I am always fascinated when I can just sit and watch my herd of 5 Red-foot Tortoises. It seems like every time I watch them for a while, they will do something that just astounds me.
One big surprise was a few months ago in their summer pen when I found that they liked to climb around inside their brush pile. I had assumed they would just snuggle under it, but they often spent time up in the maze of branches- all except the youngest.
In the last couple months, I have been feeding the full leaves of turnip and other greens, thick stalk and all- and they have been going for the stalk right off! I woulda SWORN the stalk was too tough for the young'uns, but they chow on it right along with the big guys. You can hear the crunching from the other room. I figure they are going for the water and fiber in the stalks.
Also- I got a couple of 6" tall planters of assorted plants on clearance. I placed the planters in the habitat for color and humidity and figured the planters themselves would protect the plants- and they did for almost a week, then they were mowed clean down and I still don't know how.
So, what do your tortoises do that surprise you?
One big surprise was a few months ago in their summer pen when I found that they liked to climb around inside their brush pile. I had assumed they would just snuggle under it, but they often spent time up in the maze of branches- all except the youngest.
In the last couple months, I have been feeding the full leaves of turnip and other greens, thick stalk and all- and they have been going for the stalk right off! I woulda SWORN the stalk was too tough for the young'uns, but they chow on it right along with the big guys. You can hear the crunching from the other room. I figure they are going for the water and fiber in the stalks.
Also- I got a couple of 6" tall planters of assorted plants on clearance. I placed the planters in the habitat for color and humidity and figured the planters themselves would protect the plants- and they did for almost a week, then they were mowed clean down and I still don't know how.
So, what do your tortoises do that surprise you?