Why is my tortoise climbing her cage walls?

[CharlieS2020]

I can only tell you my results. I am not one of the experts here. My first container was not as nice as yours. It was 5 feet long, 3 feet wide, 4 inches high and clear plastic. I would take the entire box outside under my covered patio almost every day for an hour or two (sitting on a patio table). Only about 1/3 of the box got sun. Also, 1/2 was covered but had lots of holes in it. It got too warm under the cover without the holes. They loved being outside in the box. I live in central CA so we have warm weather a lot. I never let them out in the house. One of the best purchases I made was a temperature gun. I check their enclosure multiple times a day, even though heat is on thermostat. I also check outside ground temp before they go out, and I check their soak tub continuously as it gets cold fast. I don't know this, but maybe it is too hot in Charlie's box. I have a warmer side and cooler side so they have a choice. You will find the best info on the downloads from this site. I didn't know about The Forum at first, so I just kept trying things until they seemed comfy. I went through multiple homes the first year trying to get it right. Good for you for asking questions and reading the great info on here. Lucky Charlie!

hi thanks for the reply i really apishiate it. but charlie has a coller and warmer side so i dont know what else to do. i will look into the heat gun thanks for the suggestoion. please help em stop this problum im having with my tortoise. do you think it is becuse i take her out so often to rome around my floor with supervision of corse. so when i put her abck in she is looking for that extra sapce? i hope ypu respond and help me. Charlie

 

[CharlieS2020]

Try searching in the Hermans section of the forum for more examples. For your enclosure you will need to make the temperatures 80 degrees F minimum with 70% humidity. Also maybe another hide? He may feel exposed. Also needs light exposure which is in the care sheet linked originally. Though this is a smaller species, they require more space, the minimum size enclosure is 8ft by 4ft. So prepare now for your future upgrade. I adopted an 18 yr old red eared slider who was kept in a 20 gal glass tank his whole life, when I would come into the room the turtle would flip out and scratch everything! His previous owner would also take him out to clean the tank and let him roam. I upgraded the enclosure to 75 gal Stock tank with a large boulder sticking out so he can dock himself. He no longer flips out. The pacing and climbing may subside with not handling him as much, most likely won’t hurt him but watch for flip overs.

she ahs only fliped over once from climbing the walls. do you think is hould make hte cage bigger. it is 4 feet long and 21 inches wide, charlie is only aroudn one. so i dont know if she needs this mcuh sapce. please help me. Charlie

 

[queen koopa]

she ahs only fliped over once from climbing the walls. do you think is hould make hte cage bigger. it is 4 feet long and 21 inches wide, charlie is only aroudn one. so i dont know if she needs this mcuh sapce. please help me. Charlie

So the minimum requirement for the adults is 8 feet by 4 feet. 4 feet by 21 inches is for baby to yearling tortoise, what you still have. But yes you should make a larger enclosure. Adult tortoise will not thrive in 4 ft by 21 inches.

 

[queen koopa]

hi thanks for the reply i really apishiate it. but charlie has a coller and warmer side so i dont know what else to do. i will look into the heat gun thanks for the suggestoion. please help em stop this problum im having with my tortoise. do you think it is becuse i take her out so often to rome around my floor with supervision of corse. so when i put her abck in she is looking for that extra sapce? i hope ypu respond and help me. Charlie

In a way yes. She is looking for those places she knows exist now. They have great memories. These animals get a lot of “steps” in when they are in their outdoor natural habitats. They are meant for roaming and grazing.

 

[queen koopa]

Just focus on making him healthy. Work on the temperatures (get the temp gun), humidity, maybe another small hide, and then just start planning for the future. Also, as referenced in the posts above, maybe try to make an enclosure or space you can bring him outside for a couple hrs in the nice weather.

 

[Chefdenoel10]

hi please respond back to this. charlie is in a hand built cage amde out of wood and there are no crakes. though i take her out around 2 times a day becuse she constently climbs her walls and im getting woried. please tell me how to stop this from happening. her is a photo of her cage. CharlieView attachment 316091

Looks to me like she is needing a place to hide. There are no hiding spots for her?
Also check your lighting.
Could be the bulb is hurting her eyes.
Tell us what kind you use...
Also, do you know of the “fish tank paper”that people tape to the fish tanks with a “background” picture (of plants or a scene of some sort).....?
Try taping some of that to the OUTSIDE of your glass tank. Maybe that will make her feel like she is not in the middle of a dessert and has no escape.?
Add more plants for her to hide under?
Is she cold to the touch?
All these are just suggestions...
I am putting you in my prayer list tonight! ??❤️???

 

[yay14]

hi please respond back to this. charlie is in a hand built cage amde out of wood and there are no crakes. though i take her out around 2 times a day becuse she constently climbs her walls and im getting woried. please tell me how to stop this from happening. her is a photo of her cage. CharlieView attachment 316091

I do not think you taking her out is making it better if anything it's making it worse. Mine used to do the same thing i did not do anything about it and evantually it stopped. I would not worry and even if it feels weird to let her do it i would, just make sure she does not get flipped over. One thing though how big is Charlie? Becuse I am wondering if her enclosure might be to small.

 

[CharlieS2020]

Just focus on making him healthy. Work on the temperatures (get the temp gun), humidity, maybe another small hide, and then just start planning for the future. Also, as referenced in the posts above, maybe try to make an enclosure or space you can bring him outside for a couple hrs in the nice weather.

but charlie dosent need a bigger cage now. can is till let her rome around on my floor. i fell kinda bad becuse someone biult the cage charlie has now and i took them 5 months. what age will charlie need a bigger enclosere? Charlie

 

[CharlieS2020]

Looks to me like she is needing a place to hide. There are no hiding spots for her?
Also check your lighting.
Could be the bulb is hurting her eyes.
Tell us what kind you use...
Also, do you know of the “fish tank paper”that people tape to the fish tanks with a “background” picture (of plants or a scene of some sort).....?
Try taping some of that to the OUTSIDE of your glass tank. Maybe that will make her feel like she is not in the middle of a dessert and has no escape.?
Add more plants for her to hide under?
Is she cold to the touch?
All these are just suggestions...
I am putting you in my prayer list tonight! ??❤???

hi thank you for responding i love all the suggestions you put in for me i will defenetly use them. im buying some fake plants today, and she is never cold to the tuch. i dont know the maon name of the bulb but her heat light is from zoo med, and her uvb light is 15 something and is also from zoo med. many peole think i ahve a glass cage but i dont, i have a hand made 4 foot by 21 inch wide and 4--5 inches high and it is all made out of wood, from home depo. Charlie

 

[CharlieS2020]

I do not think you taking her out is making it better if anything it's making it worse. Mine used to do the same thing i did not do anything about it and evantually it stopped. I would not worry and even if it feels weird to let her do it i would, just make sure she does not get flipped over. One thing though how big is Charlie? Becuse I am wondering if her enclosure might be to small.

id dont know axacly how big charlie is but around 4 1/2 iches i think i sued a ruler but she keeped moving. you probly already know this but her cage is 4 foot long 21 inches wide and aroudn 4-5 inches high. Charlie

 

[Maggie3fan]

how do i stop charlie from climbing walls?

Start by not taking her out of her habitat and showing her the world is bigger outside her tank. If you stop taking her out she will get used to her habitat and settle down

 

[CharlieS2020]

Start by not taking her out of her habitat and showing her the world is bigger outside her tank. If you stop taking her out she will get used to her habitat and settle down

but i love taking her out. i give her pets snuggles feed her bye hand and things like that. i cant do it in her cage becuse if the lid is left open to long it will slam down on my arm. is thee any way this will stop if i only take her out like once for 15 minutes. becuse i love hanging out with her she is like my baby.

 

[Maggie3fan]

I'd post pictures of your habitat and the tort if you need more help

 

[CharlieS2020]

I'd post pictures of your habitat and the tort if you need more help

okay here are some photos in the cage there si also a biult in hide.

 

[Maggie3fan]

okay here are some photos in the cage there si also a biult in hide.View attachment 316154

It's boring, needs more room, damp substrate plants. Is that arm for a lid?

 

[CharlieS2020]

I'd post pictures of your habitat and the tort if you need more help

and here is a few pics of charlie

 

[Maggie3fan]

and here is a few pics of charlie View attachment 316155View attachment 316156

very cute thanks

 

[CharlieS2020]

It's boring, needs more room, damp substrate plants. Is that arm for a lid?

there is a lid it is jsut open right now i plain to get some plants today and there is a climbing log. do you think that would be enough? the substrate is eco earth.

 

[yay14]

there is a lid it is jsut open right now i plain to get some plants today and there is a climbing log. do you think that would be enough? the substrate is eco earth.

I prefer using hides like made from tupperware instead of having those little house thingis. It's better with humidity also u should get some more stony elements.

 

[Krista S]

there is a lid it is jsut open right now i plain to get some plants today and there is a climbing log. do you think that would be enough? the substrate is eco earth.

For putting plants in the enclosure, they’ll have the best chance of surviving if you have them planted in pots. If you try and plant them in the substrate, they’ll just get trampled and die pretty quickly. A couple popular choices that are more hardy are spider plants and pothos. If you happen to already have some growing in your house, or know someone who does, it’s much safer to use clippings from those plants to start your own for the tortoise instead of buying new. There’s no way to know for sure if freshly bought plants have chemicals on them. If you buy from a store, it is best that you rinse the roots, change the dirt and grow them out for a year before moving them to the tortoise enclosure. This is what I had to do. It seemed crazy at the time, but I’m now reaching the 1 year mark on my plants now.

You have been given plenty of good advice from the other members. If you want Charlie to stop scratching at the walls you must stop taking her out to roam around and she does need a bigger enclosure sooner than later. Letting her continue to roam around is simply not safe or healthy for Charlie and is perpetuating the issue you have. All of the space being taken up by the “hide” in your enclosure takes up a lot of valuable walking space they require to properly digest their food. Your substrate is too dry and this is likely adding to you’re seeing her pyramid already. The humidity in her enclosure needs to be raised. You should keep the substrate damp, but I think you’ll need to line the floor and walls of Charlie’s enclosure with something or the wood is likely to quickly rot and mold. In my opinion, you should start working on plans to get her a more suitable enclosure sooner than later and please, please stop letting Charlie free roam. It sucks that someone had to spend 5 months building this enclosure for you, but it seems it is not working for you or Charlie.