Abnormal Tortoise Behavior

Question
QUESTION: I have a three year old red footed tortoise.  It's a male, he's around 4-5 pounds, and around 9 or so inches long.  I adopted him when he was just a month old. He lives by himself in an indoor enclosure of about 5 square feet. I've never had any health problems with him. He eats very well also. He is usually extremely friendly and mellow, and always sleeps very well.  Last night, he awoke irregularly at ten o'clock and began to act very wild.  He was charging around inside the terrarium and hissing. I've never seen him so angry.  I couldn't think of anything different about his schedule in the past few days.  He was in perfect health.  I gave him a bath, and he calmed down a bit, but didn't go back to sleep until eleven thirty.  Then, in the morning, he was perfectly normal.  What happened? Please give me some advice of what I can do to prevent this from happening again.

ANSWER: Hello Lia.
I would guess that something just spooked him. Perhaps a brush of cold air from the a/c, someone bump his table? or enclosure?
I would see how he acts today and if he is back to normal then just keep an eye on him. If you had bad weather this could contribute to his fear.  
I house several as well and if it is raining I have one who wants to be at your feet! You'd think he would want to be out in it as we live in Fla and we get the warm rain too all my others love the rain but not him. This being said, Id say keep an eye on him. many things could have triggered this,

You can go to my site at http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ITS-A_LOTTA-SULCATA/  there you can see all our rescues. Thank you for adopting! That helps so many

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: That may be so, but I am still not sure.  That seemsm like a good option for most tortoises, but I am not sure about mine. He is usually not frightened easily during storms, or when people bump him or touch him.  He sleeps extremely soundly at night, and doesn't wake up during storms.  What other option could be valid?

Answer
I'm sorry that you felt my answers were not what you were looking for. It is nearly impossible for me to tell you the reason he acted in such a manor. I can only suggest reasons.
Id like to assist you with the situation as I did with the information that was provided.
Sometimes tortoises do things we will never understand.  I hope he is well and continues to bring you happiness.

You rated me low and I wanted to express that it was unfair as there is no way for met to explain a behavior that is not common and there could be a million reasons as to why he did what he did.
Please understand people who do this are trying to assist and are doing so freely on their own time. We try to give the best advise we can and suggestions as well.
We all have reputations here and try to uphold them . I understand that you are disappointed that I could not give you an exact reason. I was upset as well. But please be understanding with any of us here and try to rate fairly and just.










Are you sure it is a male?
There are several reasons that he could have been upset.
It is really hard to give you a direct explanation.

Something could have spooked him. Maybe he heard something that scared him.; I'm sorry but I can not offer any other ideas.  He just sounds like he got startled and that is it.


How is he today?Now>