Hi there, my tortoise is a spur thighed, 1 year old. We didn't hibernate him as was told was too young this year. I have him indoors in large Vivarium, with lights etc, I feed him daily and he loves his good. However he just hacks up and down his cage fast, from one end to the other constantly. I've had to remove logs Etc as he kept climbing up everything and fell over onto his back twice. Any ideas why he is doing this? He looks healthy but I'm worried in case he's distressed? He has been indoors now for at least 8 weeks so nothing has changed. Thankyou, Tracey.

It sounds like distress due to overheating. Vivariums are totally unsuitable for this reason as it's impossible to get a heat gradient. Tortoises need to be able to choose theri temperatures so the enclosure should range from normal room temperature at one end and 30-32 degrees C at the other. If he has been outdoors in summer and then brought inside to something hot and humid in winter, this will cause stress and the only way he can tell you is to pace up and down. He needs to be inopen topped accomodation with free range of a large area, at least three feet long with a good temperature gradient and deep enough soil so that he can dig down and disappear to thermoregulate properly.

Tortoise hibernate from the first year, biut if you have only had him a few weeks then it's best to get to know him first to determine if he is healthy or not.

Hope this helps

Sue

www.tortsmad.com

Thankyou Sue, that's great, I will now change his living area, thankyou for your advice, that really helps.