Baby Hermann's OK?

Status
Not open for further replies.

John Stamos

Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2013
Messages
35
Hello everyone, I recently got a baby Hermann's hatchling from my local pet store. When I got home everyone wanted to hold him and look at him. Unfortunately the lil guy was dropped from about waist high onto concrete. I was like OMG, and was very pissed!!! However he looked to be ok and there was no damage to his shell. I put him in his enclosure and he was walking around and eating just fine. Do you think that everything is fine?

I love my baby C.B. Hermann Tortoise!
(Shell-E) :)
 

Baoh

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Nov 18, 2007
Messages
1,827
Location (City and/or State)
Florida
Probably fine.

I would recommend not letting others hold him unless they are sitting down and he is in their lap or something similarly redundant in case of a startled drop.
 

Jabuticaba

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2013
Messages
1,744
Location (City and/or State)
Winnipeg, MB
Happy Monday, John! How's your heart, today? Well, that was quite the scare!

I agree with Baoh in that the little guys is okay, as long as he's eating. I also agree that people should be sitting down; however, I will add that they should be sitting down on the floor, . People still drop things while sitting at a table. (I speak from personal experience!) For the future, I'd recommend having the little guy in a shallow Rubbermaid tub, on a table or floor, so people are free to interact with him, without picking them up. This way, you don't have to worry about him falling off the table and/or walking away and getting lost, or worse: getting stepped on.

You may think I'm a bit paranoid, but here are my personal rules for people interacting with my torts:
1) I'm the only one who picks them up, unless you are a) a vet/vet tech, b) used to handling torts in general, c) used to and don't freak out about being peed and pooped on;
2) No petting their heads;
3) No tapping/knocking on their shells or their heads. Gentle strokes to the shell and legs only; and last, but most importantly...
4) No touching their heads! :D

Go ahead, say it: I'm certifiable paranoid. I can take it. :D Before you do, though, here's why I'm so careful with them: As a student of psychology and being passionate about animal behaviour, emotion, and cognition, any animal's psyche is as important to me, as their physical health. From my personal experience and observations, the average human meeting any kind of animal for the first time, will often worry about getting bitten/attacked. A small amount of anxiety is a natural response, imho. The issue is that the majority of humans will often use fast, jerky movements, which usually result in a poke rather than a gentle, comforting touch. Such movements usually scare animals and they learn to associate such unpleasant situations with fear, very quickly! It's a survival mechanism, part of self preservation; i.e. totally natural. As you know, torts are very sensitive to having their heads touched, so I don't want my guys associating hands/getting handled with fear. I've work very hard on desensitising them to gentle touch and handling.

One more piece of advice: Have fun with the little guy.
 

Terry Allan Hall

Active Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2010
Messages
4,009
Location (City and/or State)
The Republic O' Tejas
Jabuticaba said:
Happy Monday, John! How's your heart, today? Well, that was quite the scare!

I agree with Baoh in that the little guys is okay, as long as he's eating. I also agree that people should be sitting down; however, I will add that they should be sitting down on the floor, . People still drop things while sitting at a table. (I speak from personal experience!) For the future, I'd recommend having the little guy in a shallow Rubbermaid tub, on a table or floor, so people are free to interact with him, without picking them up. This way, you don't have to worry about him falling off the table and/or walking away and getting lost, or worse: getting stepped on.

You may think I'm a bit paranoid, but here are my personal rules for people interacting with my torts:
1) I'm the only one who picks them up, unless you are a) a vet/vet tech, b) used to handling torts in general, c) used to and don't freak out about being peed and pooped on;
2) No petting their heads;
3) No tapping/knocking on their shells or their heads. Gentle strokes to the shell and legs only; and last, but most importantly...
4) No touching their heads! :D

Go ahead, say it: I'm certifiable paranoid. I can take it. :D Before you do, though, here's why I'm so careful with them: As a student of psychology and being passionate about animal behaviour, emotion, and cognition, any animal's psyche is as important to me, as their physical health. From my personal experience and observations, the average human meeting any kind of animal for the first time, will often worry about getting bitten/attacked. A small amount of anxiety is a natural response, imho. The issue is that the majority of humans will often use fast, jerky movements, which usually result in a poke rather than a gentle, comforting touch. Such movements usually scare animals and they learn to associate such unpleasant situations with fear, very quickly! It's a survival mechanism, part of self preservation; i.e. totally natural. As you know, torts are very sensitive to having their heads touched, so I don't want my guys associating hands/getting handled with fear. I've work very hard on desensitising them to gentle touch and handling.

One more piece of advice: Have fun with the little guy.

Excellent advice! :cool:
 

John Stamos

Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2013
Messages
35
Wow, ok...I feel a lot better now! Thanks for taking the time to explain your tortoise handling method. Definitely very helpful! :)

I love my baby C.B. Hermann Tortoise!
(Shell-E) :)
 

Baoh

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Nov 18, 2007
Messages
1,827
Location (City and/or State)
Florida
Agreed.

I actually prefer to severely limit handling at all by anyone other than myself or my fiancee, as few people innately "get it".
 

Jabuticaba

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2013
Messages
1,744
Location (City and/or State)
Winnipeg, MB
John Stamos said:
Wow, ok...I feel a lot better now! Thanks for taking the time to explain your tortoise handling method. Definitely very helpful! :)

I love my baby C.B. Hermann Tortoise!
(Shell-E) :)

You're welcome! How's the little guy today?


May[CHERRY BLOSSOM], Darwin[TURTLE] & Wallace[TURTLE]
Winnipeg, Canada


Baoh said:
Agreed.

I actually prefer to severely limit handling at all by anyone other than myself or my fiancee, as few people innately "get it".

It's certainly hard to find balance.


May[CHERRY BLOSSOM], Darwin[TURTLE] & Wallace[TURTLE]
Winnipeg, Canada
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top