Shadow obsession?

spoilers

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Hi all,

I've had my rescue redfoot for a little over 2 years now and I've recently noticed he has a bit of an obsession with his shadow. At first I thought it was just pacing, a habit seen a lot in torts but after some time I've realized he's looking for his shadow. I do supervised indoor free roams for about an hour a day in colder months and he's outdoors in the summer in a large enclosure. Any place that casts a shadow he will constantly chase it and nudge it. The only time He doesn't exhibit this behavior is inside his indoor enclosure. I have heard of this happening with dogs from laser pointers but never in tortoises ( I have never used a laser pointer for my tort but he previously lived in a school courtyard for about 10 years before being dumped at a rescue center). Food doesn't seem to stop the behavior either. Has anyone else ever experienced this? I am unsure if it causes him stress.
 

spoilers

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In my opinion, he's pushing at the wall, trying to get out.

I've opened the door for him before but he doesn't seem to care where he is. He even does this outside in huge open spaces. He fixates on the walls or privacy fences and searches for his shadow. If he doesn't see it he walks the perimeter until he does.
 

spoilers

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Maybe he thinks it's another tort?

That's what I'm thinking. I just don't know how to deter him from it if it's stressing him out. He enjoys being out of his indoor enclosure. Even runs to me to be let out for his supervised hour but all he does the entire time is chase his shadow.
 

ZenHerper

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Probably not, I've given him hollow dog toy balls filled with food and he just ignores them.

Hmm.

I'm thinking of something larger, that he might displace onto (instead of wasting his free time bopping his face on the wall).

If he is experiencing an obsessive-compulsive territorial drive, he might be more satisfied if he can actually Move something away. So a very soft kick-ball style ball that is Tortoise sized.

I would continue your creative efforts to distract/displace.
 

spoilers

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Hmm.

I'm thinking of something larger, that he might displace onto (instead of wasting his free time bopping his face on the wall).

If he is experiencing an obsessive-compulsive territorial drive, he might be more satisfied if he can actually Move something away. So a very soft kick-ball style ball that is Tortoise sized.

I would continue your creative efforts to distract/displace.


Hmmm... my dog has a jolly egg about the same size as him that she never plays with. I can give that a try.
 

spoilers

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Hmmm... my dog has a jolly egg about the same size as him that she never plays with. I can give that a try.

The jolly egg was a bust but i do have a big tortoise plushie he took interest to for a few minutes. It still wasn't enough to deter him from his shadow though.
 
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