Night Box Conundrums

[FrankiesMom]

Thank you everyone for all of your assistance with building a night box for my leopard tortoise, Frankie.
It has been completed but I have a few questions as he appears to be a creature of habit:

1) Right now he goes to a corner of the outdoor enclosure and tucks himself into his shell and goes to sleep around 7pm. Will he eventually go into the night box on his own in the evening once he gets used to sleeping in there? I will still go out and lock him in but just curious if he will eventually find comfort in there.

2) Will he eventually know to go into the warm night box when the temperature drops outside – for example, it can be 90+ degrees but when there is a heavy rain the temp usually drops to a point that is chilly for me – and I assume not warm enough for him. Right now he just huddles in a corner so I go out and grab him and put him in the night box where it’s warm. My other concern is in the “winter” months here in Florida it can get chilly. I understand that I still need to open the door to the night box in the morning so he can come out – but will he know to go back in if he gets cold?

3) I had attached the plastic door flaps to the door opening of his night box; however, he won’t come out through that for some reason so I removed it. But now rain blows in. Will he eventually get over his diversion to the flaps and walk out through it?

Thank you in advance for your help! I don’t know what I would do without this group!

 

[Yvonne G]

If you put him in there each evening he will eventually go in on his own. When putting him away set him down in front of the flaps and gently push him through.

Once he's used to sheltering in there at night it will also become his go to place at other times too.

 

[wellington]

Hmmm sounds like you have a relative to one of my leopards.
Mine will stay outside in the rain even if it gets colder. Mine has access to the outside from going thru two sheds which has ramps down to the ground. He will go into the first shed and either won't go up the ramps or goes half way to the landing.
I keep putting him where he is suppose to go for the night and eventually he will do it I hope more often then he does. When the nights stay warm, I don't bother as long as he's in one of the sheds.
Good luck, keep putting him in and eventually he may do it himself.
Be sure it's not too hot in the hide and that it's big enough for him to easily turn around.

 

[wellington]

If you put him in there each evening he will eventually go in on his own. When putting him away set him down in front of the flaps and gently push him through.

Once he's used to sheltering in there at night it will also become his go to place at other times too.

That's the ideal leopard. I think the OP and I both have stubborn weirdos lol

 

[wellington]

Oh and I do have one that has the same situation of 2 sheds, ramps and does it himself every night.
There is hope.

 

[Tom]

Thank you everyone for all of your assistance with building a night box for my leopard tortoise, Frankie.
It has been completed but I have a few questions as he appears to be a creature of habit:

1) Right now he goes to a corner of the outdoor enclosure and tucks himself into his shell and goes to sleep around 7pm. Will he eventually go into the night box on his own in the evening once he gets used to sleeping in there? I will still go out and lock him in but just curious if he will eventually find comfort in there.

2) Will he eventually know to go into the warm night box when the temperature drops outside – for example, it can be 90+ degrees but when there is a heavy rain the temp usually drops to a point that is chilly for me – and I assume not warm enough for him. Right now he just huddles in a corner so I go out and grab him and put him in the night box where it’s warm. My other concern is in the “winter” months here in Florida it can get chilly. I understand that I still need to open the door to the night box in the morning so he can come out – but will he know to go back in if he gets cold?

3) I had attached the plastic door flaps to the door opening of his night box; however, he won’t come out through that for some reason so I removed it. But now rain blows in. Will he eventually get over his diversion to the flaps and walk out through it?
Thank you in advance for your help! I don’t know what I would do without this group!

1. Maybe. Most do, but some don't.
2. See number 1 above.
3. Raise one or two flaps temporarily until he learns to come and go on his own. I use spring loaded "clips" to hold the flaps up out of the way so the tortoise can see in or out.

Some torts can be stubborn about this. Here are some tips I've learned over the years:
1. Whenever the tortoise goes and parks in "that corner", pick it up and put it near the door to the house. Again and again and again... Be more stubborn than your tortoise.
2. Block access to "that corner".
3. Move the box over to "that corner". That is where your tortoise wants to be. Why fight it?
4. At dusk, when there is no more direct sun in that area, build a round make shift pen of some sort around the door to the box. Make the two ends of the circle meet at the door. Have no cover, plants, or hides of any kind in your circle so that there is no where else to go but in the box. You can use a puppy pen for this, or cinder blocks, or whatever you have on hand. Make the diameter around 6-10 feet. If the tortoise tries to tuck in and go to sleep, keep picking it up and putting it on the ramp to go in. There is always some point at which your tortoise will go in on its own. Some have to be placed halfway in and then they will walk the rest of the way. Keep doing this and gradually back the tortoise up each day inch by inch. Its a pain, but it sure is nice when they "get it".
5. Do number four, VERY CAREFULLY, on a hot sunny day. Many times my torts refuse to go in on their own until the very first hot day they experienced outside. After that they want in all the time. Curiously, sometimes this works on cold days too, for the warmth, but it often doesn't. They MUST seek shelter form the heat or they will die, and their instincts tell them this. When its cold, their instincts tell them to park under a bush and wait for warmth to return to the world. There is no, "Hey, I'm chilly so I should go hang out inside that warm box." But there is, "Hey, I'm getting too hot, so let me take shelter in this cooler shady area inside this box." They don't like to be out in the open with no cover at night and they also don't like to be too hot. They don't usually mind being too cold, and that is why they park under a bush when its cold and rainy instead of going into the heated warm house. Figure out how to use these basic tortoise instincts to make the tortoise do what you want it to do, for its own good.

Questions are welcome.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

My Redfoot often come back out of their houses and sleep out in the cold/rain.
They just don't know what's good for them.
I place a cement block in front of the door flaps to keep them in all night and remove it in the morning.
Luckily we only have a handful of nights per year that this is needed.