Very head shy sulcatta

[jojay327]

Sorry not sure if I am in the right spot ( new to the forum ) I am interested in getting a sulcatta, he is about 5 years old and in perfect shape, he has the smoothest shell i have seen on a sulcatta. He is fed western timothy mixed with a small amount of greens and carrots, along with mazuri. The only problem is he has had very little people interaction and is very head shy. Will they get over this quickly with attention and hand feeding? Thanks Jay

 

[dmarcus]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

It may take some time and interaction before he gets used to you being around, I have had my 6 year old since he was hatchling and he gets mad when I am around sometimes. I would avoid the hand feeding, the bites can be very painful..

 

[Maggie Cummings]

No hand feeding but putting one piece at a time with you sitting on the floor next to him will do the trick. But hand feeding leads to biting so we recommend not doing it. But if you want to know that you can bring him out of his shyness...yep you can. With patience of course...

 

[nikki0601]

The biting hurts, even with babies, was hand feeding my 12 week old the other day, he got me, I felt it pretty good, stung pretty good

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome.

 

[evlinLoutries]

hello, and welcome to the forum!

sure u can, but u need time to change his behaviour..

but a big tort, will hurt u if they bite u accidentally..

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

My typical response to questions like this is: "Do you like it when people mess with your head?"

My juvenile is still head-shy, but I'll let him grow out of it when he's ready. I really don't have a lot of time to sit down and try to handfeed him anyway, so it's not a big deal to me. I'm confident when he gets larger, he'll appreciate head rubs and neck scratches, as does every other adult sulcata tortoise I've encountered.

 

[steven]

One thing I noticed with mine was when he got to be more comfortable, I would pet his shell and move towards his head. Once i got close to his head it was a slow transition from shell to head, and gradually he became used to it. He likes to have his head rubbed now, and mine is only 5 months old. Just takes time.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Jay:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

May we know where you are?

Do you have space for a very large sulcata that has to be kept warm in the winter?

 

[laramie]

Hi and welcome to the forum

 

[Yash Raj]

Welcome.

 

[blafiriravt]

Welcome to the forum

 

[pdrobber]

welcome

 

[jojay327]

Hi Jay:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

May we know where you are?

Do you have space for a very large sulcata that has to be kept warm in the winter?

She is going spend this winter indoors, although the weather has been great so she is outside everyday. She is a great eater on grass and hay ( thank god ) I am in South carolina. She is going to have a 8' x 4' enclosure for this winter. Thanks Jason

 

[Tom]

They all have different personalities, but most of the time, with patience and effort, progress can be made.

I did not know so many people didn't like hand feeding. I do it all the time and so do my guests. I think its a great way to get them more interested in people and less fearful. I have never been bitten and neither have any of my guests. I just use long enough pieces of stuff and keep my hands away from the choppers. I guess that's the benefit of a forum... lots of different opinions.

 

[pam]

Welcome

 

[TORTOISEMAN1]

What they said! lol