Eating out of my hand!

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batchick

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We've had Ned, our cape angulate tortoise for almost a year now. He's a old adult rescue who is left as wild as possible in our garden. We try not to handle him much and although we supplement his diet, he largely forages in the garden. Over the year he's slowly got used to me checking up on him and not even pulling his head in when I come near. So, today, I brought him a few hibiscus flowers and put them down next to him, then thought I'd try and feed them to him by hand. Without any hesitation he just tucked right in.
It isn't much, but it felt like a big moment.
 

yoda3106

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It is a big moment :) when my 3 first eat of my hand for the first time, I felt a bond!! They do it now without hesitation and I try to feed them by hand every few weeks
 

batchick

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yoda3106 said:
It is a big moment :) when my 3 first eat of my hand for the first time, I felt a bond!! They do it now without hesitation and I try to feed them by hand every few weeks

It is great isn't it? We've had an interesting few week with him. Before winter (I'm in South Africa, so we've just had winter) we built him a really nice wood shelter, the Ned Shed. He used it constantly until winter, then when winter hit he chose to sleep under bushes in more exposed areas and now it is spring again and the weather has improved, he's moved back to the shelter. Crazy tort.
 

yoda3106

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batchick said:
It is great isn't it? We've had an interesting few week with him. Before winter (I'm in South Africa, so we've just had winter) we built him a really nice wood shelter, the Ned Shed. He used it constantly until winter, then when winter hit he chose to sleep under bushes in more exposed areas and now it is spring again and the weather has improved, he's moved back to the shelter. Crazy tort.

It is!! :) maybe he was doing this because it was too hot for him and he wanted to get in the shade during the hottest parts of the days, then in the winter, he may have felt that it was cool enough too sleep out under the bushes and the stars, if you understand!! I live in Cyprus and my torts do this, come out in the morning, then hide all day when it's hot, then come out in the evening when it cools lol they've had a shock today thou, we've had a big thunder and lightening storm with heavy rain lol not seen them all day haha (they are fine, I've checked)
 

batchick

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Good thought. The structure we built sits in a sheltered spot under the eaves of the roof and does not get any winter sun, so perhaps it was just too cold and dark for him. Maybe he'd rather be exposed and then have the chance to take advantage when the sun came out, rather than stay in and miss it. Glad your storm has cleared. Having seen the storms we had over winter and then Ned being up and about the next day, you get a sense of how resilient these guys are.
 

yoda3106

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batchick said:
Good thought. The structure we built sits in a sheltered spot under the eaves of the roof and does not get any winter sun, so perhaps it was just too cold and dark for him. Maybe he'd rather be exposed and then have the chance to take advantage when the sun came out, rather than stay in and miss it. Glad your storm has cleared. Having seen the storms we had over winter and then Ned being up and about the next day, you get a sense of how resilient these guys are.

Storms still going on, it came back!! Just lightening now, no rain, no thunder!! I've been brave and left them be tonight outside, I do worry too much, they are tough little guys, I dont know why I worry!! Natural maybe?? They should be fine :)
 

aznwinx

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Haha mine ate out of my hand the first day I got him.
 

green man

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I know what you mean, i felt that bond too. And I thought it was a big deal when my new baby Russian started eating out of my hand.

But then a lot of people saw his picture and said he's just a fatty who wants some greens. Kind of disappointing..
 
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