Tortoise Constantly Digging Nests

[bayley98]

Hi,

I have a female Hermann tortoise around 10 years old,

Recently she keeps digging nests, she tries a few times a day digging then filling them in and starting again. I keep her inside as it gets too cold over here in the winter to keep her outdoors.
I have fairly deep substrate however being in a tortoise table it's difficult to get the substrate any deeper.

Other than that she is very active and has a good appetite. Should I be concerned?

 

[Maro2Bear]

Greetings…. So, you’re from Ripon, just a few miles west of Harrogate?? Ive been to the shops there so many times….great little creamery/cheese shop & butcher shop too.

Are you sure your tort is digging “nests” as opposed to just normal burrowing about? Since you are using an open topped enclosure, maybe it’s just burrowing about looking for the perfect temperature.
How are your temps?

 

[bayley98]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply!

Thats it! Small world!!

Well she's digging primarily with her back legs. I've got it 30-32C under the lamp and usually averages low 20s in the rest of the tank.

 

[Maro2Bear]

Happy New Year to you btw. ????????

How large of an enclosure? Who really knows what goes on w torts sometimes ?‍♂️

Good luck

 

[Lyn W]

Hi and welcome,
Has she ever laid eggs before?
They can lay them without having mated - like chickens.

This is the most up to date caresheet there is for your tort, it's mainly aimed at those rearing babies but you may find it useful

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

If you go to the Mediterranean/Temperate Tortoises in the Species Specific section you''ll find other useful information.

 

[Yvonne G]

Greetings…. So, you’re from Ripon, just a few miles west of Harrogate?? Ive been to the shops there so many times….great little creamery/cheese shop & butcher shop too.

Are you sure your tort is digging “nests” as opposed to just normal burrowing about? Since you are using an open topped enclosure, maybe it’s just burrowing about looking for the perfect temperature.
How are your temps?

LOL! We have a Ripon in Northern Californis and I automatically assumed he/she was from there!

 

[bayley98]

Happy new year!

The table is 5ft by 2ft but we have it low to the floor with a ramp so she can come out as she pleases where we have a section of floor penned off which is about 8ft by 6ft.

Thanks

 

[bayley98]

Hi and welcome,
Has she ever laid eggs before?
They can lay them without having mated - like chickens.

This is the most up to date caresheet there is for your tort, it's mainly aimed at those rearing babies but you may find it useful

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

If you go to the Mediterranean/Temperate Tortoises in the Species Specific section you''ll find other useful information.

Thank you!

 

[Ink]

Is the other part heated?

 

[bayley98]

Is the other part heated?

The other part is not but the house is usually in the high teens or low twenties and its very easier for her to go back in a warm up which is what she normally does so I didnt think that would be a problem. If its particular cold then we do tend to shut her in until it warms up again.