Last weekend something scary (but in the end funny) happened. We were babysitting several sulcata and other smaller tortoises in the front yard of our friend's reptile rescue while the guys worked on building the tortoise barn's floor. One of the new, very large, male sulcatas was in a grumpy mood that day. He kept charging the smaller tortoises, as well as charging at the kids. My kids are used to being around my friends' tortoises, and they know that they need to stand NEXT TO the tortoise, and not to touch their heads, etc.
I had to run into the house to get something, and asked my husband to keep an ear out for trouble. Well, a few minutes later, my husband heard a small voice saying: "Dada! Help!" ... and when he came around the corner, there was our son, flat on his back, with the 100lb+ sully standing on him, walking up his torso. Quickly my husband hefted the sully off my son, and my son was just fine (the tortoise had walked up onto his legs and pelvis, but hadn't gotten to his soft belly yet). For the rest of the time there, my son climbed the trees and stayed OFF the ground.
In the end it's a funny story, but I did want to post on here just as a small cautionary tale... a sulcata that is friendly to adults might get annoyed by kids. A sulcata that is normally friendly to everyone might also just have a bad day. This one was having a bad day, and ended up in time-out. Don't leave kids unattended with large tortoises!
I had to run into the house to get something, and asked my husband to keep an ear out for trouble. Well, a few minutes later, my husband heard a small voice saying: "Dada! Help!" ... and when he came around the corner, there was our son, flat on his back, with the 100lb+ sully standing on him, walking up his torso. Quickly my husband hefted the sully off my son, and my son was just fine (the tortoise had walked up onto his legs and pelvis, but hadn't gotten to his soft belly yet). For the rest of the time there, my son climbed the trees and stayed OFF the ground.
In the end it's a funny story, but I did want to post on here just as a small cautionary tale... a sulcata that is friendly to adults might get annoyed by kids. A sulcata that is normally friendly to everyone might also just have a bad day. This one was having a bad day, and ended up in time-out. Don't leave kids unattended with large tortoises!
