Shy tortoise

MaloneJ

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Oct 20, 2014
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Hello, I have had my 1 year old horsefield tortoise for about 7 months now and he is still incredibly shy and/or lazy. I built him something he could hide behind a couple of months ago as he was always digging in the corner trying to burrow; and now he spends 24 hours a day hiding behind it. The only way i can get him to come out to eat is if i literally remove the thing i built from the vivarium and place him next to the food. I also brought him a tortoise hatch for the garden for sunny days, but when i put him in there he instantly walks to the corner and hunkers down.

I've tried hand feeding him bright coloured vegetables and weeds (dandelions etc) but his head just retreats into its shell and he just stares at me. He sometimes perks up a bit if i let him out of the vivarium to wander around the house, but usually he poos and wees on the floor before going on a wander which gives me the impression he's scared.

I was also wondering how friendly horsefield tortoises are expected to become? I've seen a few videos of incredibly friendly tortoises but it may just not be the same species

Any ideas or suggestions?

thanks
 

lismar79

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Horsefields are usually pretty brave but yours is young yet. Make sure you have the correct temps for him. Mine is going through a winter slow down period right now & every day I stick her under her basking light, then I hand feed her to make sure she eats. I also soak her once a day in warm water - which I would also suggest if you are not doing.

Can you take a picture of your enclosure and post it here. It may give us some more insight on improvements to help this behavior.

Here is a couple care sheets you should read:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/why-does-my-russian-tortoise-stay-buried.59575/

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
 

MaloneJ

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The temperatures are all correct as i've got a thermostat linked up to the heat bulb; however i think you're correct with the amount of light, his vivarium UV light is a spiral bulb as opposed to the long thin ones, and as he spends the majority of the day under the basking lamp he can't be getting enough UV light. I'm going to buy and fit one of the long thin ones and see if that improves it, thanks.

Also; How long do you soak your tortoise in warm water for? I'm can never tell when he has had enough lol
 

lismar79

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The temperatures are all correct as i've got a thermostat linked up to the heat bulb; however i think you're correct with the amount of light, his vivarium UV light is a spiral bulb as opposed to the long thin ones, and as he spends the majority of the day under the basking lamp he can't be getting enough UV light. I'm going to buy and fit one of the long thin ones and see if that improves it, thanks.

Also; How long do you soak your tortoise in warm water for? I'm can never tell when he has had enough lol
A lot of us here strongly suggest NOT using the spiral bulbs, they have been linked to cases of eye damage (if you do a search on here you can find examples). This might be what he is hiding from. I soak mine for 15-20 mins or until the water cools. I also would suggest that if you are using a glass tank were the outside world is visable to him, then you could try masking the bottom part off with paper or tape so he can not see out. I noticed that both of mine became much more active when they could not see out of their large windows.
 

MaloneJ

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Cool great tips thank you, I'd always been sceptical about the spiral bulb so i'll head to the pet shop tonight to have a gander. I'll try the masking tape too. Cheers for your help
 

Yellow Turtle01

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MVBs have two in one! But I'm a fan of tube bulbs ;)
If the coil bulb is the source of his hiding, don't be surprised if he doesn't get active right away... it's that time of year for russians to get lazy, like lismar said :D
 

smarch

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I have an extremely shy tort too, but in his home he's a wrecking ball. He LOVES his log hide, and other times sprawls out in the middle of his tank to sleep. And if he hears me he'll run out and stare out the front of the tank... glass never bothered him so I kept the front a big window.
Its the slow down time, like said so if its a recent hiding all the time we can take it as slow down, but you've had him 7 months, so you know him decently, is this a new development or has he always seemed like this?

Do you leave him alone when he's in his enclosure? If he's bothered in his home, his territory, he may feel the need to hide.

Don't take him out of his enclosure to wander the house, even supervised closely it can be dangerous and can stress him since he'll feel to open and not secure, which may explain him using the bathroom on the floor. The only place my Nank goes outside of his designated enclosures is on me when i'm on the couch (he's a gentleman, never had an accident on me, which is not common, people who do that often get pooped on.)
 

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