my restless tortoise.

by sally
(new york)

why is my tortoise restless?

she walks around all day, breaking all the things in her tank, and moving all the things around,
then i tidy it up and i come back 5 minutes after, and everthings been moved again?
she also climbs up the walls in her tank, i dont know whats wrong with her?

Comments for my restless tortoise.

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Dec 11, 2013
 Reply to restlessness
by: The Turtle Guy

I own a 70 pound Salcutta tortoise, I have raised him since he was 1 pound. I have learned that you need to provide alot of exercise for your tortoise. Mine walks with me down the street for 60 blocks a day in the summer. I cover three seperate neighborhoods with my tortoise. He loves the scenery. They get bored of looking at the same thing everyday. I take him out to Chapters bookstores, and petstores, and greenhouses, just to name a few. He loves to go out for a walk. Just remember if you ever decide to walk your tortoise to protect him at all costs. He will want to ocasionally stop to eat someones grass along the way, but people spray their grass, and it will kill him if you let him eat it. You always have to protect him.
My email is jeffb10
ATshaw.ca
if you may have any questions.
(email altered because of spam bots)
Aug 18, 2013
 Restless Greek Tortoise
by: Jennifer

I have been observing the same behavior in my tortoise as well. My boyfriend made an outside habitat that is safe for him, and we let him out for a few hours. His restlessness is worse when I bring him in. Am I teasing him with a little freedom, and then sending him to his room like a little child? I feel bad, but I do have to bring him after a while. He loves classical music, and it does seem to soothe him after a while. How do I keep my little guy happy?
Jan 28, 2010
 Likely needs a bigger home
by: The Greek Tortoise Guild

Your tortoise could simply have cabin fever as Arika was saying. Another possibility is that your tortoise could be ill. One of my Greek Tortoises was exhibiting a similar behavior and when I took him and a feces sample in to the veterinarian for a check up they found that he had heavy parasite load. This was making him uncomfortable and he was walking around so much in an effort to get away from the pain. After we de-wormed him he settled down quite a bit.
So if you get him into a bigger home and he is still frantically and constantly crawling about you might take him to the vet just to make sure that he's healthy.
One other thought: if you have to keep rearranging his home, then it's not really well-designed for him and his comforts and needs. You might consider re-designing his home in such a way that it's functional for his needs but still looks nice (yes, it's quite possible). I'm in the process of making a detailed posting on this topic on my own blog. Feel free to comment to this posting or directly on my blog at TheGreekTortoiseGuild.blogspot.com with any other questions you may have.
Good luck!
Jan 22, 2010
 restless tortee
by: arika

I am having a similar issue with my Greek, Rosemary. She has been growing and is ready for a bigger tank. She smashes off the walls, throws herself off her log, and rolls the water bowl. I have been letting her run around the house for about an hour a day, and that seems to help. Even animals get cabin fever.

I can not wait until spring so she can go out to graze! However she needs very close supervision, she can really haul shell and can easily get lost outside.

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