Tortoise desperately trying to escape

[ryssa]

Hi everyone.
I just got my new tortoise last week saturday. I built him an outdoor enclosure. Its 6ft long by 3ft wide. For some reason hes always trying to escape. He digs under the enclosure and gets out. So I put smooth rocks on the edges so he cant dig underneath and now he goes up the rocks and tries to climb his way upward. The boards are 1 feet tall. Why is he always trying to escape. Every time I see him hes always trying to climb up or dig. Is this normal behavior or is something wrong?

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi ryssa:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

May we know your name and where you are?

What kind of tortoise is it?

Tortoises are pretty territorial. When plunked down into a new space, they usually try to find their way back "home."

 

[dmarcus]

Hello and welcome to the forum... Does your tortoise have a hide and how big is he?

 

[ewam]

What type of tort is it?

With your problem I can't answer it exactly because my type of tort doesn't dig or climb but he always walks around the sides and it looks like it is always trying to get out.

What are you you using as substrate, what are the temps, and is he nice and hydradted?

 

[ryssa]

Hi my name is Sharisa. Me and my russian tortoise live in Hawaii. His name is Squirtle. Thanks for the Welcome
He does have hiding spots. I cut these plant pots in half and they rest in the dirt but he never hides in them. He usually just goes by one of the rocks and makes a little hole and hides there.

 

[Laura]

i bet you have a russian..
you are going to have to bury wire so he cant dig out and make sure the walls are tall enough and the corners are capped.. or he will cont to get out.
its what they do..

 

[ryssa]

@ Ewam
Hes in a outdoor enclosure so its just regular dirt. I have soaked him about 4 times this week and I keep fresh water and food inside so he should be hydrated. The temperatures are around 88 degrees during the day

 

[ascott]

They are the Houdini of the tortoise world.....you will need to 150% escape proof your outdoor enclosure and continue to always do perimeter checks every time you put him in the enclosure.....

They are awesome....

 

[GBtortoises]

Does he have adequate shade in his enclosure? At 88 degrees it sounds like he is trying to escape the heat. That is at the upper range of their "comfort" zone.