Vanessa Black
Member
Just curious
I would disagree with the fact they can't hear. I can call mine and they will turn and look and then come. I'm not moving when I call them. I can't swear they didn't feel the vibes as I was approaching but I doubt it as the distance of me from them is quite a few feet and that I'm not right in their area. I also seen one of my torts look up at a plane that was very loud going over. He could have seen it but he wasn't looking up at the time, in fact down eating. I don't think they know names though.@GBtortoises shared the results of a scientific study done at his place years ago. The conclusion was that tortoises don't hear and that their reaction to humans is olfactory or visually based. Another possibility is that they can recognize the "feel" of an individual's foot steps, especially when paired with a primary reinforcer like food.
After reading his posts, I tried to call some of mine by name, but they always seemed to be able to see me before I could try voice only. They have such a wide field of vision, its hard to sneak up on them. So far, I've gotten no responses to voice calls.
I find this to be an interesting and debatable topic.
Stéphane Gagno
06 September 2014
It should be clear by now that chelonians have by all means a well-developed sense of hearing that is complemented by sensory receptors in their shell that are sensitised to a wide range of the frequencies a tortoise would respond to.
Torts don't use voice communication. What they hear is only used to distinguish betwen unsafe, tasty, etc
vocalizations of tortoises show both frequency and amplitude modulation, and a rich harmonic structure, which are acoustic features incompatible with mechanisms of sound production based simply on the air flow through respiratory tracts
What song? [emoji23][emoji16]I have box turtles and I started playing a song every time before I feed them. I moved them to my office/shop because I have to build a new pen that doesn’t flood but this song has been played since they were outside. My boss didn’t believe me when I told him almost all come out for the song until low and behold... songs playing and out from every hide, corner and under the dirt these turtles all pop out and just sit looking either up for me to put the food down or at me directly if they are in temp terrariums. I control the music through google Home so half the time I’m playing the song before I even walk into the room. I’m guessing it’s based off the vibrations.
What song? [emoji23][emoji16]