Heres an odd observation.
I let my tort cruise round the house for a few hours a day so he can stretch his legs a bit more and explore.
I keep the room nice and warm and he can go under the fireplace to warm up (Its all shielded so he cannot burn himself)
I notice that he goes to the cooler areas and nods off. Usually after trying to dig his way through the skirting boards.
Is he too warm thats why he heads for cooler areas and nods off OR (I like this theory)
Is he like Tik Tok from Return to Oz and he just runs out of energy and nods off?

Or maybe I have a lazy tort?
Also, In the three weeks ive had him, ive never once found a tort poo in the viv. I find this odd (He usually goes in the bath or on my floor)

hi my horsfield does that i let hi out for a stretch every few days when my son is at school and he has took to a cool place and nods off also sorry i cant anser ur question just leting you know ur not alone, i will keep a eye on this thread as its a intresting question,

Another thind torts like to eat their own poo ,mine does i often catch him munching away its disgusting i have to chase him off it,

also my tort is in a tortoise table





was there a reason for your choice in a viv (space) just a lot of people hate the idea of a tort in a viv as you cannot controll the heat in one a tort table is much more ideal ad you have controll over temperature ect.plus you can design it your self i nocked mine up from old wood i had nocking about in the garage.i use sand/soil substrate in my table and squirt loves to dig. only thing is he doesnt dig down like tunnle how i have read other peoples horsfields do? maybe i will put a post on about it,soz to blab on forgot the question now lol,oh ye the cold areas i dont think its because its to warm in ur house as squirt does it aswell ,will just have to wait for someone with more experiance comes along later

You have kinds set off a thread that I wanted to ask.
I do have what I class as a viv. Its a big viv. Its 110cm by 30cm (I think its big compared to the shoebox he was in with 5 other torts when I bought him). Next month it will be 60cm wide. The substrate is about 2 inches think.
I class it as a viv as I have a lid on it, but the lid is not shut closed. I have a lid because I have mounted the ceramic bulb in there. On the back wall is the heat matt and UV strip light.
I think people kind of miss-understand me when I call it a viv. I class it as a small tort table with a lid. Controlling temperature I find ok. I have a Habistat thermo. I have mounted the temp sensor at substrate level under the basking light, and I have two thermometers down the length of the tank. Cool end is usually about 65 deg F (A little too nippy I think but I often find him chilling in his coconut husk at that end so he must like it?)

I understand peoples concerns when they ask me why a viv. Unfortuantly I cannot make the dimensions any bigger than 110cm x 60 cm. It will overhang the edge of the sofa but I feel its a small price to pay, losing one seat.
Your tort table does look neat I might add. Make another and put it on eBay, see what happens lol :oD

Personally you should nver let your tortoise roam around your room, they could pick up anything off the floor and eat it. It was on animal 24/7 the other day when a tortoise came in and it had eaten some paper clips.
Just a word of warning.

If you need your tortoise to stretch its legs i suggest a bigger enclosure.

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whats wrong with keeping them in a viv i kept mine in one for 2 years mine dont eat weeds he loves mix veg

A tortoise needs a proper cool spot, a table will always provide this whereas a viv wont as it is an enclosed unit and will always be warmer in there.

This is a response to blondesarah.
My floor gets swept everyday. Theres no chance of Balders eating anythinig rum. If I had children Id be classed as over protective. Before I let him wander a have a bloody good check. I have barricaded off under the sofa's.

The whole viv vs tort table is a shadey discussion. In my viv my tort has a good size to roam. A lot bigger that what I got him from. I feel that the area I have for him to roam is too small, But it is better than what he had.
He has 10 times his body length and 5 times wider.
I still fret that this is not enough, but its better than what he had, and everyday he has 13ft by 13ft to wander for a few hours.

In April I will have doubled his viv width. Hopefully this will be ample. I still want to find the difference between a viv an a tort table. As far as im concerned I have a tort table classed as viv. Only because it has a lid. The lid is not air tight. I make sure fresh air gets in. He is too small to go in the garden, considering the weather. The home I offer has the ideal temperatures that Red Foots need. 95 at one end and 70 at the other.

After I bathe him i put him in a towel because I know my bathroom is cold. Its really cold. I make allowances for this.

Its 02:30am, ive had a bit to drink. Theres so much I want to say but it would turn into a rant. I respect all views. You Blondesarah has helped me realise a standard 100W bulb was too bright for him. So i fixed it. On the advice on another member I moved the UV light onto the back wall of my "viv" because that would that was better.

My tort rocks. My tort was sold to me as a boy. We called it Baldrick. My tort is prob a girl. Its now called Balderella. Its happy. It will be even happier in April when its home becomes a tort table. People keep saying that you cannot keep a decent temperature in a viv. I can. Maybe im lucky. I made a viv, played about with air holes, and in 110cm I have a gradient of 95(ish) and 70.

Lets see what happens in an open top tort table. I reckon my temperatures will be all over the show. Hopfully im wrong.

Blondesarah, If its ok with you I will keep asking you questions.

Time for some desert sessions. Adios.

Love xxx

I was a bit tipsy last night. Ooops

I thought it was a great post

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Only trying to help

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