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One of our members posted this X-ray it may help you understand why we don’t want people to let their torts run a round the floors of a house !
Can someone explain this? (tortoise chases ball)
- Thread starter Eva C
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MrMarg&me
Well-Known Member
Did this turtle swallow a turtle charm?
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Yes !
I'm not as worried about mental stress. I'm more worried about physical damage to the joints, tendons and ligaments.
"But but but, I'm always very careful, and I always supervise the tortoise when he's loose in the house…"
You forgot, "And my floors are clean enough to eat off."
Bambam1989
Well-Known Member
Poor little guy looks like a sea turtle struggling on land..
No jackpot giant grape theory ? [emoji524][emoji217]
If you pause the video at 0:24, you can see that he has an awful underbite as well.
Lady of the Tort Fort
New Member
I put a pingpong ball in my baby Russian's enclosure to see if he would react to it, but after reading this thread I'm glad that he has been completely ignoring it for months.
As for the agression against objects, I can relate to the fact that he is very suspiciously watching every move of this soft indoor football. Its colors and pattern do look a lot like a Russian's shell
As for the agression against objects, I can relate to the fact that he is very suspiciously watching every move of this soft indoor football. Its colors and pattern do look a lot like a Russian's shell
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Kotter
New Member
A dog tearing up toys isn’t necessarily aggression. It can be, but often is just playing. We have 2 JRTs and any toy they get immediately gets ripped open so they can get at the squeaky goodness inside. Our greyhound loves to rip holes in her beds, pull out the stuffing, and then toss it in the air like it’s raining fluff. Neither of these are acts of aggression, they are just dogs playing. They might be aggressive, destructive acts from a human standpoint, but to a dog it’s just playing.
Yes, I think dogs tearing up toys could be either aggression, boredom or playing, depending on the dog and the situation.
But tortoises do not play.
Kotter
New Member
Right. As per my comment, I was only referring to dogs. Most everyone here mirrored my initial thoughts from when I first viewed that terrible video - particularly Tom’s comment in regards to the tortoise not even being able to stand up on those smooth, slick floors. That was what immediately jumped out at me. And with these things being this obvious to someone as inexperienced with tortoise care as me (I’ve owned my 2 Sulcata babies for all of 3 weeks today), then I can’t imagine how the owner in the video thought everything was ok with their tortoise. I mean, geez, it couldn’t STAND UP! Hopefully this tort isn’t normally and/or constantly on floors like this, but unfortunately the way its legs were splayed out I suspect this is typical of its life. I hope either the owner will learn - and sooner rather than later - or that I am wrong about what I’ve perceived from the video.
Putting a stressed out tort on a hard slick floor that makes it walk/run unnaturally can cause joint damage and bone disorders. Entertainment?
The very reason some humans keep animals is for entertainment. it's just a great pity and horrible for the animal when the people either do not know or do not care that it is suffering and being damaged in some often permanent way, over and over, for their "entertainment" - or their profit.
I am a rather biocentric person, and I do not believe that any human being is entitled to treat an animal with cruelty. Unfortunately, too many people cannot fathom the fact that an animal can have emotions and can feel real pain.
Obviously not on a slick household floor, or all the time. Absolutely not as in this video, but I can see small stressors as being potentially beneficial.
Nothing to do with character building.
In terms of enrichment in captive animals, small amounts of stress is actually healthy.
Obviously most enrichment is derived from having a spacious, interesting environment. More from providing opprotunities to forage. But at the end of the day important enrichment does come from the ability to exhibit natural behaviours.
We know stress hormones in low and moderate amounts are healthy for living things(domestic and wild animals alike). So I can very well see under the right circumstances, a tortoise chasing a perceived intruder from his territory as being a bit of "healthy" stress. This could give the ability to exhibit a natural behavior in a safe way, and provide a bit of a chemical reward from exerting dominance and triumphantly protecting his territory.
Obviously if someone did do this I would say it should be under extremely controlled circumstances. Safe area, very limited amount of time, once the intruder "flees", it stays gone. Not for the enjoyment of people but as a way to rarely provide a different type of enrichment.
I agree It is important that we ensure that animals in our care do not experience undue stress as a result of our captivity. It is important that we do not force them to exhibit behaviours that cause them risk, unnatural stress or discomfort for our own enjoyment. They are living being and not toys or things that exist for our fun. But providing limited, occasional chances to experience low level stress IS healthy and important for every animal- wild or captive.
I get this and I agree. Even moving an animal, and we are talking tortoises here, from an indoor enclosure to a larger, grassy, sunny open air one outside, is a kind of stress that we might agree is a "small and healthy" stressor. And adding some new rocks or plants, or a "toy" or two would increase their "enrichment" and may more closely mimic their natural wild environment.
We just have to keep an eye on them like they are our kids, to see no harm is done.
