Every tortoise and tortoise species are different...I also keep Sulcata...I have one who is about 7 yrs old and 50 lbs...I have had him since he was a yearling...I have always handled my torts...a lot...about 3 weeks ago I was picking up poop in the tort shed and Big Sam came up to me and I really wasn't paying attention to him, and he bit my hand needing 4 stitches. he wasn't being mean...he was just being a tortoise. Remember...they are used to grabbing grass and yanking it out of the ground...when they bite a person they don't let go and those sharp jaws cut and cut bad...Sam is an aggressive male as far as other male tortoises are concerned...and has gotten in with 2 other male tortoises and turned both on to their backs...so it kinda depends...but I believe in handling tortoises...and I don't believe they are naturally mean...hi i was just wondering if tortoises tend to get a little aggressive or nervous with less handling over time? (similar to how snakes behave).
i have a young sulcata, i have no issues but was just curious!
I don't think it has anything to do with handling. More to do with individual personality and species. Every once I a while I see a "super male" Testudo tortoise that wants to ram, bite and attack everything. Many people say "my tortoise hates me..." because it is behaving like a typical reptile and not seeking attention from them. My SA leopard males really do hate me though. They come running any time they see me and ram or bite me to get me out of their pen. If you stick around long enough, they will do this to other people too, but they come after me with a zeal and fervor like no other. They see me as an intruder in their territory, and somehow I am a worse intruder than any other person who enters their territory.hi i was just wondering if tortoises tend to get a little aggressive or nervous with less handling over time? (similar to how snakes behave).
i have a young sulcata, i have no issues but was just curious!
I have a little Russian. He's totally a vegan and so cute. I know he'd never bite me on purpose except for specific to tortoise reasons. Like I smell like an herb he likes. Or me doing something to him that's scary. He only threatened So I don't know if he would have bit me. I doubt it but still I watch all of my animals when I'm dealing with them. I have a house rabbit that warns me that I'm being aggravating if I go past her space. A house cat that bit me because I stopped petting him also. So I love them but I trust them to be their little animal self too.hi i was just wondering if tortoises tend to get a little aggressive or nervous with less handling over time? (similar to how snakes behave).
i have a young sulcata, i have no issues but was just curious!
Omg! I had no idea they could be that territorial w/ people! With each other, sure... Even Morla got this different demeanor when I put her in front of a mirror!
I probably did not explain myself very good. Big Sam did not bite me out of meanness...I felt him sniff my hand...but as usual I was thinking about something else, and I must have smelled good to him because he sniffed and bit...there's no getting a big tortoise to let go if he doesn't want to...so the pain kinda goes from red to black and some how or for some reason they all the sudden let go. I normally wouldn't have gone to the hospital but it wouldn't stop bleeding. Big Sam is not aggressive or territorial to people(notice I said that after describing a bloody bite) ...I dropped my guard, and you shouldn't do that with any animal...And, yes...Bob was a Sulcata...
I've had box turtles who became aggressive. My male red foot chases after the female with fierce persistence (she knows where to hide when he does) and it can look like aggression, but it's courting behavior.hi i was just wondering if tortoises tend to get a little aggressive or nervous with less handling over time? (similar to how snakes behave).
i have a young sulcata, i have no issues but was just curious!
I did not know Sullys would bite. Head ram sure but biting no.
Evidently if you're yummy....lol
hi i was just wondering if tortoises tend to get a little aggressive or nervous with less handling over time? (similar to how snakes behave).
i have a young sulcata, i have no issues but was just curious!
