Do tortoises play?

[Digger&Blinky]

Hello I recently put a bouncy ball in my rt enclosure he seems to roll it into his borrows and sleeps with it there he is quite attached to it.

 

[Big Charlie]

I don't think they play. I don't think they get attached to things.

 

[Digger&Blinky]

...

 

[JoesMum]

He isn't playing. He possibly thinks it's another tortoise that needs removing or matings with. If you confirm he's a male he will get worse as he gets older.

My male Greek versus the lawnmower, the wheely bin, buckets, shoes, rocks... pretty much anything really... They're all there to be mounted or rammed. It's not play; it is territorial behaviour

 

[Digger&Blinky]

Lol he kinda does roll it around

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I keep a large bouncy ball in my pen.
It's been there since I had a very aggressive male that has been re homed.
Some tortoises will ram and push a ball because they think it's another animal. Not because they are playing.
In fact, I began to wonder if it was actually harmful having such a stressed out tortoise.
The ball has been sitting in the same spot for months now because my group is very calm.
Thank GOD.

 

[Gillian M]

I don't think your tort is playing with that bouncing ball either.

I placed a small bouncing ball in my tort's enclosure. He didn't seem to be in the least interested.

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

Yes.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

When I moved here to the rainy world my Sulcata weighed about 40 pounds. I started throwing a 5 gallon bucket at him. A few times he sucked himself in, then he started going and smelling the bucket, I'd kick the bucket toward him and by the time he was around 100 pounds he'd gular it back toward me. We spent most of our time together so I tried to teach him stuff. He got so he knew he was supposed to get that bucket back to me. I taught him to follow me anywhere, without bribes. It takes a while, my story is short but it took several months for the soccer learning. Bob learned a lot more than I thought tortoises were capable of doing. But he never played by himself. I've seen him chase butterflies. He did chase feral cats or the rats in the back.It's funny how or why either of those animals would run from a tortoise. Bob was really fun......and smarter than the average tort who lives alone in a yard without much social interaction. I believe you can have a different tortoise with a little work. Bob was very popular and well known in Corvallis. All they asked me, "aren't you Bob's mother? Is he coming for Christmas???" Sad

 

[Yvonne G]

I love that picture, Maggie.

 

[BrianWI]

One of my chacos seemed very fond of our cat. He'd nap up against her a lot for the body heat, but even when he wasn't doing that, he would sit by her, follow her around, etc. No biting, no ramming. Be a bit dangerous with a big sulcata though, probably break the cat.

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

One of my chacos seemed very fond of our cat. He'd nap up against her a lot for the body heat, but even when he wasn't doing that, he would sit by her, follow her around, etc. No biting, no ramming. Be a bit dangerous with a big sulcata though, probably break the cat.

I didn't know you had chacos- have you posted photos here? They're beautiful tortoises.

 

[BrianWI]

I had them when I was a kid. I don't have any now.