Most UN personable tortoise(s)

[XxDarkEuphoriaxX]

Ok, so everyone likes to talk about the "most personable tortoise."
What about the most UN personable tortoise species? Ones that don't really give a darn and just don't seem to be interested.

 

[Yvonne G]

I don't know if its true of the whole species, but here in my space, it the leopards.

 

[cdmay]

I don't know if its true of the whole species, but here in my space, it the leopards.

I would agree with that too. My leopards were incredibly introverted even after ten years. So were my wild caught star tortoises.
But then it might be better to call them persistently shy rather than dull.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

In my house it's my Russian tort Fat Nat. She has no personality and even after about 5 years acts afraid of me. But I generally have very personable species...

 

[Balboa]

Very interesting.

I'm assuming the unpersonable Leopards are all Babcocki, as this seems to run counter to what Tom says about Pardalis. I hope to hear his take on this.

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

About the least personable/most shy tort I've ever had was a Home's Hingeback...only had the one, so I've no 1st hand knowledege about if that's the norm for this species.

 

[Neal]

Psh.....not my leopards, they come out and great me! Not so much in the winter, but in the summer they follow me around everywhere when I'm in the backyard. The stars on the other hand are very shy. If I go out by their pen and they see me they will run and hide.

---

Babcocki's by the way.

 

[onarock]

I would agree with Neal on this its my Sri Lankan Stars. All they do is hide. My leopards on the other hand are as personable as any. I cant go near them if they are breeding because they will stop and walk over to me. I would ad that I dont feed them, they graze. Everyonce in a while I will throw something in there special for them to eat, but they rarely see me do it.

 

[Tom]

The adult parents of my pp leopards come running anytime someone comes over to their pen. I've never seen babcocks do this, even tough Neal says his do. I believe Neal, I've just never seen it.

Anyone whose ever been around a sulcata pen knows what I mean when I say they come running.

I've seen shy AND outgoing members of most the commonly kept species, but I've never seen a "friendly" star or babcock. I also don't know too much about the rarer species.

 

[cdmay]

Very interesting.

I'm assuming the unpersonable Leopards are all Babcocki, as this seems to run counter to what Tom says about Pardalis. I hope to hear his take on this.

Oh yeah, I should have mentioned that my leopards were of East African origin and thus were what are called 'babcocki'. The leopard tortoises that I have seen from South Africa--whether they are actually a different subspecies or not--have been completely different in behavior. The ones called pardalis pardalis act like typical sulcata and are personality plus.
Here is another entry for this contest that I have no personal experience although I have some good friends who have worked with them for years...spider tortoises of the genus Pyxis. The three friends of mine who maintain spider tortoises (and all of them are successful breeders of them too) claim that they are really not 'interesting' from a behavior standpoint. Unless you consider sitting in place for up to weeks at a time interesting. Of course, this is part of their survival instinct but it would drive me nuts with worry.
**** Bartlett once told me that his spider tortoises were like 'really pretty rocks, just without the personality of a rock".

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Interesting, I have never owned a leopard.

 

[egyptiandan]

I will definately agree with ****'s assessement of a Spider tortoise I'll go even further and say he was wrong about not having the personality of a rock. Mine definately have the personality of a rock.

Danny

 

[cdmay]

I will definately agree with ****'s assessement of a Spider tortoise I'll go even further and say he was wrong about not having the personality of a rock. Mine definately have the personality of a rock.

Danny

Danny, I'm laughing my butt off!
What **** meant was that rocks have more personality than his spider tortoises.

 

[egyptiandan]

I sometimes wonder if they aren't just rocks painted to look like Spider tortoises, though their food does disappear.

Always glad to pass out the chuckles.

Danny

 

[Balboa]

Bummer about the pretty rocks (spiders). That was one of those interesting, maybe someday breeds for me. Not so interested if they're boring LOL

 

[Tom]

Bummer about the pretty rocks (spiders). That was one of those interesting, maybe someday breeds for me. Not so interested if they're boring LOL

Haha. Better you find out now than after you have a bunch...

 

[Balboa]

Bummer about the pretty rocks (spiders). That was one of those interesting, maybe someday breeds for me. Not so interested if they're boring LOL

Haha. Better you find out now than after you have a bunch...

SOOOOOO true
especially considering the cost.
Yup folks, here's my $10,000 breeding colony of pretty rocks.

 

[Jacqui]

About the least personable/most shy tort I've ever had was a Home's Hingeback...only had the one, so I've no 1st hand knowledege about if that's the norm for this species.

I have some very personable and not at all shy Homes.

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

About the least personable/most shy tort I've ever had was a Home's Hingeback...only had the one, so I've no 1st hand knowledege about if that's the norm for this species.

I have some very personable and not at all shy Homes.

Had I known of you then, I'd've sent this miserable creature to you...I spent nearly $1K and a lot of time trying everything I (and various friends at 3 different zoos) could think of to create for it a happy home...

 

[Jacqui]

About the least personable/most shy tort I've ever had was a Home's Hingeback...only had the one, so I've no 1st hand knowledege about if that's the norm for this species.

I have some very personable and not at all shy Homes.

Had I known of you then, I'd've sent this miserable creature to you...I spent nearly $1K and a lot of time trying everything I (and various friends at 3 different zoos) could think of to create for it a happy home...

I am very impressed with folks who go to such ends to try and make their tortoises content. Sounds like perhaps in this case, you had one who would not have acted content no matter what was done for it.