Is it instinct that has them searching for the heat and light?

jmhoesch

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Since Mr. Pickles is outside 24/7 now. Does he "know" to go into his burrow at night and to come out when it's light? I have no clue. Until now, he's had the light turned on at a certain time, fed twice a day and he basked under the lamp or dug a little hole and snoozed in his log.

I finally found him this morning in a bunch of weeds. He was really cold. I put him in the sun and put a bowl of greens next to him. I don't know if he actually went into his burrow last night. Should we put him in there ourselves at dusk or let him find his own way. I know this is all new to him just wondering if he has instincts that will tell him to go and seek out shelter of the burrow and to come out of it to bask in the sunlight.

This is all new to us too............and yes, I know I'm worrying to much. lol
 

Yvonne G

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It is instinctual for a tortoise to seek shelter as the sun goes down...for safety plus it stays warm longer in shelter. It is also instinctual for them to come out in the morning and line up along the west side of the habitat, where the first rays of the rising sun will hit.

And then you come across some that don't seem to have any intelligence in this matter, like my YF tortoises, who will stay outside and freeze to death if I don't go out and bring them in every evening. I chalk this up to the fact that maybe in their home world it doesn't get cold enough for them to freeze to death, hence they've never had to develop that instinct.
 

mikeh

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It may take a while for him to navigate and know where his burrow is. This goes for both escaping the heat during the day and secluding for night time. Indoor tortoises may have harder transition to being outdoor fulltime.
 

jmhoesch

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Since I don't know where exactly he came from, I don't know if he EVER has been outside. We got him from Petsmart. I know that he was older then what they said. He could have been captured from the wild (which I kind of doubt) or born into captivity and was in a house til he was shipped off to the store. That's why I question his instincts. Ultimately, I know he'll be so much happier in his new huge enclosure. Just didn't think about the transition or how hard it will be on him, if at all. Ya know? I want to know if he's eating well enough. Before in his tank, I knew exactly how much he ate and when he went poop, etc. I have no idea now and it's freaking me out. He's stomping around the enclosure like bigfoot at the moment, taking a few moment in the shade every now and then. Now that I know he's safe from predators, I want to see him munching on weeds or taking a sit in the water.......lol
 

Saleama

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Rest easy. Mr. Pickles was born with and will not lose his ability to live outside. I have a three toed box turtle that was forced to live in a flooded bird cage and eat nothing but cat food for over ten years. I rescued him and while in his indoor habitat, he got right down to business eating live foods and veggies. He ate right out of my hand for a month. Once we put him into the wild garden, he went ferral within two weeks. It is the most touching, turtle related thing I have ever seen. This poor, caged, awesome turtle went from an agressive, biting jail house (lol) animal, to a hand feeding, begging for food puppy to a lone wolf dominant male (he has 7 lady friends, lol) in just over a month!
They also know how to regulate their temps provided you have the proper items for him to do so. :)
 

Saleama

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You might also want to try and put his burrow where he hides out instead of trying to get him to go where you want the burrow to be. Chances are he knows better than you where he is most comfortable.
 

Yourlocalpoet

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Since Mr. Pickles is outside 24/7 now. Does he "know" to go into his burrow at night and to come out when it's light? I have no clue. Until now, he's had the light turned on at a certain time, fed twice a day and he basked under the lamp or dug a little hole and snoozed in his log.

I finally found him this morning in a bunch of weeds. He was really cold. I put him in the sun and put a bowl of greens next to him. I don't know if he actually went into his burrow last night. Should we put him in there ourselves at dusk or let him find his own way. I know this is all new to him just wondering if he has instincts that will tell him to go and seek out shelter of the burrow and to come out of it to bask in the sunlight.

This is all new to us too............and yes, I know I'm worrying to much. lol

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/tortoises-body-temp.91031/#post-848561

Mine wouldn't get into MENSA.
 

jmhoesch

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Um...........we can't move his main burrow........it's incased in concrete and insulation. It's not moving anywhere unless a sledge hammer is involved. lol He seems to like a shady spot under a little bush in the corner of the enclosure. He's dug a itty bitty indentation in the soil and he's chillin out.
 

Tom

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They need help at first figuring out where to go and when to go there. In time they will figure out their enclosure, but you should put him in the burrow each night for a while.

Yes they have instincts, but they have MANY instincts that often compete with each other. Warmth vs. security for example. They cannot be relied upon to do the "right" thing all the time, especially in a brand new enclosure in an area that is totally different than what they are used to.
 

jmhoesch

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LMAO TIFFANY! I laughed so hard when I saw that picture. The only think I could think of is you trying to put him to "bed" at night getting him in there!

My husband keeps putting him in there and he keeps coming right back out! UGH............I put his food bowl at the entrance w/ his favorites in there and he walked right over it and headed towards the weeds (which are now very tall and thick in the enclosure) If he doesn't start to use that burrow, my hubby will be a bit upset. You know how long he worked on that? The concrete, the design, building it etc............it's not dark yet so maybe he's not tired yet, but if he was in his tank he'd be snoozing under his log by now.............
 

Tom

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Things are different outisde. Put him in there after the sun goes down. They don't usually move around after dark.

Many tortoises avoid any sort of hole in the ground or burrow because they don't want to tangle with the owner of the burrow. It will take some time for him to realize that HE is the owner of that burrow.
 

jmhoesch

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He found one of the smaller hidey holes to go in. It's one of the 1/2 buried pots w/ dirt in it. Guess it's better then under a bush for the night. I sure hope he figures things out soon, this is nerve wracking. LOL
 

T33's Torts

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That was from this morning, actually! Tank is stubborn! It took two weeks of having an aquantince lift him into the house at dusk, before he mastered it! Sometimes he still misses the door, and gets a face full of wall. :D
 

T33's Torts

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He's perfectly fine. Sometimes he just makes too wide of a turn. My guess would be between 15- 30. Thank you!
 

jmhoesch

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Tank is amazing! I would love to have one that big. It's nerve wracking w/ just a little 6 inch one. lol Gave Mr. Pickles a warm bath this morning. That always revs him up. I don't know if he's eating anything tho. Haven't actually seen him eat in a few days. I have a bowl of food out there but he hasn't touched it............I know this is a completely different experience for him...............
 

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