Shell swinging behavior

Toddrickfl1

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I just discovered that if I gently scratch my torts shell, he will stand straight and swing his shell like a dog wagging his tail. Is this normal behavior?
View attachment 295454
Yes perfectly normal, all turtles and Tortoises do it. Here's one of my sliders
 

Aaron1997

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I just discovered that if I gently scratch my torts shell, he will stand straight and swing his shell like a dog wagging his tail. Is this normal behavior?
View attachment 295454
Ive seen online that apparently the male does this and shakes his bum as if to get the other tortoise off that is trying to mate him basically his way of saying “get off” (I’m assuming your tortoise is a male?)
 

Aaron1997

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The one thing I've never heard an answer to is "do they like it? Or is it irritating?"
Chug used to do that occasionally, but I always got the feeling that I was annoying him.
They don’t like it that’s why they wiggle there bum they are telling you to get off
 

Canadian Mojo

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Our RF will stop and scratch his own butt on low hanging branches, and if you scratch him he wiggles and leans into it, so in his case I think he likes it. It is a fairly specific spot off to the sides above the rear leg to get that reaction, and not dead center over the tail. You scratch there and he keeps walking.
 

Aaron1997

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Our RF will stop and scratch his own butt on low hanging branches, and if you scratch him he wiggles and leans into it, so in his case I think he likes it. It is a fairly specific spot off to the sides above the rear leg to get that reaction, and not dead center over the tail. You scratch there and he keeps walking.
Have you seen when you do it they kind of leap forward?
 

KarenSoCal

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I suspect that it is a reflex point. Like us when the doctor taps our knees with a rubber hammer, or dogs when we rub the spot on their sides and they scratch furiously with the hind leg.

If it is, we're not hurting them, so they might enjoy it. Maybe Chug just wanted to move on, and I was holding him up.

Torts will also do this sometimes when a hose is putting a stream of water there. Chug did not...he hated being sprayed and ran for his life.
 

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