Can you bond with them?

[paytonandjay]

So my tortoise doesn't hide from me ever or go away when Pick him up. He is fine with everyone. But he can live for 40+ years and I was wondering if they can like a certain person like dogs. Or know there owner? I know this May be a dumb question but I'm just curious I've never had a pet like this. Thanks!

 

[lismar79]

They will know you as the food god

 

[laramill]

I don't have a lot of personal experience, having only taken Wilson, my russian, in 6 months ago, but after watching hours of youtube videos, I always wonder if there is a big difference between wild caught and captive bred torts as far as a ability or willingness to bond goes.

Some of the hand-raised-since-birth torts on youtube crawl right into their caretakers hands, or even come to their names.

Wilson was most likely wild caught and was not taken proper care of. I've cared for him the best I could since he came into our lives and his shell is healing beautifully, he's well fed and has a 2 story tort-palace enclosure... but I really don't think he's attached to me in any way or even prefers me to anyone else. (And even though the feelings aren't mutual, I still adore him!)

I think this is really just another reason to get captive bred torts over wild caught/ pet store torts!

 

[Levi the Leopard]

You might bond with your tortoise but I don't think they will bond to you. As long as their needs are properly met, they don't care who is providing it.

 

[Elohi]

We can definitely bond with them. I'm so attached to my hatchlings that I would he heartbroken if anything ever happens to them. And while I have conditioned them to be very friendly and fearless of my presence, I'd seriously doubt they feel any sort of bond towards me. I'm not a scientist or a behavioralist, or a biologist or any sort of specialist so I can't say for sure one way or the other but I just kind of doubt the bond goes both ways. But you can most certainly condition them to be comfortable with how they are handled and interacted with. My trio run at me, which I like to refer to as tortling LOL. They know I am the food god, the rain god, the sun god, the night sky god, the hatch lifting god, the warm bath god, the head, neck, leg, shell rub god, and the lady who is always talking to them and handling them. I guess it could be argued that a keepers god like status to a tortoise could be a bond but it's certainly not a deep mutual bond like you have with mammals. But I'll take it. I love them like I love my warm blooded animals.


Elohi(Earth)[TURTLE]

 

[ub3rsh00]

Honestly I definitely think they do bond to their owner. I got Turtle the weekend after Christmas 2013, so just a few months ago. And he adores me, but hates my roommate. Even when I don't have food, if he sees me he comes right up to me and holds his head out for me to rub it. When I feed him he will always eat from my hand. When I hold him he always wants to snuggle into my hoodies and crawl up to my face. He's probably wild caught since I got him from petco, and he's probably like 6 or 7.
But as far as emotional attachment on the tortoise's part, I definitely think it's possible. He comes to his name, watches me play video games (provided they aren't games like call of duty or other darker games. I think he likes the bright colors.) But he will only do this stuff with me, if he even seems my roommate he will go right into his shell until he leaves my room. So it's definitely worth a shot to bond. Because I've been shown it is possible.

 

[laramill]

ub3rsh00-
It sounds like you have a terrific relationship with your tort! I think a lot of people aspire to that!

(When I was first researching torts, someone who had kept several of them told me to not expect it to be a like a dog-- not even like a cat, they said. He said it's more like a really good fish-- Like an Oscar. They'd recognize you, know that you had food, come to your side of the tank (remember-- I'm talking about the Oscar, (the fish)-- Not a tort kept in a tank, no-no, we don't do that.), and seem genuinely glad to see you... And the tort would display similar behaviors to that...

But since, I have actually seen torts that do come to their names and show more-- do I dare call it affection?-- than that. Not a lot of them, but they are out there! I think there is one cutie-pie on youtube named "taco" that does this-- Another, I think it was called William, walks down a ramp right into his owners hands when she says "Wanna go out and play?" I haven't really seen dog-level bonding... perhaps not even cat-level-- But there is bonding in individuals.)