Tortoise Enrichment

[jsheffield]

Hello,

A person in a FB rf tort group posted a picture that made me think ....



They filed this dog toy, a ball, with chopped greens and fruit, which the redfoots pushed around to get the food to fall out so they could eat it.

Lots of zoos have enrichment strategies they use with their animals to keep them from getting bored, to stimulate, to simulate a life with more challenge.

What do you think about enrichment ... what do you do for enrichment?

Thanks,

Jamie

 

[T Smart]

Another easy one is to place food in different parts of the enclosure. It allows tortoises to forage for food instead of simply having it placed in the same area everyday.

 

[NorCal tortoise guy]

I have heard about enrichment In zoos and totally get it but I'm not too sure it would apply to reptiles the same way. Just seems to me they don't think the same way. I'm very interested to see what others have to say.

 

[JoesMum]

I think this isn’t enrichment... it’s stress. We have had this debate many times.

Balls, flower pots, buckets, shoes, the lawn mower, the drain cover, the wheelie bin all get shoved by torts... so do other torts and humans that aren’t welcome in their territory.

Joe, my tort, isn’t alone in treating them all the same. OK maybe he hated the lawn mower most and mated with some of the others more than he rammed them, but it isn’t play or enrichment.

 

[TechnoCheese]

I definitely think reptiles can be enriched. A ball python in a small tub with nothing but a hide, a water bowl, and paper towels generally shows less behavior or interest than one in a nicely furnished one with branches to climb and such. While there might not be an amazing difference, I do think it’s fun to experiment with enrichment.

I’ve actually been planning to do something like this, but I haven’t been in a pet store for a while, lol. Seems like it could be interesting.(but then again, knowing Curtis, he would probably just try to eat the ball )

 

[TechnoCheese]

On the other reptile site I moderate, we created a few posts over reptile enrichment, if anyone’s interested. I did the tortoise section.

http://aminoapps.com/p/ksayb3
http://aminoapps.com/p/slya9s
http://aminoapps.com/p/ld812t
http://aminoapps.com/p/vr2ff7

 

[jsheffield]

On the other reptile site I moderate, we created a few posts over reptile enrichment, if anyone’s interested. I did the tortoise section.

http://aminoapps.com/p/ksayb3
http://aminoapps.com/p/slya9s
http://aminoapps.com/p/ld812t
http://aminoapps.com/p/vr2ff7

Thanks, I'll take a look.

J

 

[JoesMum]

I don’t confuse enrichment with a properly setup enclosure for a tortoise ... just clarifying my position.

Having plants to hide under, plants to graze and suitable shelters, digging in spots and soaking places and plenty of space to patrol and look for food naturally is what they need.

 

[Maro2Bear]

The ball with food inside that the torts struggle to get at is like having a locked and latched cookie jar on your desk.

 

[jsheffield]

The ball with food inside that the torts struggle to get at is like having a locked and latched cookie jar on your desk.

OMG!

My wife's been doing that to me for years ... [emoji16]

J

 

[JoesMum]

OMG!

My wife's been doing that to me for years ... [emoji16]

J

Do you consider it enrichment or does it make you stressed? [emoji23]

 

[Yvonne G]

I think chasing a ball around trying to get at the food inside is stressful for a tortoise. I wouldn't do it. What I would do would be to go to the stationery store and buy some clips:

Then clip them all around in different locations in the enclosure with greens in them, up high so the tortoise has to reach up to eat.

 

[jsheffield]

Do you consider it enrichment or does it make you stressed? [emoji23]

J

 

[drew54]

I've actually thought about doing that. However, I would make it an option for the tort. What I mean is that I would have the same food on the fish as I would in the toy. If it chooses the toy then I would imagine the tort wants to do it.

I think this way letting the tort choose would almost eliminate the stress. When the tort is done it can eat from the dish if it chooses to.

I do think that just putting a toy with food in it without the option would be very stressful for the tort especially if can't pull any food out.

I don't think this is really much different than hanging food, hiding it, etc. As long as food is always available in the dish and the tort can choose.

 

[JoesMum]

Hiding it is one thing. Using a ball is quite another. The ball is interpreted as an invader of territory as any owner of older torts will tell you.

Having live plants they can browse is encouraging natural behaviour that doesn't stress them. Sink the plant pot into the substrate with a half inch of rim showing. They occasional tray of 'living lettuce' from a supermarket goes down a treat.

 

[drew54]

By that logic you couldn't put anything I the enclosure but plants. The water and food dishes are invaders, the fake plants, the plastic hide, etc are all invaders and would do the same thing as a ball. Even hanging food up with a clip would be viewed as invader if no food was on the clip.

If you present these things to them as adults I'm sure the level of stress is more intensified if these things were never introduced as hatchlings, but even so the adults are highly capable of adapting.

Captive bred hatchlings aren't exposed to anything but walls, food, water, light, heat, substrate of some kind or cloth /paper towel, etc. They are exposed to these new things all at once and they have giant humans man handling them. After a few weeks they are placed in another area with more walls, light, heat, substrate, etc. Which is all stressful to them. My point is these animals adapt and putting objects of any kind be it fake plants, stones, new substrate, food dish, etc is stressful until they adapt and get used to it.

Toys and alike are no different.

 

[JoesMum]

But they don't play with these things. They challenge them until they decide they're safe... which may take a very long time. If an object is being constantly rammed or pushed then it isn't being treated as part of the environment and is causing stress.

 

[drew54]

Agreed, but not all hatchlings will respond with aggression like that. And if they do respond with aggression then you remove the item. No, reptile don't "play", but adding any object in the enclosure as a hatchling could help the tort adjust easier in the long run. I added a fake plant and an aquarium crashed ufo piece and a little practice golf ball. My hatchling sniffed the objects and that was that. She bumps into the stuff every once in a while, but she goes torting on. I understand I'm a beginner owner and because my hatchling responds differently that I also fully understand that it doesn't set the standard for tortoise behavior. I'm just giving my thoughts nothing more.

 

[Jnics10]

Ok, so here's my anecdote:
My little guy (RF, male, unknown age, probably around 10ish years old) will make up "games" for himself. I mean, like, beyond humping everything in his enclosure. One thing I catch him doing quite often when we're outside is holding a stick down with his arms and picking the end up with his beak and snapping it against a hard surface, like a rock. It's almost like... he enjoys the noise it makes???

He's got lots of toys in his enclosure, including the ball filled with treats in question, as well as a rubber duckie (which he plays with a lot), a plastic dinosaur, a couple smaller balls, and a mirror hanging on the wall (which he will sit and stare at for HOURS). He doesn't ram them or seem stressed out by them at all--he actually seems to enjoy them. He moves them around, gets freaky with them (he is a teenager after all), boops them, falls asleep next to them, sometimes I find him piling a few into one of his hides. But, I did introduce these toys cautiously, over time, and alongside his favorite foods.

I think it's all about trying different things and seeing what works and what doesn't.

Just my 2 cents

 

[drew54]

Ok, so here's my anecdote:
My little guy (RF, male, unknown age, probably around 10ish years old) will make up "games" for himself. I mean, like, beyond humping everything in his enclosure. One thing I catch him doing quite often when we're outside is holding a stick down with his arms and picking the end up with his beak and snapping it against a hard surface, like a rock. It's almost like... he enjoys the noise it makes???

He's got lots of toys in his enclosure, including the ball filled with treats in question, as well as a rubber duckie (which he plays with a lot), a plastic dinosaur, a couple smaller balls, and a mirror hanging on the wall (which he will sit and stare at for HOURS). He doesn't ram them or seem stressed out by them at all--he actually seems to enjoy them. He moves them around, gets freaky with them (he is a teenager after all), boops them, falls asleep next to them, sometimes I find him piling a few into one of his hides. But, I did introduce these toys cautiously, over time, and alongside his favorite foods.

I think it's all about trying different things and seeing what works and what doesn't.

Just my 2 cents

The issue with reptiles and these seemingly enjoyable moments and behaviors is that because they don't have a hippocampus (the part of the brain that's believed to control emotions, learning, etc.) it's believed they are incapable of these things. Also, since we can't tell how a tortoise thinks and feels we assume that the observable behaviors that we can't explain outside of basic instinct is in fact that basic instinct we understand and observe frequently. This leading to the conclusion that we owners, enthusiasts, and alike humanize these creatures and in doing so we see the behaviors that wee want to see. Like a self fulfilling prophecy.

I'm sure they do find things interesting, amusing, etc. Definitely not to the extent that we do though. But until we are able to get inside a reptiles head we will never know.