Restless Russian

[Violanna]

Ok so I don’t know what to think about this. Out of nowhere today Rocky is insanely restless! Pacing all around his enclosure his neck stretched out far, climbing over things but not trying to climb higher like when he tries to ‘escape’. It’s more like he is playing. I put some fresh food in because he is picky and won’t eat food that has sat more than a couple hours, and he went right for it, then instead of basking and taking a nap like usual he was back running around!

What is going on with this crazy energetic guy!?

 

[JoesMum]

How big is the enclosure? What's the straight carapace length of your tortoise?

Do you let your tortoise roam outside his enclosure?

Rocky is probably telling you he wants more floor area in his enclosure

 

[RosemaryDW]

Hmm, I think you said a month ago you wanted him to be more active and some wise member told you to give it time, maybe a month?!

At any rate, tortoises don’t play so we know it’s not that.

I think maybe your indoor enclosure is on the small side, while you are building another? He might just be searching for more territory now that he’s settled.

Tortoise pacing is nerve racking when you first see it, at least it was for me! Even with good space my tortoise paces intensely in early spring after hibernation and then in the weeks before she goes back into hibernation. She’s looking for territory.

Other than that, has anything changed in the enclosure?

 

[Violanna]

Hmm, I think you said a month ago you wanted him to be more active and some wise member told you to give it time, maybe a month?!

At any rate, tortoises don’t play so we know it’s not that.

I think maybe your indoor enclosure is on the small side, while you are building another? He might just be searching for more territory now that he’s settled.

Tortoise pacing is nerve racking when you first see it, at least it was for me! Even with good space my tortoise paces intensely in early spring after hibernation and then in the weeks before she goes back into hibernation. She’s looking for territory.

Other than that, has anything changed in the enclosure?

Yeah I actually figured out it was the lamp I had his basking bulb in. It wasn’t spreading the heat OUT enough. So even though he was moving around he wasn’t warm enough so he was lethargic. After I fixed that he still loves to relax and nap, but he spends more time awake and exploring. And DIGGING! I swear when we do his outdoor enclosure it will need to go 2ft down because he will completely bury himself. But the pacing and running around has never happened before, I would think it weird that he would want more space as he already doesn’t utilize most of the enclosure.

 

[RosemaryDW]

But the pacing and running around has never happened before, I would think it weird that he would want more space as he already doesn’t utilize most of the enclosure.

He's walking the perimeter to find something else; he already knows there's nothing more to find in the middle.

He hasn't been in a tiny enclosure most of his life; he grew up roaming a huge territory and that's what he's programmed for.

 

[JoesMum]

Try putting things in the enclosure to break up sight lines. If he can see one end to the other that doesn't give him any sense of space.

Tortoises naturally spend their days eating, basking, checking for intruders, snoozing and repeat this endlessly. My Greek had my entire bacl garden and still patrolled the boundaries - it is natural behaviour.

Russians are more territorial than Greeks and also love to dig. All you can do is give him as much space as possible