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THIS IS KILGORE TROUT
I never see him eat (I think he does eat something because I find his food all over his enclosure) and he doesn't seem totally comfortable in his enclosure he runs around scraping at the sides or buries his head in the dirt and hides. He's in a 45 g Rubbermaid w/ 50/50 playsand/cocofiber substrate. I've been feeding red leaf lettuce, dandelion greens and started trying ZOO MED Grassland tortoise food as well. He goes in his water dish on his own. I had a wooden "house" (small animal house) but he just kept running into the corner so my husband was arfaid he would hurt himself and removed it. i would love some suggestions on feeding & how to make him more comfortable.

Could you put up a barrier around the sides so that he can't see out. I've heard that tortoises can be really insecure.

untsmurf wrote:Could you put up a barrier around the sides so that he can't see out. I've heard that tortoises can be really insecure.

Unless it's a clear rubbermaid,he can't see out

He will always scratch at the sides, mine did it all the time.Specially in the beginning since it's a new house.The substrate sound good and should be at least 4".You can also add alpha alpha hay that they will also eat.Mine never did. They like to burrow.
The diet sounds good.I also gave them carrots that they loved.Sprinkle the veggies with calcium and vitamin supplement 2 to 3 times a week.Don't ever feed fruits since this type of tortoise may have a parasite bloom from it.Give him a nice soak once a week and provide him with a hide.
I'm sure he has a nice UVB/UVA lamp. I find mega-rays to be the perfect bulb even for tortoises.
That's about it.

jozzep wrote:

untsmurf wrote:Could you put up a barrier around the sides so that he can't see out. I've heard that tortoises can be really insecure.

Unless it's a clear rubbermaid,he can't see out

That's what I was assuming, because her bearded is in a clear plastic one. Good catch though

That's weird, I wrote a reply to this thread and now I don't see it. I must have navigated away thinking I already submitted it, or something! Anyways, Yes, its an cpaque blue 45 gallon rubbermaid (actually "sterilite") He can't see out the sides. I'm watching Kilgore explore his enclosure right now. he is rearranging everything. I guess he doesn't like where I put his dish LOL. I think he will settle down after a while, Even baby Gherkin did this when I first got him (baby boxie I got as a tiny hatchling) I just can't help being an over protective turtle mommy and they look distressed digging at the sides like that I would feel A LOT better if I could catch him at eating. I saw him near his dish and chewing. Hopefully he was eatting greens and not dirt. I do have MVB on him, but it's an ExoTerra SolarGlo 125w. 2 more questions I thought of : I did but some hay in there too, but i used Timothy hay, not Alfalfa (timothy was recomended by some online care sheets) Does that make a difference? And how much miosture should be in the substrate? I realized it should not be nearly as wet as, say, my boxie's, but it was REALLY dry, because I had actually had this all set up since back when that guy from Craigslist was supposed to give my a Russian and never showed. There was dust and stuff coming off it, and I figured that can't be good for his eyes or lungs, so I mixed some water into the substrate yesterday,
Not enough to make mud out of it, just enough to make it more like "dirt" than "dust" if that makes sense.

This is what his 'enclosure' looks like right now. I actually didn't expect he'd be quite so big, I set up the tub before I bought him. Do you think it's OK for now? I did have a 'house' but it was a wooden construction thing with corners and my husband thought he would hurt himself. I have been on the lookout for an appropriate size hide. What else could I add to make it more 'homey" ?



I think I need a bigger bowl!!!
THIS is how Kilgore takes a drink/bath. He loves to be in his dish a lot more than I though a tortoise like him would.

we had the same problem with our snakes water bowl. We ended up getting a large flat dog water bowl. It's probably close to a foot across and only three inches tall or so. It was a lot cheaper than trying to find one meant for herps.

You could also go to a hobby store like Michael's if you want to cheap fake plants.

You could get a half log for a hide, and a plant saucer dish for a water dish. He really needs to be able to sit in his water dish and soak if he wants to.

Ah we got him the same bowl in a bigger size yesterday. I think he loves it! He also got a big half log hide, LOL. He went inside, came out, and got on top of it ! his home seems nicer now, & I think he is setting in now. He sleeps under his lamp and munches on greens all day sometimes I hear him scratching at the sides still, but it doesn't seem as frantic, just like maybe he enjoys making noise!