revitupmx5
New Member
Trying to train Tori, my Russian, not to bite my ankles when I take her outside when Tori goes to bite I hit her beak and say No!. is that alright or what would I do to train her?
To hit or not to hit
- Thread starter revitupmx5
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Wear boots or make your tort their own outdoor enclosure until then you are trespassing on their territory. As you have found out Russians are loners and defend their right to be so!
revitupmx5
New Member
Thank you. I will consider Tori's natural urges. And wear socks. I will stop hitting her.
Also I live in a 15 story condo so no outdoor enclosure.
They make portable dog exercise pens that you could possible use to keep your tort to one specific area
They don't understand hitting. When a tortoise is in a fight for territory, which yours is, one tips the other over on its back.
Yes please don't strike your tortoise, they are not trainable animals. Keeping your tortoise in a proper enclosure and not walking around in it will help stop the biting.
revitupmx5
New Member
Thank you Blackdog1714. Tori is limited to the area on the outside of my apartment. To give her about an hour a day of natural sunlight.
revitupmx5
New Member
I did not know. I'll stop hitting her. That's why I post this thread.
Its a tortoise. Move out of its way.
revitupmx5
New Member
I only have a small balcony. I want to give Tori some space to roam around. Even a couple of hours a week. I like to take her out and play with her. If I'm intruding on Tori's space I'll have to leave her out alone. I'll really miss calling her and rewarding her with a bite to eat.
revitupmx5
New Member
I prefer to interact with my tortoise as owner and pet. But please read the entire thread. I will never hit her again.
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Could you sit on a stool or chair on the balcony while she is out? Pick your feet up when she tries to bite. Toes look a lot like food to a tort, especially when women paint them bright red. Try black socks...they are the least interesting. Are you sure she's a girl? Boys can get rather nasty when their hormones kick in.
Mindi0629
New Member
Thank you for kindly taking the advice to avoid striking your lil one. ?
sandraileana
New Member
I have seen in a video that some turn (flip) the turtle to the back. To let tortoise know you are the dominant. However this recommendation is for male tortoise. For me, I think it could be a little annoying for the tortoise.
I have a 20 year old male testudo horsfieldii and, whenever I reach him he headbob and tries to bite a part of me. Until now it was only fingers, hands and ankles, but now even clothes. If I dont enter to his territory he is completly calm. I try once turning him around but only made him more anxious and angry.
Two months ago I bought another female russian tortoise , but two days latter I realize he is also a male. He is probably 10 years (but its really unknown) and he is more friendly and shy. He is in quarentine, but I guess this could be a latter problem when I get to know each other. I will probably either try to flip him if he tries to bit the smallest one or give each one a different in-outdoor enclousure.
I have a 20 year old male testudo horsfieldii and, whenever I reach him he headbob and tries to bite a part of me. Until now it was only fingers, hands and ankles, but now even clothes. If I dont enter to his territory he is completly calm. I try once turning him around but only made him more anxious and angry.
Two months ago I bought another female russian tortoise , but two days latter I realize he is also a male. He is probably 10 years (but its really unknown) and he is more friendly and shy. He is in quarentine, but I guess this could be a latter problem when I get to know each other. I will probably either try to flip him if he tries to bit the smallest one or give each one a different in-outdoor enclousure.
No please do not turn a tortoise on it's back. You 'could' cause more problems that way. They die for petes sake, that's why 1 tortoise flips the other, to KILL him, you sure you wanna tip over a life like that??? And 2 male testudo horsfieldi will fight to the death. They will not live in harmony
They move so slow, you seriously can't just step out of the way?
Hitting an animal is animal abuse!
Give him his own enclosure and stay out of it or move away from him.
sandraileana
New Member
here are some videos, hope they are useful:
OK I'll just flip over that guy. That's very objectionable to me. Don't ever turn over a tortoise. Another reason is because you can cause a kink in an intestine by turning wrongly or too quickly, sort of like colic in a horse and kill them. Anybody who believes that guy is an idiot
KSeaman
Member
Keep in mind they are territorial however, you don't want to have to run from your tortoise either. What has worked for me in the past, and I no longer have a problem is the following:
These are the supplies I used:
REALLY GOOD FAVORITE TREATS>
Towel soaked in vinegar>
Spray bottle filled with JUST WATER>
1. Figure out what your tortoise REALLY likes to eat, a special treat and NEVER give it to them except when you are out in their area. As soon as they head your way toss the treat in front of your tortoise (BEFORE he gets to you), when they are eating but almost finished toss another treat. In my case I was lucky Knuckles really liked pansies and squash so cheap and easy to come by.
2. Sounds stupid but I also soaked towels in vinegar and kind of draped them around my chins so they hung down past my feet just in case he actually did bite. Now if your tortoise likes vinegar, I guess it's possible, then this won't work.
3. I carried a spray bottle of water and watched Knuckles very closely, if he moved in for a bite I sprayed him with the water, since he was not a fan of the water spray he would move off at which time I would toss a pansy. (Keep in mind, this is a correction and I tried very hard to not have to use it, I didn't want to give him a reason to not like me.) If you do need to spray DO NOT SAY ANYTHING they will figure out when I get to close to a person's leg it starts raining, it should be their decision.
I made a point to "train" at every opportunity, not just wait until I was out there and not prepared.
Tortoises ARE trainable, you just need to figure out what they want so you can use it as reinforcement. Many tortoises will head towards their owners when it's feeding time. Intentional or not that is "training", you have conditioned them to come for food.
I hope this helps, Good luck.
These are the supplies I used:
REALLY GOOD FAVORITE TREATS>
Towel soaked in vinegar>
Spray bottle filled with JUST WATER>
1. Figure out what your tortoise REALLY likes to eat, a special treat and NEVER give it to them except when you are out in their area. As soon as they head your way toss the treat in front of your tortoise (BEFORE he gets to you), when they are eating but almost finished toss another treat. In my case I was lucky Knuckles really liked pansies and squash so cheap and easy to come by.
2. Sounds stupid but I also soaked towels in vinegar and kind of draped them around my chins so they hung down past my feet just in case he actually did bite. Now if your tortoise likes vinegar, I guess it's possible, then this won't work.
3. I carried a spray bottle of water and watched Knuckles very closely, if he moved in for a bite I sprayed him with the water, since he was not a fan of the water spray he would move off at which time I would toss a pansy. (Keep in mind, this is a correction and I tried very hard to not have to use it, I didn't want to give him a reason to not like me.) If you do need to spray DO NOT SAY ANYTHING they will figure out when I get to close to a person's leg it starts raining, it should be their decision.
I made a point to "train" at every opportunity, not just wait until I was out there and not prepared.
Tortoises ARE trainable, you just need to figure out what they want so you can use it as reinforcement. Many tortoises will head towards their owners when it's feeding time. Intentional or not that is "training", you have conditioned them to come for food.
I hope this helps, Good luck.
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