Shell swinging behavior

Warren

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Just yesterday, I caught my Sucata scratchin his butt on a bush. Many times when I'm cleaning his floor inside, I will squat down with a dust pan and brush and he will crawl under me and rise up so he can rub and scratch his butt on me. And he also likes warm water running down on his back side, He is not shy. I believe my tortoise loves his butt scratch, who wouldn't like to lay in a warm bath and have their butt scratch. ?
 

gedong

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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, its normal. even for all of my tortoises I kept. In fact it becomes one of the activity I did when interact with them
 

wellington

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It’s like when you do it they leap forward mine did and many others would agree with me mate, they 1 million % do not like it.
Sorry dont agree with you. Mine will go under a branch or bush and do it himself. When I had males and females together my one Male would still try to hump the other male and this movement was never made. Only when I pet them, water is sprayed on them or when they do it under a bush or branch.
 

wellington

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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.
Yes its not because they hate it. Mine always can get out from having it done and they don't. They do it with branches, water stream like you mentioned or me scratching them there. They never done it when another tort was trying to hump them.
 

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