- Joined
- Jul 16, 2014
- Messages
- 29,131
- Location (City and/or State)
- South Eastern Florida (U.S.A.)/Rock Hill S.C.
Most of us have seen or heard of tortoise wiggling their rear ends when water or a hand or a soft brush touches the rear area of the shell and there has been talk about it being an enjoyable reaction or something else....
This is not a scientific test. Just an interesting observation: Recently, my ill Redfoot female slipped into a state that looked like she was dead and remained there for most of the day. Limp limbs. Head limp. Eyes open and glazed over. There was no movement or even reaction to touching her feet, etc. I even touched her eyeball with my finger. Nothing. She had pooped all over herself,so I decided to wash her and get her ready for burial the next day and I was surprised to notice that when I washed her "butt" area, she wiggled her rear back and forth.
This from an animal that was for all the world dead.
She has since made a very slow recovery and continues to live, but it got me convinced that this reaction is a reflex and not a conscious pleasure reaction. Since an unconscious tortoise did it.
My big male gets his water changed every day and he walks to the hose and every day I spray him with water and he wiggles. Now, I'm thinking is it something he likes or maybe I've been annoying him every day.
Maybe it's far more difficult than I imagined to get into the mind of a tortoise.
This is not a scientific test. Just an interesting observation: Recently, my ill Redfoot female slipped into a state that looked like she was dead and remained there for most of the day. Limp limbs. Head limp. Eyes open and glazed over. There was no movement or even reaction to touching her feet, etc. I even touched her eyeball with my finger. Nothing. She had pooped all over herself,so I decided to wash her and get her ready for burial the next day and I was surprised to notice that when I washed her "butt" area, she wiggled her rear back and forth.
This from an animal that was for all the world dead.
She has since made a very slow recovery and continues to live, but it got me convinced that this reaction is a reflex and not a conscious pleasure reaction. Since an unconscious tortoise did it.
My big male gets his water changed every day and he walks to the hose and every day I spray him with water and he wiggles. Now, I'm thinking is it something he likes or maybe I've been annoying him every day.
Maybe it's far more difficult than I imagined to get into the mind of a tortoise.