Tortoise Nightmares??

[Tidgy's Dad]

Yes, my anthropomorphic thoughts make me happy. Many traits in an animals that used to be called anthropomorphic have been proven to exist. So I'm going to go with it for now this does conflict a little bit with my scientific mind but I don't care.
As far as why the tortoise suddenly ran across his enclosure, could there have been a bug that him? I fed my box turtle a meal worm that must have bitten her because when she grabbed it she all of a sudden startled and ran backwards, yes backwards very quickly. So the only thing I could come up with is that she bit the tail end of the meal worms and the head and bit her. She made quick order of that warm though so that's good. And I never fed her that big of a worm again.

You are happy. that is good. And it doesn't really contradict a scientific mind, for as a scientist one should keep an open mind. It is not impossible that tortoises dream, if very unlikely. Therefore it is possible and therefore perhaps the tortoise in question DID have a nightmare. I am also always fighting against my own anthropomorphism. And often I lose. Which is fine. I love my tortoise whether she dreams or not.

 

[alex_ornelas]

Well if he's getting spooked I don't have. Good guard tortoise xD hope u all have better security than I do

 

[rocket the tortoise]

My tortoise just snores

 

[CathyNed]

At 10 pm as I was just about to lay in bed to sleep I check on Oliver and he's fast asleep. Not 10 min later I hear him make a lot of noise and what sounded like a crash. In worry I check to make sure he's ok and he had ran across his encloser and into to the corner. I took him out make sure he was ok. Normally when I go to let his head he put it out. Instead as soon as my fingers go close to even his leg. He pulled his whole body in. He's an only tortoise. And there's nothing in his encloser to spook him like that. Any ideas

"He's an only tortoise"
This line made me laugh so much. How cute....

 

[dmmj]

am I a man dreaming I am a butterfly or am I a butterfly dreaming I am a man

 

[Gillian M]

No proof that torts dream/do not dream. However, like other animals, they do have a brain and a nervous system, therefore I would not be surprised to know that they do dream.

 

[jockma]

Mine does something that looks like sleepwalking.

Can't really describe it...he mostly uses his front limbs. If he's on his ramp he usually dangles his limbs off the side so he just wiggles his front limbs without really moving, sticking out his hind legs from time to time. Eyes closed, not reacting to me waving my hands around him, head mostly in his shell. Stops and goes. If he's on the substrate he'll drag himself into a wall and keep going on against the wall.

I can't tell if he's somewhat awake or not. I've read similar stories.

I just think it's fun that he mostly uses his front limbs to propel himself and just extends his hind legs from time to time. It looks like when he's trying to escape the soak tub. It'd be funny if they do have dreams and he's dreaming about getting out of the soak tub. Not really, since that would be more of a nightmare.