Why is Mr. T freaking out?

[Badgemash]

I've observed some odd behavior over the last two days which I'm hoping someone will be able to explain. Between the two, Octavia has always been the more adventurous and active tort, she'll happily sleep out in the corner near the basking light. Mr.T comes out to eat and drink and that's pretty much it. If we put him under the light (or anywhere else for that matter) he'll sit for a minute or two, and then crawl right back into the hide and go to sleep. So imagine my surprise over the last two days to see Mr.T doing quick (for him) little laps around the enclosure. He's seems very determined too, anything in the way gets climbed over, even Octavia.

The only thing that has changed in their environment was when we had a thorough cleaning Sunday morning and replaced the coco coir with peat (coco was drying out too quickly). But he didn't start acting strangely until Wednesday afternoon, so I'm not sure if that's even a factor.

Does anyone have a guess what he might be up to? I'm starting to worry because he just flipped himself over and I don't want him doing that again when I'm not home. It's especially odd because Octavia is still acting completely normal.

Thanks,
-Devon

 

[Seiryu]

How old are they? He could be nervous with the other tort as well. Not all hatchlings are fine with being around others.

Seems like he is stressed to me, or hungry?

I know if I'm even late feeding in the morning by 15 minutes, my two are pacing back and forth waiting for their food.

But the wanting to hide all the time is normal for younger torts, but again it could be becasue he is nervous around the other.

 

[Tracy Gould]

Shelby my 2 year old Hermann use to sleep alot when i first got her but she is really active now too, she will do circuits around her table and climb, the only time she is still is when she's feeding which is followed by a basking session. It sounds like he is just checking out his boundarys to me it takes them a while to settle in then u get to see their little charactors.

 

[Tom]

Sometimes little torts just get "on a mission".

 

[Badgemash]

We've had them for 5 months, and I think they we're around 2 months old when we got them so they're roughly 7 months old (we got them from a shop that wasn't the breeder so I don't know the exact dates). They've been together the whole time and I haven't seen any aggression or bullying, they have two hides but they usually sleep together in whichever one is more moist (which makes me think Tom is on to the right track with the humidity). I also try to keep a mix of fresh food available throughout the day (usually dandelion + some mix of hibiscus, grape leaves, cactus, endive, flowers and sometimes a squash treat) and they seem comfortable eating together.

I did read somewhere that they're more active in the wild during the rainy season, I wonder if the increased humidity from the bedding (the hubby has been spraying it and them 2-3 times a day since we changed it) is making Mr.T think it's that time of year?

 

[dolfanjack]

The one thing I have learned about our shelled friends is we don't know alot about WHY they do some of the things they do.