Tortoise toys

[wheresholly]

I have a Herman tortoise and I am just wondering if he would want any toys or if so what kind just fear he gets bored from time to time ! 🐢

 

[Jacqui]

Usually with tortoises it's not so much giving them toys, as changing what they have in their enclosure. For instance you can rearrange the hills and slopes with the substrate. Give them new rocks and branches to climb over. Add new plants and toss in some seeds to grow in there. Living lettuce is kinda a fun plant to buy and use. Change how you feed them. For instance don't chop up their food, let them rip and tear. Hang leaves of greens from above, so they have to reach up to get them. If they are mushroom eaters, I love to toss them all around the enclosure so they have to find them.

For actual toys things like balls they can bite, but not bite off chunks of the ball works well.

 

[Tom]

Good answer Jacqui.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi wheresholly, and welcome to the Forum!

 

[Mjdeisher]

Usually with tortoises it's not so much giving them toys, as changing what they have in their enclosure. For instance you can rearrange the hills and slopes with the substrate. Give them new rocks and branches to climb over. Add new plants and toss in some seeds to grow in there. Living lettuce is kinda a fun plant to buy and use. Change how you feed them. For instance don't chop up their food, let them rip and tear. Hang leaves of greens from above, so they have to reach up to get them. If they are mushroom eaters, I love to toss them all around the enclosure so they have to find them.

For actual toys things like balls they can bite, but not bite off chunks of the ball works well.

when you scatter stuff around the enclosure for them to eat, do you worry about them eating their bedding? I keep my Greek on coco coir and he likes to drag his food around the cage but i worry about impaction so i try to keep him from dragging it everywhere. I do like the idea of him being able to find food though.

Another thing is to grow some safe plants in the enclosure. It helps keep humidity and Paul likes to crawl all over them and try to eat them.

 

[Jacqui]

when you scatter stuff around the enclosure for them to eat, do you worry about them eating their bedding? I keep my Greek on coco coir and he likes to drag his food around the cage but i worry about impaction so i try to keep him from dragging it everywhere. I do like the idea of him being able to find food though.

No, I don't worry about it. I use the coir/sand combo and I know my animals are well hydrated, so chances of them being coming impacted are about like me winning the lottery. No matter what you do, they will be eating some of their substrate, either by accident or them eating it on purpose. It's also not like the mushrooms end up coated with substrate either.