Handling red foots

[jerry the tortoise]

Can red foot torts be handled outside of their enclosure and if so how long for

 

[N2TORTS]

What are your temps ? ......Predators’ ......2 legged perp's included?

 

[Madkins007]

In the wild, if a tortoise is picked up, it is almost certainly going to die, so this stresses them out. Some people say they have 'tamed' their tortoises, or conditioned them to handling.

My thoughts are that if you want an animal to handle, get something that likes it more.

 

[wellington]

I don't agree with not handling them. I pick my leopard up twice every day, to take him outside and then again to bring him in. Every other day, is soak day, so he his handled four times on those days. I also might pick him up just because. I don't see any signs of stress what so ever. I feel,the more you do handle them the less stressed they will be. Now, I don't handle him for long. A couple kisses on the head, a quick look over and then I put him down. In the winter months, I hold him on my lap for a while and hand feed him. I say handle often, just not for long.

 

[jerry the tortoise]

What are your temps ? ......Predators’ ......2 legged perp's included?

The temperatures are 30-32 degrees during the day and 22 degrees at night

 

[terryo]

I agree with Mark. The only time I handle my box turtles and tortoises are to check them if I notice something's not right, and to move them if I'm cleaning an enclosure. Mine are all friendly and come when they see me, looking for a treat, which I always have for them. Not saying it's wrong....just how I do it.

 

[jerry the tortoise]

I don't agree with not handling them. I pick my leopard up twice every day, to take him outside and then again to bring him in. Every other day, is soak day, so he his handled four times on those days. I also might pick him up just because. I don't see any signs of stress what so ever. I feel,the more you do handle them the less stressed they will be. Now, I don't handle him for long. A couple kisses on the head, a quick look over and then I put him down. In the winter months, I hold him on my lap for a while and hand feed him. I say handle often, just not for long.

I totally agree I usually take my tort out once a day and hand feed him

 

[fiftyfive]

My red foot DEMANDS that I pick him up daily. He loves taking baths while listening to 80s music and getting his head pet. He will also come running over when the water spray can is wetting down his enclosure. He pretends he doesn't like it, but then comes running to get under it and also wants to be pet more. Now he seems to think hand feeding is a requirement.

So let your tortoise tell you what he/she likes. Handle them carefully and they may get quite used to it.

 

[Madkins007]

It IS true that most tortoises enjoy having their head scratches or chin stroked, and that red-footeds like rain.

As for handling them as if they were a mammal pet, I would just remind you that they are much more closely related to birds and such than dogs and should be handled thusly. They don't really pair-bond much (and yes, I know the stories of the tortoise that seems to have pair-bonded with some other animal. We can discuss that if you want, but it is not a key issue right here) or show much affinity to being handled. Sure- they come to you... because they know you feed them. They will eat out of your hand... because they are getting food. This is not the same as affection or bonding. (And I know they won't do this for your significant other, only you, but they are well-known to be smart enough to identify humans and easily figure out who feeds them.)

The comment about signs of stress is a good one. We do want the tortoise habituated enough to us that it does not terrify them when they have to be handled. The most common responses to being picked up are:
- Struggle and claw to get free. This is a good, solid response but is based on the fear of being picked up by a predator.
- Pulling in tight. This is another common stress reaction. It suggests that the tortoise either knows that struggling won't help or that it is too afraid to show any skin.
- Going limp. This is a bad sign of a very stressed tortoise.
- Relaxed, looking around, no clawing, head and neck exposed. This tortoise is habituated to being handled.

 

[N2TORTS]

It IS true that most tortoises enjoy having their head scratches or chin stroked, and that red-footeds like rain.

As for handling them as if they were a mammal pet, I would just remind you that they are much more closely related to birds and such than dogs and should be handled thusly. They don't really pair-bond much (and yes, I know the stories of the tortoise that seems to have pair-bonded with some other animal. We can discuss that if you want, but it is not a key issue right here) or show much affinity to being handled. Sure- they come to you... because they know you feed them. They will eat out of your hand... because they are getting food. This is not the same as affection or bonding. (And I know they won't do this for your significant other, only you, but they are well-known to be smart enough to identify humans and easily figure out who feeds them.)

The comment about signs of stress is a good one. We do want the tortoise habituated enough to us that it does not terrify them when they have to be handled. The most common responses to being picked up are:
- Struggle and claw to get free. This is a good, solid response but is based on the fear of being picked up by a predator.
- Pulling in tight. This is another common stress reaction. It suggests that the tortoise either knows that struggling won't help or that it is too afraid to show any skin.
- Going limp. This is a bad sign of a very stressed tortoise.
- Relaxed, looking around, no clawing, head and neck exposed. This tortoise is habituated to being handled.

Excellent info Mark as always (you are one smart cookie and write so well~ ) , although I would be reluctant to compare a tortoise to a bird( just ask Sally …. She is one smart cockatoo). I would consider more like a “fish”. With all living things animal/human IQ is measured upon many factors. These include the major factors of ….Counting - Associative learning - Spatial and temporal abilities - Beat Induction - Self awareness - Tool use - Observational learning - Brain anatomy - Social behavior - Language - Conceptual abilities - Object permanence - Theory of mind.
Would be a great project and more enlightening of really “ who our shelled buddies are” with more current case studies. But to your point and for the OP .....tortoises' aren't really play things...you would be better off with a dog , cat , or bird if seeking that much interaction.
( Although I spend many hours thru out the week with my torts.... So I'm guilty too~ .... sort~of .... )
JD~

 

[Madkins007]

JD- I went with bird more because of the evolutionary connection than the pet connection. I was looking for something that you had to handle once in a while but generally did not. Fish is a better analogy in some ways, but not quite what I was going for. Crab may work, but not a lot pf people keep'em as pets. Maybe we can come up with a better example?

As far as IQ goes, the overall rule of thumb is 'more evolved, higher IQ' because evolution tends to build on existing structures. To really oversimplify, humans have a reptile layer, a mammal layer, and a human layer to the brain. Each layer adds complexity, connections, etc. so adds at least potential IQ. Birds are the next evolutionary step from reptiles, and torts are pretty low-level reptiles so I would expect a bird to generally be 'smarter' than a tortoise- but I would also expect a tortoise to be smarter than, say, most amphibians.

Having said that (I use that phrase a lot, don't I? Windy old fart, I guess), tests have shown that some chelonians have IQs similar to white lab rats. I believe the actual study used North American wood turtles, and I believe the tests were things like running and remembering mazes, finding hidden food, learning to associate some trigger to getting food, etc.