No matter what kind of animal you care for, it is important to provide your pet with ample opportunities for mental enrichment. No animal should ever be forced to live in an empty habitat with nothing to explore or play with.
This obviously applies to tortoises too. Here, I’ll explain some of the best ways to provide enrichment opportunities for your tortoise so that you can ensure your pet lives a full and enjoyable life.
The 9 Best Enrichment Items for Your Tortoise’s Enclosure
Tortoises don’t really need “toys” in the same way dogs, cats, or birds may, but they still deserve the chance to enjoy enrichment items placed in their habitat. The following should all work well and provide your pet with more stimulation.
- Cuttlebone: Cuttlebones – the internal bones of a cuttlefish – are great sources of calcium, and most tortoises will voluntarily consume them as necessary to meet their calcium needs. But they can also provide a bit of enrichment for tortoises, as it takes a little work to break off and consume small pieces. For additional enrichment value, move the cuttlebone pieces throughout the enclosure periodically so that your tortoise has to hunt around and find them.
- Unusual or Interesting Foods: While you should always select food items based on their nutritional value and your tortoise’s dietary needs, it is a good idea to vary your pet’s diet periodically. This not only helps provide the kind of dietary variety most animals enjoy, but it will provide mental stimulation too, as your pet has to explore the new item when trying to figure out how to consume it. Seasonally available food items work well for this, such as some spineless cactus pads. Wild-collected items, such as dandelions collected from pesticide- and herbicide-free lawns, are also great options to mix in from time to time.
- Natural Wood Items: Driftwood, grapevine, and large branches from tortoise-safe tree species (such as oaks) all provide your tortoise with interesting things to explore. Just stick to non-sappy species and always ensure the wood is clean before adding it to your tortoise’s enclosure. This is best accomplished with the help of some hot water and a stiff, wire-bristled brush. Alternatively, you can simply sand the wood to remove any surface contaminants. Try to stick to lightweight pieces, so they won’t present a safety hazard to your pet.
- Rocks of Varying Shapes: Rocks and stones make excellent enrichment items for tortoises, as they’re generally affordable (if not outright free), durable, and easy to clean. They also offer climbing opportunities, which can be especially valuable for some species, such as pancake tortoises (Malacochersus tornieri). However, it is imperative that you set up the rocks in a safe manner. Among other things, this means being sure that the rocks are resting on the floor of the habitat, rather than on top of the substrate. This will prevent your tortoise from becoming crushed if he burrows beneath the rock.
- Commercial Habitat Decorations: There are a variety of commercially produced reptile enclosure decorations available at most pet stores that can provide additional enrichment value for your pet. These include everything from realistic-looking hollow logs and caves to faux skulls and historical ruins. Just be sure that you select items that are made from safe materials and don’t present potential injury hazards (such as sharp protruding parts).
- Different Substrates: You’ll want to choose a suitable substrate for the majority of your pet’s enclosure based on his environmental needs. For example, you may want to use cypress mulch for a rainforest-dwelling red-footed tortoise (Chelonoidis carbonarius) or a relatively dry soil-and-sand mix for desert-dwelling sulcatas (Centrochelys sulcata). However, it is usually permissible to provide a small area within the enclosure that contains a different type of substrate. This will help give your pet something different to explore, and it may even help encourage your pet’s burrowing instincts.
- Live Plants: Live, non-toxic plants can be an excellent addition to your tortoise’s enclosure (artificial plants should be avoided entirely, as your tortoise may try to eat them, which could lead to intestinal obstructions). Live plants not only offer your pet places to explore and hide, but they also contribute new, interesting odors to the enclosure. And, of course, your tortoise may consider eating them too. Hibiscus plants are one of the best options when they can be grown, but fig trees, mulberry trees, and aloe plants are also good options.
- Ramps and “Bridges”: Though you must be mindful to prevent your tortoise from falling, you can include various homemade ramps and bridges in your tortoise’s enclosure. By adding rails or sidewalls, you can usually reduce the risk of a fall enough to consider them safe. Ramps and bridges also help encourage your tortoise to obtain a bit more exercise, which is almost always a good thing.
- Another Tortoise: We certainly wouldn’t consider another tortoise a “toy,” but the point remains – another tortoise will provide considerable enrichment value to your pet’s enclosure. Just be sure that you select another member of the same species and that you ensure the animals are compatible before leaving them together over the long term. It’s also important that you keep your new tortoise in a quarantine enclosure for several months until your vet is satisfied that he or she is healthy and not harboring any diseases or parasites. Note that some tortoise species will work better when kept with members of the opposite sex, while others will exhibit the opposite trend.
Tortoise Enrichment Activities
In addition to placing new items in your pet’s enclosure and encouraging them to burrow in tortoise-friendly bedding, there are activities you can allow your pet to enjoy that’ll also be helpful for ensuring your pet lives a full, stimulating life. Some of the best activities include:
- Walkabouts: Simply taking your tortoise outside to walk around your yard can be a wonderful way to spice up his daily life. This is especially true of indoor-reared tortoises, but it can even be nice for those living outside to get the chance to explore new parts of the yard. Just be sure to monitor your tortoise constantly while doing so – they can slip into dense vegetation and disappear remarkably quickly.
- Rain Showers: Many tortoises seem to enjoy “playing” in the rain. You can certainly accomplish this by taking your tortoise outdoors during rain showers (provided that the temperatures are still warm – you don’t want your tortoise to catch a chill). But for safety’s sake, avoid doing so when there is lightning or thunder. However, you don’t have to wait for rainy weather, either. You can simply set up a lawn sprinkler or garden hose to make your own rain shower whenever you like.
- Field Trips: You don’t have to limit your pet’s walkabouts to your own property – you can take him on “field trips,” which allow him to explore even more novel locations. Just be sure that you select safe sites that have not been sprayed with pesticides or other harmful chemicals. Natural parks and nature preserves are often a good choice, but check with the staff first to be sure you won’t break the rules. You could even consider taking him to a big box pet store to walk around – most welcome “leashed pets” of all kinds. However, this may expose your pet to communicable diseases, so weigh the pros and cons of such activities carefully.
Citations
- California Turtle & Tortoise Club – Growing Plants for Tortoise Yards
- Tortoise Library – Enrichments
- SciTechDaily – Tortoises Have Amazing Long-Term Memory and Greatly Underestimated Intelligence
