# Walking to the South



## ZEROPILOT (Sep 16, 2015)

An opinion is wanted.
Would my Redfoot tortoise, Queen Bertha have any reason to "home" towards the South?
No matter where I place her in the yard, she will turn and walk South.
Is this something scientific that I'm not aware of or am I mistaken?


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## dmmj (Sep 16, 2015)

I'm not aware of anything like how birds can sense magnetic north sometimes there's nothing that I know of like that for tortoises but it's always a possibility


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## wellington (Sep 16, 2015)

That's pretty interesting. I bet @tortadise might know the answer to this.


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## newCH (Sep 19, 2015)

Like how sea turtles know to go back to a certain beach to lay eggs. 
Maybe Bertha wants to lay eggs or having a false pregnancy. Do torts have
false pregnancies even ?


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## ZEROPILOT (Sep 20, 2015)

She has always been a strange tortoise.
Even in the front yard she will spin around and walk South.
She has been in her isolation/sick pen for most of her life here and it is long and thin and goes North and South. With her house at the south end.
I think somehow she is just used to it?


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## dmmj (Sep 20, 2015)

oh my god it just struck me she might be a mutant. does she eat pizza show an affinity towards martial arts of some kind or say cowabunga a lot?


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## Turtlepete (Sep 20, 2015)

Perhaps the changing seasons and shortening days are confusing her? Can't really think of a plausible explanation here. Quite interesting.


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## Rutibegga (Sep 20, 2015)

No input on Bertha, but I can tell you're in FL because of the lizard perched on the outside of her enclosure.


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## leigti (Sep 20, 2015)

My Russian tortoise always wants to go west. Russia is west of here but there's a little ocean in between and some land to.


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## Merrick (Sep 20, 2015)

Rutibegga said:


> No input on Bertha, but I can tell you're in FL because of the lizard perched on the outside of her enclosure.


He could be in the Bahamas based on the lizard


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## newCH (Sep 21, 2015)

Rutibegga said:


> Nit is input on Bertha, but I can tell you're in FL because of the lizard perched on the outside of her enclosure.


Oh, I had to giggle at your post. They are all over the place in So.Fl.
It is like lizard wars in my yard, they run around chasing and even biting each other.


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## Tidgy's Dad (Oct 11, 2015)

Tidgy heads in all directions pretty much equally.
But then she's only an hour away from her birthplace and it's the native country of her species, so it doesn't disprove anything.


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## nightoff (Jan 23, 2018)

I'm in Florida also. My older tortoise always makes a beeline north, out the backyard gate if it's open or unlatched, and then hangs a sharp right into the neighbors garden. I'm very lucky she does the same thing every time she gets through the gate because it makes it much easier to locate her.


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## Rusky (Jan 23, 2018)

My Russian only uses half of his indoor enclosure, and ignores the other side. I don't even know which way south is though lol. Looks like you have an interesting situation!


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## Team Gomberg (Jan 23, 2018)

nightoff said:


> I'm in Florida also. My older tortoise always makes a beeline north, out the backyard gate if it's open or unlatched, and then hangs a sharp right into the neighbors garden. I'm very lucky she does the same thing every time she gets through the gate because it makes it much easier to locate her.


A 2x10 on the floor at the gate's door is great insurance  even with the gate left open, tort can't escape. I have this at all my yard's doorways......ask me why


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## nightoff (Jan 31, 2018)

I will be installing a board this weekend. Indy pushed the "not quite latched" gate open on Sunday, hung a right, and hunkered down for the night in the neighbors' front bushes. Lucky me because she could have gotten pretty far by the time I realized she had escaped!


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