Toys for baby torties?

[ElfDa]

Hey there!



I know we've all seen funny photos and videos of torties doing crazy stuff, but it's always adults...

So, Penelope (we now call her Penny) is doing well, and is full of curiosity!
She's had a couple growth spurts which seem to have given her some confidence.

Recently, our little girl insisted on meeting one of our cats, and will now run (trundle quickly, really) to the glass to see him, when he comes to watch her eat. (he will often meow at us, if she is sleeping in her hide)

She wants to come out and interact more with us (stretches up as high at she can, when our hands are in there, will push her head against you when you pet her, and then chase you to the end corners, when you walk away), but she's so tiny, and it's not warm enough for her tiny self to come out here.

So here's my idea:

I'm considering giving her a hollow, plastic ball that she could head-butt around the enclosure. What do you guys think?

Her current favorite game is Bite Daddy's Fingers When He Isn't Looking, which she thinks is GREAT. She'll carefully sniff him and then CHOMP.
and will try to chomp through the glass.
She never bites too hard, but enough to get a reaction, which seems to be very satisfying.

I want to make sure she has other ways to amuse herself, so that when she gets big, biting isn't her go-to giggle source. :s

 

[Kristina]

I toss things in my tortoise enclosures, for the torts to sniff, smush and shove around. I've used empty 2 liters, logs, big inflatable balls, empty Halloween candy buckets, and other things that aren't harmful and light weight. Generally, they climb all over exploring whatever it is. After awhile the novelty wears off and I take it out. Then in a few days something else gets tossed in, lol.

As long as it is large enough she can't choke on it, I don't see any problem with it.

 

[ElfDa]

I toss things in my tortoise enclosures, for the torts to sniff, smush and shove around. I've used empty 2 liters, logs, big inflatable balls, empty Halloween candy buckets, and other things that aren't harmful and light weight. Generally, they climb all over exploring whatever it is. After awhile the novelty wears off and I take it out. Then in a few days something else gets tossed in, lol.

As long as it is large enough she can't choke on it, I don't see any problem with it.

since she's currently a hatchling, i'm looking for small things-- and those those are great ideas!

My fiance suggested throwing in some of our D&D dice, now and then.
Since even our 4-sided dice are still bigger than her head, I think that should be safe.

maybe i'll bring a storm trooper mini home, from work?

 

[RianSeeking]

So long as Penny doesn't go over to the Dark Side. A Yoda mini might be a wiser choice, really.

 

[Laura]

so long as she cant eat whatever you put in there.. try different colorerd ball and see if she likes one beter..

Dont let her bite your fingers.. bad habit and can get ugly.. and not everyone will think its so cute...

 

[SILVERSTAR]

im jealous my star hatchling doesnt play wit toys,but he does come to me when i put my hand down there and its almost like he likes being picked up i think mainly bcuz he knows hes gettn put into warm water and then fed.

 

[ElfDa]

@Rian Seeking: good point! I'll see if someone has one, up at R&D.

@Laura: good idea. Yeah.. the finger biting is not a habit I want to encourage. o.o When she gets big... yeah.

@Silverstar: well, she tried to eat the catnip mouse I threw in there... the cork is of no real interest. Penny likes being cuddled, but hates her baths, so she's starting to get a little suspicious about getting picked up.

What Penny seems to like most is, um, food. I guess that's the upside of Leopard babies: they're growing fast, which makes them ENTHUSIASTIC eaters. Makes shredding green beans on a cheese grater well worth the effort.

 

[Marty333]

I had a little plastic cat toy in Chevy's enclosure that a bell inside and he would push it around

 

[ElfDa]

I had a little plastic cat toy in Chevy's enclosure that a bell inside and he would push it around

cuuuuuuuuute!!!!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Elfda:

Am I correct in assuming that you feed your baby leopard tortoise green beans? Is this part of a more varied diet, or one of your main items of food? Legumes (green beans, peas, etc) contain quite a bit of protein and a lot of protein can stress a tortoise's kidneys.

 

[ElfDa]

Hi Elfda:

Am I correct in assuming that you feed your baby leopard tortoise green beans? Is this part of a more varied diet, or one of your main items of food? Legumes (green beans, peas, etc) contain quite a bit of protein and a lot of protein can stress a tortoise's kidneys.

oh, it's just a treat!
she gets a couple bites of green bean, a few times a month, and she only gets about a third of a bean.

She generally gets spring mix with calcium and vitamin dust, as well as kale, chard, mustard greens, and the occasional little heap of shredded squash. I keep meaning to get turnip greens...

I'm gonna be buying some pansies, soon, and starting some grasses from seed.
There's also timothy hay and sphagnum moss for playing, digging, and sleeping (and probably some munching).