When Will My RT Franklin Stop Scratching the Walls of his Enclosure?

[FrankIinTheTortoise]

He's been at it for three days now ever since we got him. I just moved him in his large, brand new enclosure. It took quite some time to build. Its bedded with coconut fiber. We have a repti-zoo dual dome lamp fixture with one UVB bulb and one CHE bulb. He has his water bowl and his food plate. I just put some cabbage and sprinkled it with some tortoise diet and he's still scratching the wood. When will he stop?

 

[method89]

Pictures please. How big is the enclosure?

 

[FrankIinTheTortoise]

Pictures please. How big is the enclosure?

Amazon.com: Wooden Reptile Habitat Tortoise House Indoor/ Outdoor, Safe Turtle Box with Wire Grate: Kitchen & Dining

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

How old and big is ur tort. He needs lots of room to roam.. thats the issue

 

[FrankIinTheTortoise]

How old and big is ur tort. He needs lots of room to roam.. thats the issue

About 4 inches wide across the shell.

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

Tortoises like room to roam thats the problem

 

[FrankIinTheTortoise]

Tortoises like room to roam thats the problem

So will he ever stop scratching?

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

In a small enclosure most likely not

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

Hes letting u know he needs more room

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

A good choice for a smaller enclosure would have been a leopard gecko

 

[Yvonne G]

He's been at it for three days now ever since we got him. I just moved him in his large, brand new enclosure. It took quite some time to build. Its bedded with coconut fiber. We have a repti-zoo dual dome lamp fixture with one UVB bulb and one CHE bulb. He has his water bowl and his food plate. I just put some cabbage and sprinkled it with some tortoise diet and he's still scratching the wood. When will he stop?

That's what they do when the enclosure is too small. We suggest 4' x 8' for almost full grown (wild caught) russians.

 

[Yossarian]

So will he ever stop scratching?

Rule of thumb for an adult RT is 4ft x 8ft as a bare minimum.

Something like this in the link below. If its too small they will circle the space, rub and bang their shells against the walls and try to climb out constantly.
These wooden boxes are sold for torts, and so many people buy them, its really sad because they are not really suitable for any species at any stage of growth.

Grow Tent Enclosure | Tortoise Forum

 

[FrankIinTheTortoise]

He seems to be doing fine in it now. I don't think he noticed the rest of the enclosure because as soon as I placed him in it he just turned around and started scratching the corner. Eventually, I decided to put him elsewhere and when I did he took account of the rest of the enclosure and had a blast. Now he is sleeping well

 

[Aloysius Taschse]

I agree with all the other members - even though I'm sure your tort could get by, these tiny enclosures that are okay for hatchlings are not okay for russians, even if they can live in these. I would suggest a 3 square meter enclosure - you can build one yourself or get a huge grow tent. Either way, these wooden ones really annoy me because whenever you search up tortoise enclosure these come up and these are not okay for russians and sulcatas like my Kiwi.

 

[method89]

He seems to be doing fine in it now. I don't think he noticed the rest of the enclosure because as soon as I placed him in it he just turned around and started scratching the corner. Eventually, I decided to put him elsewhere and when I did he took account of the rest of the enclosure and had a blast. Now he is sleeping well

Take note of what people are telling you. That type of enclosure is not good for a full grown tortoise. You might not want to hear it but that is the reason for the scratching.

 

[FrankIinTheTortoise]

Take note of what people are telling you. That type of enclosure is not good for a full grown tortoise. You might not want to hear it but that is the reason for the scratching.

I hope you don't think I'm not accepting what others are telling me. I'm actually taking it into account.

 

[FrankIinTheTortoise]

Take note of what people are telling you. That type of enclosure is not good for a full grown tortoise. You might not want to hear it but that is the reason for the scratching.

Are you saying the message you replied to is a lie?!

 

[ArchieTheTort]

My enclosure for my rt is 4 x 4 I built it recently ( I’ll be making it a double decker soon it had to be smaller cause I don’t have a ton of room in my room) and honestly it was the easiest thing ever you take some Plywood , measure it out, cut it, put some ( safe) sealant on it and put a shower curtain or something on the bottom and boom ya got a table so that’s what I would do to increase the table size and it cost me
Like nothing because my dad does a lot of building projects and he had a bunch o extra plywood.

edit- nail it of course too if you don’t that would be a bunch of useless pieces of wood lol

 

[method89]

Are you saying the message you replied to is a lie?!

Im saying don't think the enclosure is not the problem just because you think he settled in.

 

[William Lee Kohler]

Plants in pots, rocks, extra hides all to break up the square space and distract his view and "enrich" the space he's in and make it more natural can help.