Russian pacing in large outdoor enclosure

Ooogs55

New Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2021
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3
Location (City and/or State)
Beaumont texas
Hello all,

I recently built and outdoor enclosure for little man thats a big upgrade from his indoor box. Roughly speaking it is 20×15ft with maybe 6x12ft shaded by a patio.

I used to just take him into the yard and he'd boogy the whole time, but in his enclosure he just paces maybe a 4ft section.

I'll post pictures below but the only thing I can think of is he prefers to walk on dirt as the rest of the enclosure is grass/weeds and brick. He eats fine and his indoor enclosure is 5x5ft with all the proper light/heat. I keep him in there over night.

Theres also plenty of hides for him inside and out.
 

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Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
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Jan 9, 2010
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Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
5 things:
1. He needs more cover and hiding areas. He's totally exposed in there and he wants to hide.
2. There needs to be visual barriers all the way around. The chainlink at the end needs a strip of plywood across it, and the low board with the hog wire needs to be taller so he can't see out. Give him enough time and he will show you how well a Russian can climb using hog wire or chainlink like a ladder.
3. Its hot in Beaumont. You need to dig him an underground retreat of some sort to escape the heat. Dig a hole with a sloped entrance, cover the hole with a board, and pile all the dirt plus more dirt back on top of the board to make a little mountain. You may need a rain cover over the entrance in your rainy climate. Be sure it doesn't flood, and check the temp underground. It will be significantly cooler under ground than top side.
4. It will take some time for any tortoise to get used to a new enclosure, even when the new enclosure is super awesome.
5. Sink the terra cotta saucer down into the ground so the rim is nearly level with the surface.

Questions welcome!

In here I show and explain an outdoor shelter that would allow him to live outside full time:
 

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