Tortoises know what weather is coming

biochemnerd808

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Nov 3, 2012
Messages
1,453
Location (City and/or State)
Central Arkansas (we moved!)
I thought this story might make you smile.

First: My outdoor habitats are escape-proof, 10ft x 10ft each, with the walls sunken 12-18" into a trench, down to rock, and there are lids with hardware cloth on them, with locking latches with quick links. There is no way to get out. Here is a pic, before I installed the latches and before the plants grew in. FB_IMG_1632363570090.jpg
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This spunky gal disappeared last week, but I knew there was no way she was actually gone. Sure enough, some thunder storms came this weekend - she knew!

Today I dug her up to make sure she was OK. She had dug down about 10" in her favorite corner of the stone cave, then dug sideways underneath the large rock. When I lifted the rock and felt around in the dirt, I found the little breathing chamber she had made around her head. 20210922_132517.jpg20210922_132557.jpg20210922_132603.jpg

She was NOT pleased with me for pulling her out. But it was nice and warm, so she ended up stomping around and eating and basking for the rest of the day.
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Last edited:

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,264
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Between climbing and digging... And sheer tenacity... Not to be underestimated!
Have you seen one levitate yet? I have not, but I keep expecting to. I'm convinced that levitation is the only way to explain some of the escapes I've seen with this species. Any day now we are going to see someone's surveillance footage of a Russian tortoise levitating out of its enclosure...
 
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