Outdoor enclosure feedback

[kakashi_12]

My outdoor enclosure consists of cylinder blocks in a square like manor. (9ft x 9ft)
She either hides in the corner behind the trash can or she's trying to get out.
She did climb out. So since then, I've raised the height of the enclosure to 2 blocks high so now she can't climb out.
It took me a VERY long time to find her and I was very scared I would not find her.
She was at the other corner of the back yard.

I thought of just letting her roam the entire back yard IF I put small fencing up around the perimeter a few ft up I guess.
If that makes her happy, but I'm afraid if I give her that much freedom that I will never find her when I need to bring her inside for the night.

What's your experience? Does your tortoise come to you if you put food out?
Is it normal for them to want to escape and want to explore?

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Aw that’s a nice sized space you’ve made!

Is this area new to her? That could explain the hiding and staying in the corner, but either I way I probably would suggest creating more coverage and places for her to hide to feel more secure, there’s quite a lot of open space and that might have her feeling a bit exposed and anxious.

As much as it would be lovely for her to have the whole yard, I do think you’d be running the risk of loosing her, Russians are way too good at escaping, so on that scale it’d be much more difficult in making sure the entire parameters are remaining escape proof, it only takes one little gap being missed, 9x9 is a nice outdoor size for a russian.

It’s pretty typical tortoise behaviour for them to patrol their boarders looking for a weakness to take advantage of lol, I wouldn’t worry too much in that regard, they have a constant desire to explore.

I’d focus on making sure all possible escapes points of this area are secured, you might find it a good idea to place caps on the corners(sometimes they use corner to climb up) something like this


As for hides, visual barriers and general landscaping ideas, hopefully you might like look through this

Enclosure inspiration

Howdy folks! Hope everyone is well! As you all know, I’m a big fan of making threads that cater more towards visual learners like myself, I’ve really been wanting to create a thread full of adult enclosure inspiration for a while now, I’ve managed to find some great references over time! I do...

tortoiseforum.org

Hope this helps! And hopefully others will weigh in on the yard idea, that’s just my take

 

[Moozillion]

I would say that enclosure definitely needs some tortoise-safe plants and shrubs for her to shelter under. Tortoises need to hide in order to feel safe from predation.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

I would say that enclosure definitely needs some tortoise-safe plants and shrubs for her to shelter under. Tortoises need to hide in order to feel safe from predation.

Yeah, I agree. Probably the reason for staying in the corner.

 

[kakashi_12]

No, it's not a new area to her. I've had it up for a couple of summers now.
I tried putting a large plant in before, but it didn't survive. I'm not the best at taking care of plants.
I shall give it another go though I guess.
Any suggestions on easy outdoor plants that are pretty easy to take care of?

 

[k8tburt]

My tortoises love to hide between lilyturf or liriope, and those things never seem to die!

 

[MenagerieGrl]

I would affix a tracker to her. I have a "Tile" tracker on my Leopard Tort, Seymour. He has run of the patio, but occasionally climbs the barrier. I don't worry, much, but even with the tracker, at times it takes 15 min to find the right area to poll. Then it it's windy, it can be hard to hear the chime...

 

[kakashi_12]

where do i get one of those? How much are they?
how do i attach it? so i don't need a computer or cell phone to do the finding like a gps? it's just audible.

 

[MenagerieGrl]

where do i get one of those? How much are they?
how do i attach it? so i don't need a computer or cell phone to do the finding like a gps? it's just audible.

Good Morning,
There are several different brands available. I use a "Tile" brand Tacker, Apple Also has one. Regular price they are $35ish to $100 depending if they are on sale and if you get multiples. My Seymour does "4 Wheel drive" He goes every where in my yard, frequently getting into the Black Bamboo stand. That being said, I used a piece of Velcro attached to his back, then later put some duct tape on it to make it harder to scrape off when he tries to sneak under the garden fence to get to my tasty greens. In the evening, when I'm pulling everyone in for the night Ducks, geese, chickens . . Seymour. I Open the app (each brand has their own app) and hit "Locate" It works on Bluetooth, so since my yard is fairly large I may have to walk around for a few min to get in range, then I Hit "find" and it chimes. This is NOT GPS, so there is NO ongoing fee, mine has replaceable battery (CR2032 button) and lasts for quite a while. It had been very helpful in keeping Seymour safe.
A couple of Con's in my eye's. The chime is not terribly loud, so on a windy day (frequently for the last few months here), and wind chimes it might be hard to hear. and it may take a while for the Bluetooth to communicate with the tracker, for the "Find" to be enabled.
Pro's, relatively inexpensive,, NO ongoing fee/subscription, easily replaceable battery . Here's a picture of Seymour when I first put it on him to see if it would work, I used a Velcro strap(red) at first.