Human touch

how do I get my fred used to human touch? Some times he let me pet him but sometimes pulls back into his shell. Do they like their shell
Scratched? With the size he’s gonna be I don’t want him scared of me

My little fred.

Feeding, handling, eventually he will get used to you. He may always pull in, but will pop back out when feeling safe. I found If you try to approach from in front then over the top they pull in less.

Will he get used to my dogs? They are harmless and used to Play with my baby rabbits

Never ever let the dogs near him without 100% full attention to watching the dogs. Your tort will become a Chew toy. We have seen it too many times. Even dogs that are well trained and that have lived with tortoises for years, still eventually turned and killed the family tort.

My sulcata has always been stress out by the presence of dogs in the yard. Even if the dogs don't go near the tortoise he gets stressed.

My advice would be don't hand feed him too much. It's surprising how quickly they get used to that.
My 8 year old (approx) leopard was ill a couple of months ago and stopped eating, so I started hand feeding him to make sure he was getting something and I was so relieved that he was taking the food.
Since then I have had terrible trouble since getting him back to feeding himself even though he always did for years previously.
I would leave the food in his room as usual but all he did was walk past it and through it.
As soon as I came home he would eagerly eat from my hand so he was obviously hungry.
Now he is much better I am dishing out tough love and he either eats by himself or goes without.
It's hard when he doesn't eat as much as he should because he his quite active, but I keep an eye on his weight and he is getting the idea and gradually putting the grams back on.

lokibaby25 said:

how do I get my fred used to human touch? Some times he let me pet him but sometimes pulls back into his shell. Do they like their shell
Scratched? With the size he’s gonna be I don’t want him scared of me

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As much handling as you MUST do in baby tort’s first year will be PLENTY for him to get used to it. I fed mine twice a day, took them out of the terrarium daily for the natural sun bathing (1/2hr a day), then your daily bath that is really GOOD to do (DAILY) in the first year). Then after each bath I’d inspect mine head to toe for any problems, scratches, insect bites, anything unusual or out of ordinary, check the shell, scales, skin, eyes, nose, tail/vent, and in my case, about once a week coco oil rubdown (this is just something that I like to do) around the time I weigh/measure them. One of mine was never shy from the get go, the other one would pull in at times and to this day, gets startled easier and pulls in bfr realizing “it’s ok”. Just gentle handling, daily, they are creatures of habit and like the routine. Mine are very cute when they just chill on my lap during their coco oil massage. They even seem to enjoy having their head/neck rubbed, like I feel gentle pushing against my hand, you know, like a cat rubbing against your legs kinda thing. Just give him time and do not be as shy as he is. You are the one in charge, and his food provider. He will get this and in time will trust you

It seems that with any animal they just have their own personalities. My 2 year old RT tolerates me handling it for the daily care that Pearly mentioned and my 8 month old Dalmatian does not seem to mind at all and keeps his little head out while I talk to him by holding him close and scratching his head. Give it time. I think some are just a little more untrusting for awhile.

I talk to Daisy, feed her a bit by hand then put her weeds down in front of her and she runs to it. She lets me touch her legs and head during soaks and when moving her one enclosure to the other.

Kristy1970 said:

I talk to Daisy, feed her a bit by hand then put her weeds down in front of her and she runs to it. She lets me touch her legs and head during soaks and when moving her one enclosure to the other.

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