Hello, I'd like to know others experience with cherryheads vs redfoots. My cherryhead (Fig) is very territorial and I think also very easily stressed.
To cut to the chase, here are some of my questions regarding cherryheads related to my particularly situation:
I've put things in spoilers below in case any of the info is relevant without it being a wall of text.
Fig's backstory
When I got Fig she was incredibly fearful (activated "rock mode" when she saw ANY movement, wouldn't eat or drink unless in total solitude, and spent her time hiding and sleeping), sleepy, and had parasites, blockages (from whatever she had eaten before I got her), and possibly malnutrition based on the diet she had prior to my care. She's all better now and is a lot less fearful but still no where near as comfortable as Magda (eg. Fig now saves "rock mode" for special occasions, she'll sometimes eat a little when outside her enclosure, and explores a lot more). Fig's current enclosure is a large black tote (heat ~74-82f, humidity 99%, coconut substrate, hides) and she seems a lot less stressed in this setup. I did a few months of strict quarantine and comprehensive vet tests of both torts before they were introduced.
Fig's territorial behaviour
Fig is less than half the size of Magda, but she has been aggressively territorial with Magda since introduction. The bullying/aggression from Fig that I've witnessed includes following Magda around and not giving her personal space (following her closely when walking, pushing up against Magda or resting her head on Magda when Magda's resting or sleeping - even when Magda chooses a less ideal sleeping location), getting in Magda's face and head bobbing, very intentionally and consistently blocking Magda from certain paths and hides ("my side, your side!", Stark from Farscape anyone?), ramming Magda, and sitting on food. I tried housing them together in 8x3.5ft space with plenty of hides and visual barriers but no matter how much I changed the setup it didn't stop Fig's bullying more than temporarily. I haven't seen Magda do any aggressive/bullying behaviour towards Fig, except for occasionally (>10 times) trying to walk over Fig if she wouldn't stop blocking Magda's path during supervised apartment exploration time. Of course, this was stressing Magda out so now they live completely separately and don't interact at all except very briefly under supervision. Even now living alone, Fig still protectively sits on her food, and she will be unusually active in her house of solitude for a couple of days after the rare occasion she sees Magda when they're both brought out of their enclosures at the same time. Fig has also been known to occasionally bite and ram my feet.
Since separating them, Magda displays curiosity about Fig if she hasn't seen her for a few weeks, kind of like a "who's that, I want to meet them!" when she sees Fig during shared exploration time; she'll go over to where fig is but still give fig plenty of personal space and then wander off.
Fig and stress
Fig seems to get stressed VERY easily and have excessive poop responses to stress. As in, she empties her little body entirely. It starts with normal poop (if she had essentially no interactions the prior few days) and progresses to diarrhoea of undigested food until she's all out (or just all undigested food diarrhoea if she's been stressed the prior few days). This has happened from day one, eg. giving her warm soaks daily when I first got her, while living in the same enclosure as Magda, and now whenever she comes out of her enclosure of solitude it also happens regardless of fruit/leaves/protein ratios. After an emptying she's sometimes hungry enough to eat some food in front of me (big surprise, she just cleansed her system 🤦♀️), but she won't eat or drink much until she's back in her house of solitude and left alone. The only "safe" level of interaction seems to be the daily wellbeing check where I swap out Fig's food/water and give her a couple of second booty scratch.
In comparison, Magda's poop habits are regular and normal. Fig's poop was recently tested and negative for parasites. I've even got her to eat some of Magda's poop in case that would help her gut flora, but no change. All of this leads me to think she becomes stressed very easily and responds with emptying herself, like a tortoise would during a car ride or when flipped upside down. However, due to her strong territorial tendencies, I'm wondering if the pooping could be a territorial reaction as well as/instead of a stress reaction.
Any feedback/knowledge/info is appreciated!
To cut to the chase, here are some of my questions regarding cherryheads related to my particularly situation:
- Are cherryheads stressed out more easily than their northern relatives? And is the regular excessive pooping a normal stress reaction?
- Assuming that the excessive pooping is a stress reaction, what can I do to help reduce Fig's stress? Are there any vitamins/minerals associated with stress response/adaptability in redfoots?
- Could the excessive self-cleansing (poop/diarrhoea) be a territorial response and not a stress response?
- Can cherryheads be sociable creatures or are they prone to being angsty and territorial for life?
I've put things in spoilers below in case any of the info is relevant without it being a wall of text.
Fig's backstory
When I got Fig she was incredibly fearful (activated "rock mode" when she saw ANY movement, wouldn't eat or drink unless in total solitude, and spent her time hiding and sleeping), sleepy, and had parasites, blockages (from whatever she had eaten before I got her), and possibly malnutrition based on the diet she had prior to my care. She's all better now and is a lot less fearful but still no where near as comfortable as Magda (eg. Fig now saves "rock mode" for special occasions, she'll sometimes eat a little when outside her enclosure, and explores a lot more). Fig's current enclosure is a large black tote (heat ~74-82f, humidity 99%, coconut substrate, hides) and she seems a lot less stressed in this setup. I did a few months of strict quarantine and comprehensive vet tests of both torts before they were introduced.
Fig's territorial behaviour
Fig is less than half the size of Magda, but she has been aggressively territorial with Magda since introduction. The bullying/aggression from Fig that I've witnessed includes following Magda around and not giving her personal space (following her closely when walking, pushing up against Magda or resting her head on Magda when Magda's resting or sleeping - even when Magda chooses a less ideal sleeping location), getting in Magda's face and head bobbing, very intentionally and consistently blocking Magda from certain paths and hides ("my side, your side!", Stark from Farscape anyone?), ramming Magda, and sitting on food. I tried housing them together in 8x3.5ft space with plenty of hides and visual barriers but no matter how much I changed the setup it didn't stop Fig's bullying more than temporarily. I haven't seen Magda do any aggressive/bullying behaviour towards Fig, except for occasionally (>10 times) trying to walk over Fig if she wouldn't stop blocking Magda's path during supervised apartment exploration time. Of course, this was stressing Magda out so now they live completely separately and don't interact at all except very briefly under supervision. Even now living alone, Fig still protectively sits on her food, and she will be unusually active in her house of solitude for a couple of days after the rare occasion she sees Magda when they're both brought out of their enclosures at the same time. Fig has also been known to occasionally bite and ram my feet.
Since separating them, Magda displays curiosity about Fig if she hasn't seen her for a few weeks, kind of like a "who's that, I want to meet them!" when she sees Fig during shared exploration time; she'll go over to where fig is but still give fig plenty of personal space and then wander off.
Fig and stress
Fig seems to get stressed VERY easily and have excessive poop responses to stress. As in, she empties her little body entirely. It starts with normal poop (if she had essentially no interactions the prior few days) and progresses to diarrhoea of undigested food until she's all out (or just all undigested food diarrhoea if she's been stressed the prior few days). This has happened from day one, eg. giving her warm soaks daily when I first got her, while living in the same enclosure as Magda, and now whenever she comes out of her enclosure of solitude it also happens regardless of fruit/leaves/protein ratios. After an emptying she's sometimes hungry enough to eat some food in front of me (big surprise, she just cleansed her system 🤦♀️), but she won't eat or drink much until she's back in her house of solitude and left alone. The only "safe" level of interaction seems to be the daily wellbeing check where I swap out Fig's food/water and give her a couple of second booty scratch.
In comparison, Magda's poop habits are regular and normal. Fig's poop was recently tested and negative for parasites. I've even got her to eat some of Magda's poop in case that would help her gut flora, but no change. All of this leads me to think she becomes stressed very easily and responds with emptying herself, like a tortoise would during a car ride or when flipped upside down. However, due to her strong territorial tendencies, I'm wondering if the pooping could be a territorial reaction as well as/instead of a stress reaction.
Any feedback/knowledge/info is appreciated!