# Do Tortoise's sense bad weather?



## dmarcus (Jun 21, 2011)

I only ask this because yesterday early evening Vegas went inside his insulated house and we couldn't even get him to come out for cactus. He has not gone into the house in over a month and normally he is either under his house or in his burrow. So this morning when I got up I saw that the temp was down to 68 degrees and when I went outside I saw it was raining pretty good, so I plugged his light in just in case it cooled off any more. 

So do tortoises or even turtles since that bad weather is coming?


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## GBtortoises (Jun 21, 2011)

I've always believed that they can. There have been several times when my tortoises have been out browsing for food or sunning themselves and suddenly they'll begin to move toward shelter. Within an hour the temperatures would drop, the wind would pick up and we'd get a nasty storm. 
I finally learned that when I see them do that, it's time for me to pick up and head indoors too!

I believe it's well accepted that mammals & birds can sense changes in barometric pressure and other weather indicators so I have to believe that reptiles can also.


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## dmarcus (Jun 21, 2011)

I knew that dogs, cats and birds could for sure. I just found it odd and surprising that he did that and then the strong wind and rain came through. 

I think I will follow his lead for now on..


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## Laura (Jun 21, 2011)

part of survival.. makes sence if they can.


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## dmarcus (Jun 21, 2011)

Laura said:


> part of survival.. makes sence if they can.



Very true...


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## jackrat (Jun 21, 2011)

I watched my redfoots this morning. Usually,they are in the hides until late evening,but not today.They were all out walking around and grazing,very active. Soon it began to thunder and now it is raining,much to their delight.


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## dmarcus (Jun 21, 2011)

jackrat said:


> I watched my redfoots this morning. Usually,they are in the hides until late evening,but not today.They were all out walking around and grazing,very active. Soon it began to thunder and now it is raining,much to their delight.



See it's things like this that confuse me, because I have seen my Sulcata in the rain grazing before but not last night, he didn't want to leave his house hours before the rain came. He is always making me scratch my head when he does something that is not normal..


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## GeoTerraTestudo (Jun 21, 2011)

I think they can sense all sorts of things. A couple weeks ago, it was a beautiful day - the sort my tortoises usually really enjoy, although it was kind of hazy. I took them out, but they did not become very active, so I brought them back inside. I found out later that there was a huge fire hundreds of miles away whose smoke might have reached where we live, causing the haze. Maybe the tortoises could smell it, so perhaps it made them uneasy.


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## dmarcus (Jun 21, 2011)

It's amazing how they do things instinctively and then we figure out later why they did it.


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## GBtortoises (Jun 21, 2011)

Many of my Testudo species will graze out in a light rain when it's warm. But when the temperatures are cooler or it's a very heavy rain they seek shelter.


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## Terry Allan Hall (Jun 21, 2011)

Tortoises are much smarter than many believe.


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## dmarcus (Jun 22, 2011)

Terry Allan Hall said:


> Tortoises are much smarter than many believe.



I for one am starting to figure that out..


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## onarock (Jun 22, 2011)

Yes they can, they sense barometric pressure. There are some breeders that will also tell you that their gravid females will begin digging to nest when the barometer falls.


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## dmarcus (Jun 22, 2011)

onarock said:


> Yes they can, they sense barometric pressure. There are some breeders that will also tell you that their gravid females will begin digging to nest when the barometer falls.



Very interesting, something good to keep note of.


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