Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I need help. I will try to make this as short as possible.
I've had a female Burmese Mountain tortoise for several years.
Recently, we laid new sod near her house. She dug up/dragged the grass a good distance to her enclosure, and looked to be making a nest, for lack of a better word.
I had long planned to move her house to another higher, dryer part of the yard due to all the rain we've been getting this year in Florida(and the upcoming hurricane season)...I did that, and also moved all the grass she had accumulated with it.
Now, she is digging up/dragging all the ground plants and grass that is around her house, and making a pile of it in one corner of her enclosure. She does it all day long... I even dumped a large pile of grass clippings there. She dragged that inside the house, then continued with the "live" stuff.
My wife is not happy with all the destruction in the yard, so I have to come up with a solution. I really don't want to sell her/put her up for adoption, but I will if I can't resolve this problem...
Help!

I do not work with this species but have read about them. Sean Mckeown wrote a detailed article documenting this nesting behavior when he was curator/keeper at a Hawaiian Zoo. You should seek it out. Any chance your tortoise is fertile and soon to produce/lay eggs? If not, I would get a male and be happy about it. I would provide nesting materials, as they use rotting vegetation, so probably trimmings from plants in the area and coarse grasses would work. Maybe this would give your sod lawn a break. Perhaps this species does not fit in well with suburbia neat lawn landscaping themes, but would do well if given a less tidy but more natural enclosure, with abundant leaf litter to move about.

Your a lucky man! Your wife must really like you!

I have similar "discussions" with my wife about how I've let the lawn go wild. By not using pesticides, there are violets, clover, and of coarse a few dandelions. The grass is nearly gone in several spots from torts eating it down.

For me, the yard is my castle and the house is my wife's.

If your life is better for taking care of one of the most unique species of tortoise on earth, stand your ground, pile on the organic nest building materials, and get a mature male tortoise if you don't have one. Tell your wife it's an "investment", tell her that new sod will be cheap if you ever need to move.

If that fails, move to plan B; backyard beautification. Build a large pen out of expensive materials that looks really good. Maybe hide the nest building activities behind a landscaped stone wall with flower boxes along the top, and trees or shrubs that create visual barriers.

Good luck,

John

>>I need help. I will try to make this as short as possible.
>>I've had a female Burmese Mountain tortoise for several years.
>>Recently, we laid new sod near her house. She dug up/dragged the grass a good distance to her enclosure, and looked to be making a nest, for lack of a better word.
>>I had long planned to move her house to another higher, dryer part of the yard due to all the rain we've been getting this year in Florida(and the upcoming hurricane season)...I did that, and also moved all the grass she had accumulated with it.
>>Now, she is digging up/dragging all the ground plants and grass that is around her house, and making a pile of it in one corner of her enclosure. She does it all day long... I even dumped a large pile of grass clippings there. She dragged that inside the house, then continued with the "live" stuff.
>>My wife is not happy with all the destruction in the yard, so I have to come up with a solution. I really don't want to sell her/put her up for adoption, but I will if I can't resolve this problem...
>>Help!

Do tortoises of this species dig deeply as sulcatas do, or do they just scrape up the lawn surface? I'm wondering because I am considering M. emys as a backyard pet here in Miami. They should like the climate. I don't really care if they deface the cosmetics of our fenced yard (all-natural grass, short weeds, and some trees and bushes) but the coral is just under the surface so if they need to really dig they might not be happy here. Also since this is a rental house I would prefer to avoid sinking in extra below-ground fencing in addition to the existing sturdy fence.

Thanks for your insights,

Paul