# Can a tortoise swim?



## tyler0912 (Aug 29, 2011)

Can a tortoise swim...?
check these out: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVFVHy2yXV8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-m4xed0kp8&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
if so why....how...is this not cruel!  

please....thankyou!


----------



## dmarcus (Aug 29, 2011)

Some can and some can't... we have seen videos of the large Aldabras swimming. Also is more floating and paddling than swimming...


----------



## bikerchicspain (Aug 29, 2011)

Wow that is amazing!!!!


----------



## cemmons12 (Aug 29, 2011)

If I did that to Cooper he would flip out big time, he hates water, so far....


----------



## Tom (Aug 29, 2011)

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Tortoise-Mythbusters?page=3&highlight=swimming#axzz1WNH3zWb4

Page 3. Post #33.


----------



## jeffbens0n (Aug 29, 2011)

Yea I don't think the redfoot in the second video wanted to "take a dip". I think he just kinda fell down the ramp where they put him.


----------



## stephiiberrybean (Aug 29, 2011)

jeffbens0n said:


> Yea I don't think the redfoot in the second video wanted to "take a dip". I think he just kinda fell down the ramp where they put him.



I have to say he did look really un-amused by the whole thing! Poor tortoise.

I know that most animals, given the chance, love swimming. Or even just paddling in cool water on hot days. So it doesn't surprise me that some tortoises like a dip.

I had guinea-pigs that were terrible, you could not get them out of the water! 
My big horse, Jimbo, loves water. He's in every puddle he sees and you've shot it if he see's a lake and fancies a splash!


----------



## SulcataSquirt (Aug 29, 2011)

Squirt would freak if we put him in anything deeper than this - but on a warm day he enjoys splashing himself with water.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2_v_nb1Fws


----------



## tyler0912 (Aug 29, 2011)

i think its cruel how she put it up there and he fell in! D:


----------



## Sky2Mina (Aug 29, 2011)

So, would it be cruel if I tried whether my tortoise could float or not? 
(I don't think you can call it swimming... it's more floating with paddling to go in different directions)


----------



## tyler0912 (Aug 29, 2011)

ive just sone it with tiago he ''swam'' so agialy it was cool to watch he floated went for a paddle swam again  ...have a look! 













I take back what i said about it being cruel!


----------



## Jacqui (Aug 29, 2011)

stephiiberrybean said:


> jeffbens0n said:
> 
> 
> > Yea I don't think the redfoot in the second video wanted to "take a dip". I think he just kinda fell down the ramp where they put him.
> ...



For some reason, never would have thought gpigs liked to get into water. 

As for the horses and water, I had a paint mare I named Kibi aqua when I got her (means pretty water) turned out she hated water or even anything that she thought was a puddle...like shadows across the roads.


----------



## tyler0912 (Aug 29, 2011)

haha!


----------



## GeoTerraTestudo (Aug 29, 2011)

I think it's a bad idea to put a redfoot and sulcata in a human bathtub. From a microbial standpoint, I think all three species could contract something they shouldn't. Plus, bathtubs have soap residues, which are probably not good for turtles, either. Oh, and the videographer should have gotten out of the way of the light, too.

As for the second video, I really doubt that redfoot enjoyed sliding down into a pool of water like a river otter. I realize redfoots and yellowfoots do have some swimming ability, which they need because they live in the watersheds of large South American rivers. However, I really doubt if they like zipping around in the water like a red-eared slider or a painted turtle would.

Sorry if I sound like a curmudgeon here, but I just don't think it's very responsible to force tortoises to swim. If they walk out into relatively deep water and start swimming of their own accord, then they obviously don't mind it. But to mimic flooding conditions and force your tortoise to swim in a tub or a pool swims a bit cruel, and potentially dangerous for the animal. When I give my tortoises their weekly bath, I always do it in shallow water so that they could breathe even if they just sat there, so they don't have to lift up their heads or anything. And when the temperature is good, they seem to enjoy it, too, because they spread out their limbs and just look about calmly, which suggests to me that they are relaxed and feeling good. I'm sure they could swim for a while, but considering the environment they come from (deserts and grasslands), I doubt if they would like it very much.


----------



## tyler0912 (Aug 29, 2011)

I agree but if he did not enjoy he would go mad.....but he likes water and he was calm and its' agreat way for excercise!


----------



## GeoTerraTestudo (Aug 29, 2011)

tyler0912 said:


> I agree but if he did not enjoy he would go mad.....but he likes water and he was calm and its' agreat way for excercise!



I would suggest a humane experiment. Get a large bin with a slanted bottom and fill it up with warm water, so that there is a shallow end where the tortoise can stand, and a deep end where he must swim. Give him enough time to try it out, and I suspect he would stay in the shallow end most of the time, at least until he wanted to try and escape from the enclosure.


----------



## tyler0912 (Aug 29, 2011)

thats how i did with the bath filled it on the deps side so he was not touching the floor and on the other side he could reach the floor and he swam soo....


----------



## stephiiberrybean (Aug 29, 2011)

Jacqui said:


> For some reason, never would have thought gpigs liked to get into water.
> 
> As for the horses and water, I had a paint mare I named Kibi aqua when I got her (means pretty water) turned out she hated water or even anything that she thought was a puddle...like shadows across the roads.



Oh yes. Most Gpigs love swimming! Funny little creatures.

My mare, she's only 4, was terrified of puddles when i got her. She's getting less and less bothered as I work with her, walking through shallow puddles now without any encouragement from me. Just walking straight to them and through them. Bless her. 

Go Tiago  Glad he enjoyed his first swimming experience.


----------



## tyler0912 (Aug 29, 2011)




----------

