Torts Personalities

Alaskamike

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Hi Folks,
I have an observation and would love for anyone to add their opinions and experiences. Currently I have 4 Leopard Torts, all young. Two at 7 mos old, and the other two 2 &1/2 mos old. This is the first time with several of the same type, and I’ve been surprised at the great differences in personalities – if you can call them that. I know we all tend to personify our pets, even the torts, so if I use terms in describing their behavior that sound very human please forgive.
The two little ones are different as day and night. When I let them have ‘walk-about” on my large enclosed lanai, Scooter never stops moving. I swear he walks non stop for two hours or more. He sticks his nose on everything, climbs over anything, and is afraid of nothing. If he gets in trouble and I pick him up he just keeps his little legs moving so when I put him down he’s already taking his first step before his feet touch the ground.
Cooter, his clutch-mate, just walks till he locates a pile of food (I place little piles around so they can forage for them) and then sits his butt down and eats non-stop. I swear I have no idea where he puts it. Once he can’t take another bite, he walks to the same hide he uses everyday behind a specific flower pot and takes a nap. He might be there the whole two hours while Scooter keeps walking. When I pick him up he pulls into his shell.
My other two older ones are more similar , however they too exhibit very different behaviors. They don’t walk about near as much as Cooter, but they will walk till they find a food pile, take one or two bites of it, then walk on till they find the next one and do the same. It only takes about ½ hour till they are done and find a hide. One of them , the one I call Dunk, walked right into my pool the first time I put him down. I pulled him out, rinsed off with fresh water and put him back down. A few minutes later he did it again -hense his name J. His clutch-mate I call Lumpy (came with some raised scoots) and when he walks up to the pool, he looks over the edge and stares at it, then backs up and moves on. Funny.
I suppose this is common, these differences, but it intrigues me.
 

wellington

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I have a three year old male leopard that likes to walk around a lot. Comes out about 10:00 and will walk around the their yard. Will then find the food, eat and walk some more. He doesn't like grazing much. Then about 2:00 he heads in the tort shed for a nap. Some days he will come back out around 4 or so, most days not.
My other 3 year old, she does nothing but graze all day. Around 3 or 4 she will then head to the same spot, which is a shaded spot next to their ramp and she will stay there until I put her back into the shed for the night. She hasn't yet put herself back into the shed. I am rehabbing her, she had issues with walking, but is doing much better and can master the other ramps to get into her hide and to get outside, but she either can't or won't do the ramp that puts her back into the shed. Sh was kept in a very small enclosure before I got her and never outside. I think she just enjoys the fresh open large space of the outside, that she just doesn't want to give it up and go inside for the night.
Leopards are a great species and a joy to have a watch.
 

Yellow Turtle01

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My russian really likes a schedule. Like, if I'm a few minutes late in putting him outside for the day, he lets me know! :D
My sulcata is still trying to get her routine down, but she usually get up late, grazes, sleeps, grazes some more, goes poop in her fresh, clean water dish, sleeps, walks around looking for the sun, sleeps.
Your little leopards sound really cute :<3: I think all tortoises (them turtles too :p ) all have different personalities, like people. I know some people say that torts don't have the mental capacity to see their owners as much more than a source of food, but that sounds mean.. so I stick with the fact that tortoise ARE intelligent animals that have intelligent though beyond the 'wild animal' mentality to just eat and survive,
 

Alaskamike

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Torts certainly form habits ( like we do :). They also respond to their caretakers differently than a stranger. There's even a zoo that is " clicker" training Aldabras since they've gittin too big to move to their enclosure when it's cold at night. They are using operant conditioning with reward. The torts learn. I think we humans have much to learn about them also.
 

verda

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I believe they also know the difference between our voice and a stranger. I took my babies to the vet to make sure both are healthy, and they are not shy around us at all. Hardly ever pull their heads in, but when the vet came into the room their heads were completely in the shells. After the vet left the room and I started talking and just my voice alone they come out.
 
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