Sulcatas and tricks

[NinjaTortoises]

Hi guys and gals

Well i was feeding my sulcatas today and before i put out the food i decided to test something and to my surprise it sorta worked lol, so what i did was i went to the farthest side of where my sulcatas where sun bathing and some where in the shade, i was at least 6 feet away and my sulcatas are all in the 5" range and theyre only 9 months old, so what i did was i stuck my hand out and wanted to see if my sulcatas would come to check for food, to my surprise one of the sulcatas came running toward my hand from all the way where it was laying down, it took a look at my hand and then looked at me HAHA and gave me this confused look like " wheres the food?" i swear, i was so amazed at its expression and intelligence, my other sulcatas decided to stay put but this sulcata is always near me and comes to me for shade and to sometimes bite my sandals, honestly these tortoises are very smart, whenever i hand feed them which is rare, they know what my hands are and dont nip or bite, but if they see food they immediatly chow down until only my fingers are left, they dont even smell my fingers they just know not to bite them which is pretty amazing, i would like to be able to call them by name some day and they would come, i would be a happier man the day that happened anyone here has tricks your sulcata has learned or has your sulcata surprised you with their amazing intelligence

Thanks!

 

[wildponey21]

so very cool i have to sullys my self sma esize and they still hid from. it does not help that my dog is always around

 

[NinjaTortoises]

so very cool i have to sullys my self sma esize and they still hid from. it does not help that my dog is always around

Yea dogs are natural predators lol but i guess they trust me which is good

 

[Desert Jude]

Hi guys and gals

Well i was feeding my sulcatas today and before i put out the food i decided to test something and to my surprise it sorta worked lol, so what i did was i went to the farthest side of where my sulcatas where sun bathing and some where in the shade, i was at least 6 feet away and my sulcatas are all in the 5" range and theyre only 9 months old, so what i did was i stuck my hand out and wanted to see if my sulcatas would come to check for food, to my surprise one of the sulcatas came running toward my hand from all the way where it was laying down, it took a look at my hand and then looked at me HAHA and gave me this confused look like " wheres the food?" i swear, i was so amazed at its expression and intelligence, my other sulcatas decided to stay put but this sulcata is always near me and comes to me for shade and to sometimes bite my sandals, honestly these tortoises are very smart, whenever i hand feed them which is rare, they know what my hands are and dont nip or bite, but if they see food they immediatly chow down until only my fingers are left, they dont even smell my fingers they just know not to bite them which is pretty amazing, i would like to be able to call them by name some day and they would come, i would be a happier man the day that happened anyone here has tricks your sulcata has learned or has your sulcata surprised you with their amazing intelligence

Thanks!

What a sweet story, love it! Now I am going to try that. My Desert tortoise is 9-1/2 months and I take her out to the backyard sometimes.

 

[NinjaTortoises]

Hi guys and gals

Well i was feeding my sulcatas today and before i put out the food i decided to test something and to my surprise it sorta worked lol, so what i did was i went to the farthest side of where my sulcatas where sun bathing and some where in the shade, i was at least 6 feet away and my sulcatas are all in the 5" range and theyre only 9 months old, so what i did was i stuck my hand out and wanted to see if my sulcatas would come to check for food, to my surprise one of the sulcatas came running toward my hand from all the way where it was laying down, it took a look at my hand and then looked at me HAHA and gave me this confused look like " wheres the food?" i swear, i was so amazed at its expression and intelligence, my other sulcatas decided to stay put but this sulcata is always near me and comes to me for shade and to sometimes bite my sandals, honestly these tortoises are very smart, whenever i hand feed them which is rare, they know what my hands are and dont nip or bite, but if they see food they immediatly chow down until only my fingers are left, they dont even smell my fingers they just know not to bite them which is pretty amazing, i would like to be able to call them by name some day and they would come, i would be a happier man the day that happened anyone here has tricks your sulcata has learned or has your sulcata surprised you with their amazing intelligence

Thanks!

What a sweet story, love it! Now I am going to try that. My Desert tortoise is 9-1/2 months and I take her out to the backyard sometimes.

Thanks! Yea i think hand feeding them helped them learn to trust me, i never really picked them up or bugged them because im sure they wouldnt have like being handled lol but yes theyre very sweet haha and handsome little torts

 

[mary t]

Willie is almost seven years old.. I have had him for 7 months and when he came to me it was his first time live outside in luxury.. I followed some veterans advice and used strawberry to teach him to go into his shed. ( since he had only ever lived in an aquarium) anyway, he learned pretty quick. I pick him up a lot and handle him so if he is ever hurt I can handle him.. But if I call him he will come out of his shed or across his yard.. I try and snack him with hibiscus now so he doesn't get to used to fruit, that's a very special treat in our house..

 

[NinjaTortoises]

Willie is almost seven years old.. I have had him for 7 months and when he came to me it was his first time live outside in luxury.. I followed some veterans advice and used strawberry to teach him to go into his shed. ( since he had only ever lived in an aquarium) anyway, he learned pretty quick. I pick him up a lot and handle him so if he is ever hurt I can handle him.. But if I call him he will come out of his shed or across his yard.. I try and snack him with hibiscus now so he doesn't get to used to fruit, that's a very special treat in our house..

Wow thats awesome mary im going to remember and try that when they can eat a strawberry! Lol, theyre getting there, slowly but surely

 

[mary t]

Wow thats awesome mary im going to remember and try that when they can eat a strawberry! Lol, theyre getting there, slowly but surely

Willie will do the Macarena for a strawberry or a red toe nail... Lol..

 

[jason g.]

Mine will dance like Elvis to squeeze in the smallest crack she can find. Lol

 

[NinjaTortoises]

Willie will do the Macarena for a strawberry or a red toe nail... Lol..

HAH i think i have seen mine do that when i found him flipped i was like noooo hes dying! But turns out they do that for some reason haha, its not a laughing matter though haha

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Mine will dance like Elvis to squeeze in the smallest crack she can find. Lol

Hahaha i think ive seen that too, today! Haha i was telling him just to go to bed but it wouldnt listen! It kept at it so i let him be haha

 

[tyguy35]

I have been training sort of in a different way. What i do is I say "Tank Tank come buddy" put food down. Ive been doing it a few month everyday Now I have him coming to me when I call haha. doesnt always work but im getting there.

 

[NinjaTortoises]

I have been training sort of in a different way. What i do is I say "Tank Tank come buddy" put food down. Ive been doing it a few month everyday Now I have him coming to me when I call haha. doesnt always work but im getting there.

Im going to try that, im sure in the future after some lenghty training it will sink in and it work 100% thanks for the idea tyguy

 

[Weda737]

lol sounds like when my fiance cleaned out my little guys food bowl and put it back empty. Little tortoise stomped over, looked in the bowl, looked up at him, and stomped away pretty indignantly.

 

[NinjaTortoises]

lol sounds like when my fiance cleaned out my little guys food bowl and put it back empty. Little tortoise stomped over, looked in the bowl, looked up at him, and stomped away pretty indignantly.

LOL thats hilarious

 

[tyguy35]

I have been training sort of in a different way. What i do is I say "Tank Tank come buddy" put food down. Ive been doing it a few month everyday Now I have him coming to me when I call haha. doesnt always work but im getting there.

Im going to try that, im sure in the future after some lenghty training it will sink in and it work 100% thanks for the idea tyguy

Its really neat He responds to the tone in the words I think

 

[NinjaTortoises]

Its really neat He responds to the tone in the words I think

I was actually working on that today, he was in his little plastic enclosure and i was movin my fingers and saying his/her name and he at first was staring at me then proceded to try to walk through the wall to come to me haha and i was like cool! Lol and after watching it try for 2 minutes i decided to help the tort out and it came to me but then walked away lol hopefully it learns its name if thats possible haha

 

[mary t]

I was actually working on that today, he was in his little plastic enclosure and i was movin my fingers and saying his/her name and he at first was staring at me then proceded to try to walk through the wall to come to me haha and i was like cool! Lol and after watching it try for 2 minutes i decided to help the tort out and it came to me but then walked away lol hopefully it learns its name if thats possible haha

Tone or your voice? Willie will come when I call him, unless he is tucked in somewhere in the yard napping, he gets alittle stubborn then, but if my husband calls him he will look or maybe stop but not come over. I call and he will walk right to me, usually sit on my foot ( which sometime when I'm barefoot is not nice even though he only weighs 18 pounds) I still think it has to do with the fact that I feed him the majority of his meals and he knows it. In the afternoons my son checks on hi. With a snack and says if he calls for him and Willie is in the shed he will poke his head out and depending on what's on the menu is wether he ones out or just looks at him.. Lol.. I get the same response out of my kids at dinner time..

 

[JayMillz]

Both of mine, but the female especially, like being pet on top of the head. Shelly will stick her head out as far as she can. I've brought her to my kids school, and introducing her to friends & their children. It's a really good way to ease anyones nerves who's afraid she will bite.

 

[NinjaTortoises]

Tone or your voice? Willie will come when I call him, unless he is tucked in somewhere in the yard napping, he gets alittle stubborn then, but if my husband calls him he will look or maybe stop but not come over. I call and he will walk right to me, usually sit on my foot ( which sometime when I'm barefoot is not nice even though he only weighs 18 pounds) I still think it has to do with the fact that I feed him the majority of his meals and he knows it. In the afternoons my son checks on hi. With a snack and says if he calls for him and Willie is in the shed he will poke his head out and depending on what's on the menu is wether he ones out or just looks at him.. Lol.. I get the same response out of my kids at dinner time..

Haha thats awesome, this is just proving more how smart they are, i hope that they learn more the voice hah so they come to me not because of tone, yea theyre picky eaters, and well the thing is, only 1 of my torts comes when i call the rest just stare and continue sleeping lol

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Both of mine, but the female especially, like being pet on top of the head. Shelly will stick her head out as far as she can. I've brought her to my kids school, and introducing her to friends & their children. It's a really good way to ease anyones nerves who's afraid she will bite.

Consider yourself lucky because mine still tuck there head in sometimes when i try to pet them lol even though i know they trust me because they arent scared when im around or when i pick them up to move them, i want to be able to pet them without them being scared the first time, it takes a few seconds to a minute to get them to trust my finger lol

 

[mary t]

Willie also likes his head and the side of his neck to be scratched.. He's getting pretty good about letting me move food off his face or from around his eyes but I'm still a little nervous of that mouth.. He has tried to eat my pretty red toe nails once or twice when we first got him, I'm well aware of that beak! Lol!