Train A Tortoise

Gillian M

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@jaizei There are many threads about Bob here on the forum. Just look them up or ask Cameron to help. He can find them all. It all starts with bonding, and takes years.

After a while of hand feeding a tortoise he starts to think the hand is food. My Bob who loved me dearly thought my hand was food and cost me 7 stitches. He was 15 at the time and no dummy. But any expert on the forum will tell you I am correct. Now I understand Oli is small and not likely to hurt much when he bites. But it is still unacceptable behaviour.
:rolleyes:
 

Fredkas

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@jaizei There are many threads about Bob here on the forum. Just look them up or ask Cameron to help. He can find them all. It all starts with bonding, and takes years.

After a while of hand feeding a tortoise he starts to think the hand is food. My Bob who loved me dearly thought my hand was food and cost me 7 stitches. He was 15 at the time and no dummy. But any expert on the forum will tell you I am correct. Now I understand Oli is small and not likely to hurt much when he bites. But it is still unacceptable behaviour.
You mention wrong member lol. Oh i love hand feeding my 3 months, and i think he / she enjoy it. If it is no good for the tortoise behaviour in the future, i guess i'll pass it.

There's not just one thread. When Bob was alive Maggie told us stories about him all the time. Do a search for "Bob" and put "maggie3fan" as the 'posted by memeber'.
I see. I'll search it.
 

CathyNed

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Cant say much about training myself but I joke all the time that my tort is toilet trained. Since the day I got him he routinely eats his food, turns around and poops in his dish. The only time he poops elsewhere is when he is in the bath. I must admit its handy for cleaning purposes.
Otherwise he is not trained but has a routine. He knows when to come for food and when to go to his night box.
 

Mortis_thetortoise

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No.

They will learn where things are, what they like, who brings yummy food and what to expect at certain times, but you will never train a tort like you can train a dog.

I posted a picture on here not so long ago of my tort trying to force his way through a fence to get at the lawn mower ... there was a massive gap in the fence only a couple of feet to his left, but he wasn't capable of working out that there was an easier route. That about sums up the intelligence level.


same thing can happen to dogs and even humans. once one gets too focused with one method to reach the the goal they can be blinded by other options to reach it.

have you ever tricked a dog by faking throwing a ball and watching it run to find the ball ? does that make the dog stupid? No, it means the owner never exposed them to the experience. after working with my dog its impossible to "fake him out" as he has learned to watch the ball and not your hand.

its like asking a elementary school kid to do high school math.... itll be easier to those previously exposed to the experience.

im sure when he tries to escape from his enclosure he doesn't just try one spot and give up. after a while of trying hell figure out its not working and try another option until he is tired or is hungry or decides hes stuck.
 

JoesMum

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im sure when he tries to escape from his enclosure he doesn't just try one spot and give up. after a while of trying hell figure out its not working and try another option until he is tired or is hungry or decides hes stuck.
No he just keeps trying the one spot. We've had him over 40 years. It's never changed. He goes for the most direct route and will only move if I do.
 

Gillian M

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Cant say much about training myself but I joke all the time that my tort is toilet trained. Since the day I got him he routinely eats his food, turns around and poops in his dish. The only time he poops elsewhere is when he is in the bath. I must admit its handy for cleaning purposes.
Otherwise he is not trained but has a routine. He knows when to come for food and when to go to his night box.
You are lucky and so is your tort.
 

Beasty_Artemis

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Oh....wow! Cool video!!!

I have always had lots of reptiles since i was a little girl. And my red foot tortoise , Artemis, is actually really responsive to training! Oh and she is around 5 inches long, so she is still a little girl.
She reacts and comes to her name! Then follows me around the perimeter of her table. She lets different people give her pets on the head other than just myself.
She always starts eating or searching for food when i say "feeding time baby"!

Then sometimes, if i dont give her enough veriety in her salad, she will get butt-hurt and just keep burying herself if i take her out again. Lately she is very picky and will not eat clover....

But i recomend positive reinforcement! I would give her a treat if she walked up to me, or followed me around her kingdom. Teach them that their "human pet" is just around to give them goodies.
 

Gillian M

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Oh....wow! Cool video!!!

I have always had lots of reptiles since i was a little girl. And my red foot tortoise , Artemis, is actually really responsive to training! Oh and she is around 5 inches long, so she is still a little girl.
She reacts and comes to her name! Then follows me around the perimeter of her table. She lets different people give her pets on the head other than just myself.
She always starts eating or searching for food when i say "feeding time baby"!

Then sometimes, if i dont give her enough veriety in her salad, she will get butt-hurt and just keep burying herself if i take her out again. Lately she is very picky and will not eat clover....

But i recomend positive reinforcement! I would give her a treat if she walked up to me, or followed me around her kingdom. Teach them that their "human pet" is just around to give them goodies.
Interesting. Don't know whether or not you read my post as far as training a tort is concerned. I tried to train Oli not to entre my bedroom. However, not only did it not work. It was the ONE and ONLY room he wanted to entre! "Forbidden fruit is the sweetest" I thought - lol!
 

Cowboy_Ken

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@jaizei It all starts with bonding, and takes years.
After a while of hand feeding a tortoise he starts to think the hand is food. My Bob who loved me dearly thought my hand was food and cost me 7 stitches. He was 15 at the time and no dummy.
And it all seems to end with YOU being trained not to hand feed. Perhaps the concept here should be changed to, "Can a human be trained with a tortoise?" And not visa-versa?
 

Kenno

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I have a couple of fresh thoughts on intelligence and training of desert torts.

I have three males, ages guessed at about 100, 40, and 20.

Old Duncan is clearly the most intelligent and proves it in many ways. He is the only one who truly hates to be lifted from the ground. He flails wildly, and when he touches the ground again he pulls into his shell for a while. I try to avoid picking him up.

The conflict is that my wife doesn't want tortoises on the back porch, which involves an easy climb of two steps. This year we are trying to avoid putting up the usual fences. When they climb and clatter up the steps, I pick them up and move them out to the grass.

Old Duncan has stopped coming onto the porch! The last time he started to climb, he saw me coming and turned around!

The 40 year old is recovering from bladder stone surgery and does not have the energy to make the climb, yet. He is coming along well, and eats more every day.

The youngest, who has finally stopped growing, is hopeless in terms of staying off the porch. I lift him down about 4 times a day. He seems to like the ride! He's the only one who does,t enjoy climbing into the 22 inch water dish, so maybe I'll start moving him from porch to water dish.

There is no food on the porch, but it is another big space to explore.

My final thought is that their intelligence seems to be directly related to their age. Maybe they keep learning and getting smarter. The middle guy has learned a couple of tricks from Old Duncan, like pulling his body over some food and then backing off gradually to protect his share.

Opinions and other observations are welcomed and encouraged!
 

WithLisa

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He's the only one who does,t enjoy climbing into the 22 inch water dish, so maybe I'll start moving him from porch to water dish.
Or maybe try a water gun? Positive and negative reinforcement works on any kind of animal, you just have to find the right stimuli.
 

seanang168

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My star tortoises would bite me accidentally when I hand feed and I would cry out in pain and shook my fingers off. I did notice that whenever this happns, they took extra precautions on their next bites.
 

Pearly

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I have a couple of fresh thoughts on intelligence and training of desert torts.

I have three males, ages guessed at about 100, 40, and 20.

Old Duncan is clearly the most intelligent and proves it in many ways. He is the only one who truly hates to be lifted from the ground. He flails wildly, and when he touches the ground again he pulls into his shell for a while. I try to avoid picking him up.

The conflict is that my wife doesn't want tortoises on the back porch, which involves an easy climb of two steps. This year we are trying to avoid putting up the usual fences. When they climb and clatter up the steps, I pick them up and move them out to the grass.

Old Duncan has stopped coming onto the porch! The last time he started to climb, he saw me coming and turned around!

The 40 year old is recovering from bladder stone surgery and does not have the energy to make the climb, yet. He is coming along well, and eats more every day.

The youngest, who has finally stopped growing, is hopeless in terms of staying off the porch. I lift him down about 4 times a day. He seems to like the ride! He's the only one who does,t enjoy climbing into the 22 inch water dish, so maybe I'll start moving him from porch to water dish.

There is no food on the porch, but it is another big space to explore.

My final thought is that their intelligence seems to be directly related to their age. Maybe they keep learning and getting smarter. The middle guy has learned a couple of tricks from Old Duncan, like pulling his body over some food and then backing off gradually to protect his share.

Opinions and other observations are welcomed and encouraged!
Love to read stories about real old torts! Your trio sounds really cool
 
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