Tortoise Temper Tantrums

[Toddrickfl1]

My Redfoot tortoise Murphy can have a real attitude sometimes when he doesn't get his way, I call it "Tortoise Tantrums". For instance: I put him outside every morning and bring him back inside at night everyday. On the occasion I'm unable to put him out for the day he will completely destroy his indoor enclosure. He has a small sterelite tote for a hide and he will push it across the enclosure or flip it upside down. He has fake plants that he doesn't normally bother and he will bulldoze them out of the substrate and they'll be everywhere. He will flip his food and water dish over. He also will dig all the substrate over and pile it on one side. When I went on vacation for 2 weeks he stayed in his indoor enclosure and I got daily pictures from my tort sitter of his antics. Anybody else have a tortoise does something similar? I'd be interested to hear about others "Tortoise Tantrums".

 

[ZEROPILOT]

They do seem to have a schedule.
An activity that they do at a certain time every day.
Maybe he's not liking his schedule changed.

 

[Toddrickfl1]

They do seem to have a schedule.
An activity that they do at a certain time every day.
Maybe he's not liking his schedule changed.

I think that's definitely it because it's always when I change something. When I built his new bigger enclosure in the winter when he moved into it he tore it up the first few weeks lol.

 

[Pastel Tortie]

Pinstripe has been throwing tantrums in my mud turtle tank because I'm enacting some "tough love LITE" trying to get her to eat some commercial turtle pellets. Does that count?

Granted, I'm glad the mud turtles are so small... I can only imagine what a much larger turtle or tortoise can do.

P.S. Don't give the box turtle any ideas.

 

[Jodie]

Super entertaining little monsters. I have a leopard with a ton of attitude. He can completely fill his water dish with dirt. I don't even know how he does it, but it will be literally mud when he is mad after just a few hours. He will also try to ram me, and push me out of his enclosure every time I go in it. He does not do it to my husband. I feed him, but I am also the one that puts him inside for night. He prefers to be out, so he hates me. Fortunately he is less than 10 pounds.

 

[Maggie T]

My Redfoot tortoise Murphy can have a real attitude sometimes when he doesn't get his way, I call it "Tortoise Tantrums". For instance: I put him outside every morning and bring him back inside at night everyday. On the occasion I'm unable to put him out for the day he will completely destroy his indoor enclosure. He has a small sterelite tote for a hide and he will push it across the enclosure or flip it upside down. He has fake plants that he doesn't normally bother and he will bulldoze them out of the substrate and they'll be everywhere. He will flip his food and water dish over. He also will dig all the substrate over and pile it on one side. When I went on vacation for 2 weeks he stayed in his indoor enclosure and I got daily pictures from my tort sitter of his antics. Anybody else have a tortoise does something similar? I'd be interested to hear about others "Tortoise Tantrums".

How funny. What a character!

 

[Levi the Leopard]

I'm glad to hear others deal with this, too. I'm not alone!

Levi lives outside with full access to the backyard and an insulated heated tort house. I open the door in the morning, he comes and goes throughout the day as he pleases, then at night I close his door after he puts himself away.
Living in Oregon we have some cold, rainy and even snowy days. So, his heated house has a light inside so he doesn't have to be in the dark on those days he stays in. But I still have to open his door, everyday. Rain, snow, doesn't matter. If he can't peek his head out the door to see for himself that the weather is bad, he takes out his anger on the inside of his house. Scratches at the walls, knocks down the Acurite readers and has, more than once, managed to pull the light fixture off the wall. I don't even know how that was possible... However, if his door is open, he'll peek out and be content to wait inside. I learned long ago to just open his door, daily, regardless and it works.

But don't get me started on his tantrums if you enter "his" yard. Say goodbye to bruise-free ankles....


(yes the anthropormorphism is just for fun)

 

[Pangolin123]

Mine runs out for his food but if he digs into it and finds no raddichio he will give you this 'look' and storm back into his house and start scratching up the walls. He's so moody when he doesn't get what he wants. He'll flip his dish over, claw the bark off his hide, poop all over his terrace, walk his dirty feet in the water we just changed .... and he will always, always wait til we're we're watching an intense, quiet film before he starts LOUDLY GRATING AWAY at his cuttlefish. If you pick him up he tries to eat your hair. Hes a 200g monster.

 

[Peggy Sue]

Sheldon also rearranges his house he has 2 hides that he moves around daily we jokingly call them his mobile homes. You never know where they will end up he has also completely filled his water dish with bark. He has been pouting more since we have had cooler than normal temps here in my part of Oregon and he has had to stay inside. Never a dull moment

 

[Toddrickfl1]

Sheldon also rearranges his house he has 2 hides that he moves around daily we jokingly call them his mobile homes. You never know where they will end up he has also completely filled his water dish with bark. He has been pouting more since we have had cooler than normal temps here in my part of Oregon and he has had to stay inside. Never a dull moment

Mobile home, lol that's funny. I eventually had to screw mines hide into the wall to keep him from moving it.

 

[Unkapunka]

I'm glad i am not the only one on the tantrums. My Titus gets so mad if i pockk up and move him to a better stop outside he just takes of as fast as he can in a huff, switching around like hes the man. They are so funny.