Biting?

[cbarley2]

A weird thing just happened and so I need advice. Odie just gently bit me see several times when I put my hand in his enclosure to give him some love. I put my hand down flat with my palm facing up and fingers toward him. He rushed over like he usually does, gave me a few boops, and then gently bit several of my fingers. I picked him up and he is resting happily on my chest as I type this. He had food in his enclosure when this happened. Was he being aggressive/curious/hungry? Or was he trying to tell me he wanted to be picked up? He’s never done this before but I also don’t often place my hand like that, I usually just dangle my fingers and wait for him to boop. Any advice welcome.

 

[Tom]

We can't know what he was thinking. Most likely looking to see if he could get a bite of something to eat from the food god (you).

My advice: Move your hand out of the way if you don't want to be bit.

 

[wellington]

Most likely not the last one you mentioned, wanting to be picked up. They are not like a dog or cat this way. They really don't want you to even be around unless you have food.

 

[zolasmum]

A weird thing just happened and so I need advice. Odie just gently bit me see several times when I put my hand in his enclosure to give him some love. I put my hand down flat with my palm facing up and fingers toward him. He rushed over like he usually does, gave me a few boops, and then gently bit several of my fingers. I picked him up and he is resting happily on my chest as I type this. He had food in his enclosure when this happened. Was he being aggressive/curious/hungry? Or was he trying to tell me he wanted to be picked up? He’s never done this before but I also don’t often place my hand like that, I usually just dangle my fingers and wait for him to boop. Any advice welcome.

Zola sometimes does this, and I have wondered if it is meant as a friendly touch - after all, tortoises have very little exposed skin, so the inside of their mouths is one of the few places they can make tactile contact.
Angie

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Consider yourself lucky. My large Redfoot just bite chunks off first. Then decide if it's food or not afterwards.
They're not being mean. They just don't want to miss a possible snack.

 

[Cathie G]

Well... All my animals including my sweet little bunny will bite or scratch. My tortoise will too. Sometimes (the bunny) just doesn't want to be bothered at that time. Sometimes you smell edible. Like with my tortoise. He didn't look like it was revenge when he came aiming for my leg. But! I knew he was thinking about biting me by the look on his face. I moved my leg when he was close to nailing me 🤔 and just moved him elsewhere. I'm bigger 😃 Just consider those love bites if they didn't hurt.🤗