Scratching

[BorisTort]

My russian tortoise has always scratched at the corners of his enclosure, but now I am extremely nervous- I was soaking him and saw that his front feet were raw/pink. He is shredding the wood in his enclosure and from what I see, hurting himself.

I JUST noticed it and am getting ready to go to the store now and buy him a rubber container because I feel so bad for him.

What do I do?!?

 

[hunterk997]

What substrate are you using? I would suggest changing it if that happens. My Russian tortoise is temporarily in a small enclosure and burrows often, but her legs are fine. What is the size of the enclosure?

 

[BorisTort]

What substrate are you using? I would suggest changing it if that happens. My Russian tortoise is temporarily in a small enclosure and burrows often, but her legs are fine. What is the size of the enclosure?

The substrate is a mix between coconut fiber and cedar chips (the really thin stuff, and not much). The enclosure is 6 sq. feet.

 

[WillTort2]

I don't think the substrate is the entire issue. I think Russians just like to see what's over the wall. You might try giving him several small tight hides so that he can feel secure at night.

You could also put a smooth liner into the corners, something that the tort would not be able to scratch.

Enlarging the enclosure is also a good idea; if space is an issue you could add a second story.

 

[Moozillion]

What size is your tort? Six square feet may not be big enough- they're active little guys!

 

[pfara]

Cedar or cypress? Cedar is toxic and cypress is not.

 

[BorisTort]

He's pretty small. And, he doesn't even really use half of his box- he stays on one side and digs at the corners. The temps seem fine (mid to high 60s on cold end, 90-100 on warm end), but he still stays only on the warm end. In fact, I can't even get him to go to his cool side!!! Even with food! So that's why I'm hesitant to get a bigger enclosure.

Anyway, now that I think about it, I don't think it's cedar or cyprus. It's the type of thin wood bedding you use for small animals. I try to keep it moist and comfy, but substrate is something I'm still confused about. Could that cause the restlessness/scratching?

 

[abclements]

He won't go on the cool side because mid 60s is just too cold for him to be comfortable, especially if there is much humidity.

 

[Tom]

I'd warm up the whole thing and he needs a much larger enclosure. Russians need room to roam. Do you have an outside enclosure for him to use that is large and secure?

Show us a pic of the enclosure. Maybe we will see something that could help.

 

[BorisTort]

I'd warm up the whole thing and he needs a much larger enclosure. Russians need room to roam. Do you have an outside enclosure for him to use that is large and secure?

Show us a pic of the enclosure. Maybe we will see something that could help.

I've attached a picture. The heat is now slightly above 100 on the warm side, where he is still at. I also put more dirt in his corner and he's been buried all day! I don't think he's scratched yet and his feet seem to be healing!

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Also, I don't have an outdoor enclosure (there's about 2feet of snow outside), but I've recently been letting him roam on the floor in my living room. I keep a close eye on him, feed him, and let him burrow in blankets. He seems to like it!

 

[leigti]

Hello, it looks like you have the zoo med tortoise house. That is what I started out with for my Russian tortoise also. But after a while I decided it was too small so I bought another one and connected the two. I know there are cheaper ways to do it but I am not very crafty so it worked for me. I also liked the screen on talk. I replaced the two and covers with plexiglass to let in more light and I don't put in the dividers. I have a hide on each side of the enclosure and my tortoise will spend some time on one and and sometime on the other end depending on the night. He likes to be under his basking light most of the time. Maybe more space and higher temperatures will get you toward us a little more active, just a suggestion as IM
This also.

 

[Laura]

don't let him roam.. make him a bigger enclosure...

 

[WillTort2]

I don't like the wood shavings; I'd be worried that he would eat them and become impacted.

What is your humidity level? In winter, it's more difficult to maintain moisture. I try for a minimum humidity of 50 % on the east coast.

I would suggest removing the wood shavings and make the substrate deeper with more coco coir.

Good luck.

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For your temperatures, the 65 degrees would be OK for a night time low. But day time should get up to 75 on the cool end and 95 to 100 under the basking light. Adding additional space would be a good idea. Covering part of the top would help temperatures increase and humidity increase.

 

[Saleama]

Eliminate the corners. Round them off with something. Some folks use plant pots cut in two and positioned in the corners. I use black plastic garden edging from Home Depot cut into 1.5 foot strips and pushed into a curve on each corner.

 

[BorisTort]

You all have very good suggestions, thank you.

 

[Ryongsyong]

Also (in my opinion) see if you can build up the soil in one area, such as under his hide (for example, push the hide against the wall, and then pile the soil so that it completely fills the back of it inside, and then just before that pull the soil back a bit so there's a little depression for the tortoise to walk down into immediately after he goes into the hide). If that's done he'll walk straight in, down a bit, and then have a lovely pile of soil in front of him to pile into. We had a big scratching problem and that solved it. From our experience doing that makes it really easy for them to dig into the soil, which could be what he's trying to do when he's scratching. (Obviously there's not much solid wood in the desert so they're not really used to it and will just scratch away for ever wondering why they're not making progress.) We've found our one isn't very good at digging directly down into level soil, so we have to landscape it a bit to help him out, and putting it in the hide helps to cement the idea of that area being a safe and non-stressful place to rush into if desired.

(And yes, personally, not a fan of those woodchips either. I know pet shops use them, but I don't think they're very safe; just soil on its own is fine and more fun for the tortoise to burrow into anyway ).