Climbing the walls....
 

My tortoise is a lively fella with lots of character. He seems perfectly happy and is very friendly (he likes to be tickled under the chin and to be hand fed!) but he seems to have a habit of trying to 'climb walls' or look like he's trying to walk through them?! I have been told that his tortoise table is the right size and he has plenty of things to climb over and hide under but he spends quite a lot of time trying to climb out....when I do let him out to roam my house (which is every day) he has a tendancy to walk along the same piece of wall almost like he is trying to walk through it. Is this normal??? :?:
Any suggestions greatly received!!

Thanks!

Alice

Presumably you have a male tortoise? They are born roamers and he is actually displaying pacing behaviour, which is stress. This is all usual behaviour when confined. Your tortoise does need to spend as much time outside in the garden as possible. If the weather is bad, then he will just sleep, so giving you and him a rest.

What is the size of your table, how old is your tortoise and what species? Don't let him roam the house as they can take in hairs and other dirt which can get stuck. It sounds to me like his enclosure is too small.

Oh no poor thing that is not what I wanted to hear :(
Yes he is a male. Hes a hermanns and I think he's about 5 years old (he was found by my friend last year and the owner couldnt be found so I adopted him). I hate the thought of him being stressed as I love the little guy and ive been trying to do everything i can to make sure hes happy. I do let him out in the garden but I have to put him in a "run" as I only have a tiny garden that is not enclosed so he would escape. His table is 3ft by 2ft and has 2 levels, with a little inside bit as well. What do u recommend I do? Im a huge animal lover and I cant bare the thought of making him unhappy :( x

If you can try and make him a bigger outdoor pen, then he can stay out most of the summer, but he would need a water tight hide or shelter of some sort, torts really should be outside, so long as the weather is good enough . Have alook on the housing page at other peoples pics of their enclosures.

Thanks so much. I've had a look at some of the pics and they are fab. It has inspired me to make him a proper outdoor home :) x

To be honest I have 2 Hermanns boys and they do like to climb a bit
especially after some plant that they want to reach
Horsfields are worse at climbing
My boys legs are really strong though with all the exercising they do