Too small enclosure?

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TheNorwegian

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Hello. I have two Greek Tortoises. They are both males so they are not in the same encloseure or in the same room.

I live in Norway, but i don't think the temperature is a problem for them because we always remember to close the doors and windows so they wont get cold.

But my problem is, i think the tortoises enclosure are too small. My 13 year old( I got him when he was 6 years old), who is 13cm long (5 inches) lives or only sleep in his cage which is kind of small, he walks around in our house almost all day long because he dont like being in his small encloseure - So is it a problem or bad for my Tortoise to walk around on the floor in the house? I think he should be in more "natural" environment than a kitchenfloor or around in our living room..

Thank you very much for any answer :) :tort:
 

Yvonne G

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Hi "The Norwegian:"

Welcome to the forum!!

May we know your name and where you are?

Yes, in my opinion, it is a problem to allow a tortoise to walk around the house on the floor. Your floor is too cold for a cold-blooded animal. In order to digest their food, they have to be warmer than 80 degrees. If you were to take off you clothes and lay on the floor, you would see that it is much colder than you realize. Besides the cold, there are many things on the floor that might harm your tortoise and things he could eat that he shouldn't. I think that tortoises need their own space and routine. If your habitats are too small, then you need to make bigger ones. You can look for used book cases, remove the shelves, lay them on their backs, line them with plastic sheeting and you have a nice, big new habitat!
 

TheNorwegian

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Thanks! My name is Peter and i Live in Bergen, Norway... In Europe.

Thanks for your answer. Thats what i thought, he loves to have space and the floor is not a good place for them to be. I think I need to make a new "house" for them...
 

Geochelone_Carbonaria

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Hei Norge !

Well, you kind of answered your question yourself ?

It's not a natural thing for a tortoise to walk around in ones house, it can get hurt and it's not good for it to walk on hard surface all the time either among other things.

You should aim for a habitat both inside and outside that is more llke its environment in the wild.

Since I'm no expert on Greeks, I'm sure someone else on this forum can point you to several web sites that will tell you how an enclosure should look like for a Greek ? But here are loads of ideas on this site, thats how I got a lot of my ideas...

But a good idea is to start with Marks site : http://www.tortoiselibrary.com/

Ha de !
 

TheNorwegian

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I take them out walking when the weather is nice and hot.

I now have "cleaned" up in his cage, I found a new stone under the heating lamp and he loves it. I also removed some af the rocks he didnt care about so he has better space now. I also want to find a new, smaller hidingplace, because the one he's got now is unnecessary large.
 

TheNorwegian

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Thanks. I got a new heating lamp for him also because the one i had for a couple of weeks was not hot enough (All of the lightbulb's i use are made for reptiles). I use a red heating lamp now but i might going to find another lamp i can use so his cage isn's all red, it looks a little weird and i think he would like a natural looking light better.
 

TheNorwegian

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I think Im making a bigger enclosure for him. He's almost 14 cm long(5,5 inches) and 13 years old. How big should the enclosure be?
And hes a Testudo Hermanni Boetgeri...

Thanks.
 

Geochelone_Carbonaria

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I don't know the laws and regulations in Norway, but here in Sweden the minimum measurments are regulated by "Jordbruksverket" and I bet you have the same in Norway ?

If your tortoise is 15 cm, the enclosure should be at least 10 times that size, and in your case 1.5 x 1.5 meters is minimum ! But the larger enclosure the better, if you ask me, so you should consider that your tortoises still is growing and will need even more space in the future as well ?
 

TheNorwegian

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Thank You. I Dont really care about the laws if my Tortoises are happy - Thats what im hoping for, I want them to be happy and have a good life.
 

Geochelone_Carbonaria

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TheNorwegian said:
Thank You. I Dont really care about the laws if my Tortoises are happy - Thats what im hoping for, I want them to be happy and have a good life.

That's my point "neighbor" !!!

So the bigger space they have the better they will feel, together with the right conditions for your type of tort...
 
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