it is weird question!

Gillian M

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From this forum. there was a time i interested in this topic. oh this topic was super hot back then, i will try to find the link tomorrow if i have time. until now i don't know which one is true. there were proves of they can hear like tidgy. there were proves also they can't hear like tom stated before, he was calling his tortoises and approached slowly from back side, and every time they startled. stop debating. i also don't know which one is true lol.
I read that torts do not hear at TFO as well.
 

Tidgy's Dad

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From this forum. there was a time i interested in this topic. oh this topic was super hot back then, i will try to find the link tomorrow if i have time. until now i don't know which one is true. there were proves of they can hear like tidgy. there were proves also they can't hear like tom stated before, he was calling his tortoises and approached slowly from back side, and every time they startled. stop debating. i also don't know which one is true lol.
Goodness!
Not Tidgy! I put that in as a joke and to show my own experience, but scientifically it is meaningless.
Read the science out there on the web.
Dozens of proper surveys.
None say they are deaf.
 

Fredkas

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WRONG, Gillian, like tortoises should be kept dry, that they are okay eating off sand , that coil bulbs are lovely, we have learned and moved on.
Reptiles, including tortoises , do hear, please read the research on line conducted by eminent scientists in controlled conditions that conclusively prove that they can hear. This is empirical scientific observation not a survey conducted on one tortoise you might happen to own. Find me one modern scientific study that shows they are deaf. There are none.
If you wish to continue believing the world is flat, then that's up to you.
But it isn't..
Oh i really wish you are right. because only you are right then i will have possibility to train toro several commands. i think i will start to explore more into this subject.

Now, if we can know what is the highest pitch they can hear, i will always talk to them within their hearing range.
 

Tidgy's Dad

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Oh i really wish you are right. because only you are right then i will have possibility to train toro several commands. i think i will start to explore more into this subject.
Next to impossible, they won't hear your commands because most of your vocalisations will be beyond their range of hearing.
But if you get the frequency right, maybe, i'd be interested to hear the results.:)
They don't hear most of what we can, but they can hear some of what we don't.
It's like the dog whistle, but in reverse, that's high frequency sounds that a dog and many other animals and sometimes small children can hear, but we can't.
 

Big Charlie

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Goodness!
They can hear, not in the same way or on the same frequencies as we can, and they don't react to sound in the same way that we do, but they can hear.
They have functional, much evolved hearing that has been scientifically proven to be effective for the needs of a tortoise.
See my link above and https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3544720/
There are many more on the net.
In short they hear low frequency sounds in a fairly narrow bandwidth , but their top end slightly overlaps our bottom end so some low frequency sounds you can hear can also be heard by the torts but our higher range cannot be heard by them and their lower range cannot be heard by us.
When my son was a baby, I suspected he might have some hearing impairment because he didn't react the way I expected. I even resorted to standing behind him and clapping my hands and didn't get a response. We took him to a place where they were able to test hearing in infants. The technician was able to see a reaction to some sounds and he praised my son. Once my son realized that his reaction was provoking the praise, he stopped reacting. Basically he learned to outwit the test. He is now an adult and has no hearing problem, nor ever did. He had and has "selective hearing!"

Torts could be the same way. They don't react even if they hear something because it isn't important to them. I've been able to call Charlie when he is heading away from me and see him turn around. Sometimes I have to call more than once. He has been conditioned to expect a treat when I call.
 

Big Charlie

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I read sometimes ago that there was an experiment about this and they concluded that tortoises cannot hear. however some believe like what you are saying. and like your link, there is a study too that say they can hear.
Confusing, i am still hoping they can hear. btw do you know based on what i pick my tort's name?
From the exact theories that you believe :p. Toro.. low frequency. all the way low.
So i don't know which side i stand
I thought you picked the name Toro because that is a brand of lawnmowers, and that is basically what sulcatas are!
 

Fredkas

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When my son was a baby, I suspected he might have some hearing impairment because he didn't react the way I expected. I even resorted to standing behind him and clapping my hands and didn't get a response. We took him to a place where they were able to test hearing in infants. The technician was able to see a reaction to some sounds and he praised my son. Once my son realized that his reaction was provoking the praise, he stopped reacting. Basically he learned to outwit the test. He is now an adult and has no hearing problem, nor ever did. He had and has "selective hearing!"

Torts could be the same way. They don't react even if they hear something because it isn't important to them. I've been able to call Charlie when he is heading away from me and see him turn around. Sometimes I have to call more than once. He has been conditioned to expect a treat when I call.
So glad to hear this!

I thought you picked the name Toro because that is a brand of lawnmowers, and that is basically what sulcatas are!
Oh, i picked the perfect name!
First i want a name with "o" or "u". then it came up toro, because
1. The most valued sushi ingredient is toro, the fatty cut of the fish. Toro is one of the more expensive items on the menu, prized for its taste, texture, and scarcity.
"this is because my toro is so valuable to me."
2. google images came out "toro" in spanish language is a "bull".
"When toro becomes monster, he sure have strength like a bull."
3. i just get it today. HOLY ****. IT IS A LAWNMOWER!!!!!

Can't get a better name!!
images
 
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