There are some tortoise behaviors that seem normal and natural, but there are some behaviors that seem quite odd and unnatural, like the animal hitting glass.
This article looks into why your tortoise keeps hitting the glass.
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Why does my tortoise keep hitting the glass?
Your pet, similar to other animals, doesn’t understand glass and can frequently be seen banging on the glass of its tank.
Here is why your tortoise may be doing this:
It thinks it‘s reflection is another tortoise:
Because your pet doesn’t understand how glass works, it doesn’t understand that the reflection in the glass that it sees is its own reflection and not another tortoise.
When tortoises see other tortoises they try to walk towards them.
Your pet, in this case, will walk towards the ‘other’ tortoise and hit the glass because it doesn’t understand that the reflection in front of it is not another tortoise.
It doesn’t know it’s in a tank:
Similarly to the above reason, your tortoise will walk into the glass because it doesn’t understand that the clear thing in front of it is actually solid and that it is in a glass tank.
Clear objects aren’t common in nature so this likely is your pet’s first time seeing something clear so it will react oddly.
Your pet will keep hitting the glass because it is trying to get across the room without realizing that it can’t move past its tank.
What to do:
The animal doesn’t understand that glass is solid so you’d have to use something opaque on the glass to help the animal understand that it is solid.
You can use a piece of plasterboard or another opaque object against the glass on the outside of the tank.
You can also only cover the bottom part of the tank with some brown tape so the animal knows that it can’t escape.
It wants to rest:
In this case the tortoise not only wants to travel to the other side of the room and can’t, it is hitting the glass because it is trying to get somewhere darker to relax in.
There may be a dark area across the room that your pet is trying to get to.
These animals like darker spaces to relax in. Darker spaces are usually enclosed and allow them to be hidden, relax, take a break, and get away from stimuli.
What to do:
If your pet is looking for somewhere to relax then consider getting a container like a storage box for the animal to hide under.
Leave this container in your pet’s enclosure.
It wants to escape:
If your pet knows that it is enclosed then it may be hitting the glass because it wants to escape.
These animals aren’t exactly designed to live in enclosed spaces, some will be happy with their enclosed environment and others will try to escape.
What to do:
You can get your little reptile out of its enclosure from time to time to get it to feel better.
Doing this will give it more mental stimulation and allow it to exercise.
Allow your pet to roam around your home, on your terrace, and in your garden too.
Getting your tortoise a bigger enclosure, so it can roam around more freely, is also recommended.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other turtle/tortoise related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Why Is My Tortoise So Active At Night?, White Spots On Turtle Head, Turtle With White Spots On Head, White Spots On Turtle Feet, Can A Tortoise Go Into Shock?, Why Does My Turtle Follow Me?, Turtle Biting Shell, Why Is My Turtle Biting Everything?, Tortoise Skin Rot