# Bob's fence...



## Maggie Cummings (May 17, 2010)

Well, ya'll know the story of Bob's escapes and his new fence. We are now $900 into this fence, he discovered he could push on my house and ram my house and his continual beating up of my house was making me crazy. So we had to have the fence guys back out to build another section to keep Bob away from my house...







So they showed up and built another section but that created a corner which we had avoided in the original fence. So now I have a corner in my new tortoise fence and Bob discovers it because it's right where he has escaped several times before and you know King Robert III never forgets...






he slept in this day. I love how he looks in his sleeping box...
here he is marching around his yard...






and munching on the clover that's just now coming up...






oh the corner...






Bob uses corners to his advantage...
he can almost see over this fence...














the problem here is that he stands on his back feet then goes into tippie toe mode and falls on his back. That scares me and makes me so nervous that I couldn't think to take a picture of him on his back. I run over right away and turn him over. But maybe I should just leave him laying there...
look at what he is doing to this fence...






He is ruining this fence and will be thru this plank before long. Ethan, the 11 yr old from next door, and I put up a big piece of wood to bar Bob from the corner. But we held it in place with stakes that help Bob stand up. What a horrid tortoise he is. My friend in Montana has 3 Sulcata and her tort fence is wire panels held together with baling wire and zip ties, Bob would be thru it in less than 60 seconds. Her tortoises are happy.
I know several people with Sulcata and lousy fences and their tortoises don't try to escape all the time. My sister's Dudley lives in an area with a small wooden fence that Bob would be over in 60 seconds.
Bob has the whole yard now and I have one lousy flower bed and yet he continually tries to escape. He walks the perimeter testing it every few feet looking for a weak spot. He has good graze and a good sized area to walk around. Now granted it's not a few acres like Tom, but it's all I have. He has basically kicked me out of my own yard and still is not satisfied with his area...what's wrong with him? Is he so hard wired to escape he won't ever forget? He's a miserable tortoise to have and right now I'd pay someone to take him...







Look at his funny bumpy nose, how can I stay mad at that sweet face...the jerk!


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## dmmj (May 17, 2010)

wow I hate to say it, but I don't think that fence is gonna last long. I thought I heard once they escape they keep going to the same spot over and over again.


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## Tom (May 17, 2010)

How much will you pay me?


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## Terry Allan Hall (May 18, 2010)

I'd give some serious thought to a brick or stone wall...he'll be through that wooden fence very soon! 

I wonder if he's give up were the fence was too tall for him to be able to see "greener pastures"?


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## samstar (May 18, 2010)

Bob is one lucky tort. How big is his yard?


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## chairman (May 18, 2010)

You could try "wrapping" the replacement plank with aluminum flashing. That way all the sides that will be exposed to Bob will be nice, smooth aluminum. I'm sure he'd welcome the challenge.


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## Kristina (May 18, 2010)

What a stinking moose. 

The biggest of the two I had, Ella, was heading in this direction. She would get in the one corner of the enclosure and dig and walk and dig some more and try to push through.

Darn beasty Sulcatas.


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## Jacqui (May 18, 2010)

Maggie this isn't going to help you out any, but it is me. I have been debating with myself what to use for fencing in my guys. One of my high on the list choices was a fence like this, but seeing what Bob is doing to it is making me think may be not.

Has anybody in here had a "problem" child like Bob? Once they know what they can do, do they ever stop pushing the limits of their fences?


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## dmmj (May 18, 2010)

I was thinking maybe it is the size of his area, the guy who lectured at out turtle club last year had some 70 sulc on over 13 acres and pics of his fence were just chainlink and none of his ever go to the fence they just dig giant burrows, not condeming just offering an explanation.


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## Maggie Cummings (May 18, 2010)

Like I said, I have several friends with male Sulcata and none of them have a problem like Bob. I do think one main problem is that he escaped before and now that is hardwired into his brain and he wants to do it over and over. Another is that he climbs the stairs then bangs and scratches on my back door and the only thing I can think there is that I am the food goddess and he is trying to get to me and when I don't answer the door he just goes walking up the street. I have posted my problem on tort list serves and not one person will admit to having a beast like Bob and I am talking about thousands of people! They read it on lists and forums like this one and not one person will admit to having a problem child like mine.
So there's several reasons for this behavior...1. He's trying to get to me, 2, He has programed in his brain to escape, 3. even tho he has much more room now, there's still not enough room in his brain. 4, he's just a jerk.
I opened up a whole nuther area for him and he still does not go there. He now has my whole yard but he doesn't use all of it. He doesn't use the area behind his shed or walk the whole yard. So I think mainly it's because I have socialized Bob and he wants to be with me. When I go into his yard he runs over to me, runs not walks. Never does he keep doing what he's doing when I go into his yard. Then he follows me around so I walk into the area behind his shed and he follows me but never goes there on his own. I walk the whole yard and again he follows me but doesn't do it on his own. So I can only think that I am not spending enough time with him. I truly believe Bob is smarter than most tortoises and I am not using him in his full capacity

And I am extremely grateful that Bob does not dig and none of you better tell him about it!!!

Jacqui...I would use chainlink then line it with lattice, it looks good and the torts can't see thru it with the lattice...


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## Shelly (May 18, 2010)

You are going to be on a first name basis with every fence builder in your area before this adventure is over....


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## dmmj (May 18, 2010)

I sent bob a PM about digging, he seemed excited.


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## latshki (May 18, 2010)

i have a feeling he is not only socialized with you but lustful for you, he needs a lady is what I think
maybe one of the sulcata kind is needed


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## Maggie Cummings (May 18, 2010)

dmmj said:


> I sent bob a PM about digging, he seemed excited.



Yeah, I knew you would so I had already taken away his laptop, so he never got your message.... you troublemaker!

Yes Shelly that's what I'm afraid of...


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## DeanS (Jun 8, 2010)

WHAT A CHARACTER! I've seen (and had) sulcatas twice his size that didn't have such extreme charisma. PRICELESS! ABSOLUTELY PRICELESS! I've just read snippets from EVERY post about BOB and I now truly feel part of the group...these stories truly run the gamut of the trials and tribulations of sulcata ownership!

HAIL BOB!

Thanks to Shannon (RascalDesertTort) for rounding these up for me!


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## Josh (Jun 8, 2010)

hahahahahah! i wanna see bob's laptop! how big is the keyboard??



maggie3fan said:


> dmmj said:
> 
> 
> > I sent bob a PM about digging, he seemed excited.
> ...


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## DeanS (Jun 8, 2010)

Josh said:


> hahahahahah! i wanna see bob's laptop! how big is the keyboard??
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Careful what you wish for...


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## Missy (Jun 8, 2010)

Bob is a bad boy but you gotta love him. Remind me to never let Bob and Tank talk,LOL. I agree with latshki, Bob needs a girlfriend then you would have double trouble.


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## South FL Katie (Jun 8, 2010)

I <3 Bob


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## Maggie Cummings (Jun 8, 2010)

DeanS said:


> WHAT A CHARACTER! I've seen (and had) sulcatas twice his size that didn't have such extreme charisma. PRICELESS! ABSOLUTELY PRICELESS! I've just read snippets from EVERY post about BOB and I now truly feel part of the group...these stories truly run the gamut of the trials and tribulations of sulcata ownership!
> 
> HAIL BOB!
> 
> Thanks to Shannon (RascalDesertTort) for rounding these up for me!



That's King Robert III to you sir!


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## DeanS (Jun 8, 2010)

King Robert III, it is!


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