthy, so thats a positive. Good luck!