Hearing.

[Greta16]

I know the info is here so I'm sorry to ask, but when I search 'hearing' or 'can a tortoise hear' nothing comes up. So... how much can my tort actually hear? I know she sees well that's for sure! When I pass my hand under her lamp she may duck her head a bit. When I talk to her she doesn't respond( in a frightened way)at all. Basicly, I'm worried. Her home is in the kitchen. 15 feet away in the living room my 16 year old son is playing COD with the surround sound on. If any of you are familiar with COD you know it means automatic weapons firing almost constantly. I tell him to turn it down and he does but, could this be traumatizing her?

 

[Yvonne G]

They can hear, but not like mammals. Their hearing equipment isn't like ours. Some folks swear their tortoise comes when they call its name, but I think it's more the vibrations and recognized sounds rather than actually hearing the voice. I'm sure the tortoise feels the vibrations from the surround sound, but it has more than likely gotten used to it by now and realizes it's not causing him any harm.

 

[Greta16]

They can hear, but not like mammals. Their hearing equipment isn't like ours. Some folks swear their tortoise comes when they call its name, but I think it's more the vibrations and recognized sounds rather than actually hearing the voice. I'm sure the tortoise feels the vibrations from the surround sound, but it has more than likely gotten used to it by now and realizes it's not causing him any harm.

That's really what I was hoping!! I ask him to turn it down but when I'm not here I can only imagine how loud and vibrational it is. Usually when he's playing it's mid afternoon anyway when she's burrowed back in for a nap.

 

[Lyn W]

My tortoise always responds when I make clicking or tutting noises at him - for whatever reason - he lifts his head and looks about.
He also stops in his tracks when I call him when I pop into his room and he is walking away from me - but that may be because he's picked up my scent or just aware that something else is nearby from light changes.
There was a news item on the radio last year about scientists discovering that torts have a 'third eye' - in other words some sort of light sensitive patch on the top of their heads that makes them aware of changes around them before they actually see anything.
I'll see if I can find it.

 

[Greta16]

My tortoise always responds when I make clicking or tutting noises at him - for whatever reason - he lifts his head and looks about.
He also stops in his tracks when I call him when I pop into his room and he is walking away from me - but that may be because he's picked up my scent or just aware that something else is nearby from light changes.
There was a news item on the radio last year about scientists discovering that torts have a 'third eye' - in other words some sort of light sensitive patch on the top of their heads that makes them aware of changes around them before they actually see anything.
I'll see if I can find it.

That's would be great if you could find that! I know her sense of smell is great. She smells her food before she eats. Radish greens are not her favorite. When I got home this afternoon I picked her up since I didn't get to soak her yesterday. She looked at me then smelled my hand. It was quite obvious. I've had pets over the years, but 2 I've had a very special connection with, both female cats. I really hope over time my tort will really learn to trust me.

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

Yes, they can hear. Here was a discussion from last year: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Can-Torts-Hear?.127623/

 

[Greta16]

Yes, they can hear. Here was a discussion from last year: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Can-Torts-Hear?.127623/

Thanks for that, I'm not sure why it didn't come up in my search..so I'm going to take this that torts do hear, maybe a bit differently than us and some torts are just stubborn. Lol