Captive habits.

[Anyfoot]

How much does captivity change a tortoises habits?

I've noticed my babies have become fearless and some just don't bother hiding any more, their quite happy sat on their moss instead of hiding in it.

Yesterday morning I fed them quite a large pile of weeds, as usual they were all waiting for food and as usual they all ate like gannets. Later that evening I went back in like I do every day to spray and soak and just generally spend some quality time watching my torts. Well because I'd put too much weeds down that morning there was still some left. As I approached the baby enclosure they all come out and started eating again. These torts have associated seeing me with feeding time. Even though the food was already there and I hadn't put any fresh food in the enclosure they still came out to eat just because they had seen me. If I hadn't had gone in there they wouldn't have bothered feeding again IMO.

I was wondering what other members have observed regarding torts habits in captivity as oppose to what we think happens in the wild.

 

[wellington]

Interesting that they may have came out to eat just because you came back.
My leopards aren't that big of eaters like the RF sound like they are. Seems every RF owner has eating machines.
My leopards like to roam around their enclosure and nibble here and there, but doing more roaming then grazing. I usually still feed them during the summer because of this, just not as much as the winter months. Usually every other day or so. I would imagine, in the wild, never having food brought to them, they would probably graze more then roam.

 

[MichaelaW]

My Manouria come running as soon as they see me. I can be standing inside the house with the screen door closed, and they will still see me, drop everything, and come. It doesn't matter what they are eating, they will stop everything. The forstenii are quite similar; however, my one LTC Terrapene still exhibits wild behavior.

 

[Anyfoot]

It just shocked me when 20 odd babies came from hiding to eat food that had been there all day just because I was stood there. Maybe my presence just instigated the natural nosey behaviour and they thought I'd put fresh food down. Either way, they wouldn't have bothered eating that food if I hadn't turned up, so they weren't eating out of hunger, it was out of habit IMO.

 

[AmberD]

I've noticed with my 9 month old red foot at first I had to put him in the food bowl or I thought he'd never eat (at 3 months) then after about a month I started leaving him once I knew he was gaining and healthy. Now routinely he is fed at about 8 am. He is always awake and in his hut, waiting. I turn his UV light on after putting in the food and that has kind of associated with food to him. Although if I am even an hour later (9am) some mornings as I have a farm to tend, he will be waiting in his food bowl, almost like an internal clock without his light being on. He will stop eating/sometimes hide if I try to watch him eat though. So with him a habit of timing?

 

[harris]

My Mee's will only copulate when brought indoors for the year. Never once witnessed them do it in their outdoor enclosure.

 

[Kaliman1962]

that's funny, i have a Greek Ibera, as soon as i come close to the enclosure or unzip the top she comes running, she will wait by her dish too if i'm late feeding her in the morning. even if its not feeding she see's me & comes. i love it lol

 

[Borgijo]

Interesting that they may have came out to eat just because you came back.
My leopards aren't that big of eaters like the RF sound like they are. Seems every RF owner has eating machines.
My leopards like to roam around their enclosure and nibble here and there, but doing more roaming then grazing. I usually still feed them during the summer because of this, just not as much as the winter months. Usually every other day or so. I would imagine, in the wild, never having food brought to them, they would probably graze more then roam.

Wellington, question for you. My three leopards eat twice a day a spring greens/weeds/or what vegetable I might give them from the local garden. If I don’t feed them on time they go and sit in their feeding area and wait for me. Should I try to cut back to once a day? They are 2, 2 & 4 yrs old. When they are outside they are constantly grazing on grass & clover.

 

[wellington]

Wellington, question for you. My three leopards eat twice a day a spring greens/weeds/or what vegetable I might give them from the local garden. If I don’t feed them on time they go and sit in their feeding area and wait for me. Should I try to cut back to once a day? They are 2, 2 & 4 yrs old. When they are outside they are constantly grazing on grass & clover.

I feed my adults once a day. However, I feed them a lot so they can get full. When they are able to go outside, I don't see them eating as much as I feed them in the winter, but then I'm not watching them all day long either.

 

[NorCal tortoise guy]

I feed my baby leopards just after I soak them everyday. When I put them back in the cage from the soaking tub they all but run to the feeding area I have started setting them down in the far corner of the enclosure but I still have to be fast getting the food in place or they are there waiting on me . My stars do the same thing but the baby sulcatas are a little slower and not as eager it seems. I know they are conditioned to our schedule but i have also wondered if they associate wet times with food in the wild in some way

 

[jakskillz]

I don’t own tortoises but have box turtles and my roommate has a red foot tortoise. The biggest different I’ve seen between my captive box turtles and any wild encounters is that they are no longer fearful of not only me but most other larger beings (cats, dogs etc) they have learned to associate people with food so they perk out of their shells rather than hide. In captivity this can be cute and charming but just think about what would happen if a predator came across a turtle that is sticking its head out for food? Wild box turtles can be bold sometimes but usually once you walk towards them close up and hide safe in their shells. One of my rescue males escaped and I was worried sick. Somebody found him and brought him to the vet with a fractured leg meaning an animal was able to attack him since he wasn’t hiding in defense mode. Wild turtles can become accustomed to captivity too which is a big reason never to take them from the wild and then release them back later. My roommates tortoise is the same way.