antisocial sulcata

[krissy2288]

Hey i got my tortoise from a pet store last year & she had been at the petstore for a year so she never got any attention, but for the past year i have tried to help her with her shyness and now i just need help, the only time she comes out of her shell is when she is in her cage or when you lift her up cuz she doesnt like it....i bribe her with food move away from her so she cant see me but she just sits there scared so if anyone can help. PLEASE DONT HESITATE...

here are some pics of her.

 

[Laura]

She is still young, go slow give her time, find her favorite food and hand feed her. She will look to you for treats. If she doesnt like to be picked up.. do so only when absolutely neccesary. We are big scary predators to them. Nothing in the wild would pick them up and coo at them.. only something about to eat them!

 

[krissy2288]

ok thanks i'll try

 

[janiedough]

i cant exactly pet percy but because his enclosure was in my room next to my bed he got used to my noises and my presence

now he is outside but he lets me sit next to him and watch him eat

i also call his name before i pick him up. then i feed him something good like cantaloupe or a strawberry or pumpkin.

 

[kevantheman35]

it took quite awhile for my sulcata to warm up to me. after i moved his enclosure into my room he seemed to be a lot more social. the other day he took food from my hand for the first time

 

[krissy2288]

yeah my tortoise lets me watch her cuz her house is in my room but she wont eat her food if i have my hand near her, and she get's really scared wen i pick her up...its anoying cuz wen she gets scared she pee's so i cant really take her around my house.

 

[Crazy1]

Krissy, you are young and I commend you for asking these questions.
People scream or cry when scared, Dogs sometimes bite or cower if scared tortoises hide in their shells and pee.
Most torts pee when they are scared. But this also depletes them of precious water which you do not want to do (this could cause her to become dehydrated). I know it is hard to not pick them up, hold them, carry them around with you and just generally love on them. But Torts are not like dogs or cats and don’t like to be handled much. For now I would try not to pick her up much, just continue to talk to her; let her hear your voice. Give her lots and lots of time. She will get more comfortable, but may never like you to pick her up. Remember to a tort that lives over 100 years, a year is little time at all. If you need to pick her up make sure she has something under her feet, or put her in a box to help make her feel more secure. Always remember once a tort is picked up its instinct tells it it’s going to be someone’s dinner. If that happened to you or I (felt we would be eaten when our feet left the ground) we would probably be so scared when someone picked us up it would cause us to pee too. For now enjoy the time you have with her inside as she will quickly grow too large for you to pick up and too large and destructive to house her inside. In time she will look to you as the food provider and may even follow you around the yard. But it does take lots of time.
Hope this helps some.

 

[krissy2288]

Thanks, and the only time i do pick her up is when i need to soak her or bring her outside to graze, i was just wondering if she was different than alot of other peoples torts.