HAHA...Sulcata baby tortoise tracker! Following her all over yard and putting big rocks

[wellington]

Please just remember. Everyone just wants the best for your shelled friend and you as it's care taker. We don't want you to experience any heart aches with your tort if we can help it. Some of us are right too the point, not going to wait to be asked. We are concerned about informing first. I'm one of them. Some will wait until advice is asked for, if that ever happens.
We don't know your life, ups or downs, good or bads. It doesn't matter. Not that we don't care, it's because whatever someone's life, what's good for the tort or what's bad for a tort, it's the same no mater the humans situation. Take the help/suggestions/warnings or not, but take it as given. All for the concern of your animal and to inform you what could be, incase you didn't know. Mostly not done with judgement.

 

[Kristy1970]

SAFETY FIRST!

 

[wellington]

SAFETY FIRST!

You got it.

 

[Kristy1970]

Please just remember. Everyone just wants the best for your shelled friend and you as it's care taker. We don't want you to experience any heart aches with your tort if we can help it. Some of us are right too the point, not going to wait to be asked. We are concerned about informing first. I'm one of them. Some will wait until advice is asked for, if that ever happens.
We don't know your life, ups or downs, good or bads. It doesn't matter. Not that we don't care, it's because whatever someone's life, what's good for the tort or what's bad for a tort, it's the same no mater the humans situation. Take the help/suggestions/warnings or not, but take it as given. All for the concern of your animal and to inform you what could be, incase you didn't know. Mostly not done with judgement.

Thanks for your kind response! My Daisy is spoiled and I work daily on making her life as best as possible, but my mission is now educating our youth. Daisy has made s difference in my Isabella’s life and I know this is just the beginning!

 

[Kristy1970]

You are going to lose this tortoise if you keep letting it run loose in the yard. Ask me how I know this.

Make an enclosure and keep your tortoise safe.

TOM .. please Message me

 

[Tom]

TOM .. please Message me

Barb spelled it out perfectly above. I like you, I like your tortoise, and I see an all too familiar train wreck coming. I don't want to open my laptop and see another panicky post from another fantastic TFO member who is in a frantic desperate search to find their lost tortoise. They always explain how they watch the tortoise carefully when it is roaming outside in the yard and they are always sure it is safe.

Just imagine for a minute how you would feel if the tortoise disappeared one day. You just turn your head for one second to watch the baby, or answer the phone, or check the tortoise forum and you turn around and your tortoise has seemingly vanished into thin air. I don't want you to experience that horrible sensation of adrenaline fueled sheer panic and heartbreak. It is awful. I wish someone had warned me before I had done it.

It is very clear that you want to do your best for this tortoise and I'm just trying to prevent a disaster that I've seen and experienced too many times myself. You can buy or build a simple enclosure in minutes. It doesn't have to be elaborate or expensive. Here are some ideas:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/cheap-easy-simple-sunning-enclosure.14680/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/simple-sunning-enclosure.104351/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...table-but-safe-outdoor-baby-enclosures.30683/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/outdoor-enclosures.121732/

 

[Kristy1970]

Why are you assuming I will make the same screw ups you did? Lessons learned. I’m here to learn not to be judged.

 

[Kristy1970]

Oh and I’ve read all your links multiple times, they are great but there are many roads that end at the same destination.

 

[Kristy1970]

I love creating and building so the money comment is uncalled for.

 

[Kristy1970]

This is so outrageous! What happened to positive reinforcement??? Good grief... I’ll just lurk and learn... no more post from me. I hope you don’t run off more good hearted people!

 

[Jay Bagley]

Where I take my tortoise is to my parents yard which butts up to 25 acres that I deer hunt on. I am one of those people that watches my tortoise like a hawk, the weather was nice in the beginning of the week so I brought him over there to get some sunshine, exercise, and to graze. While he was walking around, my father asked me to help him carry their picnic table up to the patio from the garage where they had it stored. I literally had my back turned for maybe 2 or 3 minutes tops. And very naively, figured it was only going to be a minute or two and how fast can this guy really walk anyways? When I turned my head just a minute or two later I could not see Sheldon anymore. I had the exact same panic, that I had experienced at the grocery store a time or two in the past when your kid is holding onto the cart right in front of you and you turn the grab something off the top shelf, and they vanish into the toy aisle. It's a very sickening feeling. I ended up finding him about 10 to 20 yards into the hay field which butts up to my parents yard. The amount of ground that he covered in that very short amount of time was almost kind of mind-boggling. The grass is very tall in that field already, and there are woods just to the side of it. I consider myself very fortunate that I found him so quickly. Lesson learned, they may be slow but if you give them an inch they are definitely going to take a mile. I wasn't really going to say anything about this, because I found him, and I was a little embarrassed that I allowed this to happen. But my story seems to be kind of relative now, so that is why I'm sharing it.

 

[Kristy1970]

Where I take my tortoise is to my parents yard which butts up to 25 acres that I deer hunt on. I am one of those people that watches my tortoise like a hawk, the weather was nice in the beginning of the week so I brought him over there to get some sunshine, exercise, and to graze. While he was walking around, my father asked me to help him carry their picnic table up to the patio from the garage where they had it stored. I literally had my back turned for maybe 2 or 3 minutes tops. And very naively, figured it was only going to be a minute or two and how fast can this guy really walk anyways? When I turned my head just a minute or two later I could not see Sheldon anymore. I had the exact same panic, that I had experienced at the grocery store a time or two in the past when your kid is holding onto the cart right in front of you and you turn the grab something off the top shelf, and they vanish into the toy aisle. It's a very sickening feeling. I ended up finding him about 10 to 20 yards into the hay field which butts up to my parents yard. The amount of ground that he covered in that very short amount of time was almost kind of mind-boggling. The grass is very tall in that field already, and there are woods just to the side of it. I consider myself very fortunate that I found him so quickly. Lesson learned, they may be slow but if you give them an inch they are definitely going to take a mile. I wasn't really going to say anything about this, because I found him, and I was a little embarrassed that I allowed this to happen. But my story seems to be kind of relative now, so that is why I'm sharing it.

Thanks for sharing, I never take my eyes off her when she is not in an enclosure. If I have to get something or do something, I put her in fenced chicken coup where she is safe. Ever seen a sugar glider? Gawd I’m almost as bad as that... strap them to your body and roll on!

 

[Tom]

Why are you assuming I will make the same screw ups you did? Lessons learned. I’m here to learn not to be judged.

Because its not just me. Everyone who engages in this behavior sees the same result. Note Jay's example below. It might not happen to you today. It might no happen next week. But it will happen eventually.

Why do you keep talking about being "judged"? Your friends are trying to warn you about a common mistake you are making. Its not judgment. Its people not wanting to see you go through an unpleasant experience that they know is likely. You said you enjoyed my threads, learned a lot, and my advice helped you and your tortoise. Why is this this advice not only to be ignored, but to be taken as some sort of insult? Its not an insult. Your tortoise is important to you, and I don't want to see you lose it.

 

[Tom]

Oh and I’ve read all your links multiple times, they are great but there are many roads that end at the same destination.

And there are also many roads that lead to the wrong destination… Trying to keep you off of the road that ends with a missing or dead tortoise, and keep you on one of the many roads that leads to a healthy old tortoise that remains part of your family for decades to come.

 

[Tom]

I love creating and building so the money comment is uncalled for.

I was simply making the point that containing your tortoise does not have to be some sort of major project. I have no idea what your financial status is, it is none of my business, I don't care what it is, and the comment was not an insult in any way.

 

[Tom]

This is so outrageous! What happened to positive reinforcement??? Good grief... I’ll just lurk and learn... no more post from me. I hope you don’t run off more good hearted people!

I'm not here to use training techniques on people. I'm here to share information in the hopes of learning more about tortoises, and helping tortoises but sharing what I have learned over the years. No one is running you off. No one wants you to leave. If your intention is now to lurk and learn, you can learn an important lesson about not letting your tortoise roam loose in the yard from this thread.

There is no insult or ill intention here. Please stop looking for one. There is nothing but good intention here and people trying to save you from having an awful experience.

 

[Kristy1970]

I was simply making the point that containing your tortoise does not have to be some sort of major project. I have no idea what your financial status is, it is none of my business, I don't care what it is, and the comment was not an insult in any way.

Landscaping is my hobby and stress relief, some people do yoga, I work in my yard. A bad day at the office leads to a LONG evening in the yard. It’s my way to cope. It’s also really good exercise.

 

[Tom]

Landscaping is my hobby and stress relief, some people do yoga, I work in my yard. A bad day at the office leads to a Lind evening in the yard. It’s my way to cope. It’s also really good exercise.

Okay. I understand. Then go ahead and make your outdoor tortoise enclosure as elaborate and fancy as you like. The point I am making is that there are many ways to contain your tortoise. For people who don't like building stuff, or landscaping, or gardening, as much as you and I do, there are still simple, easy ways to keep the tortoise safely contained.

 

[Yvonne G]

Tom! You've made your point. Now it's time to let go.

 

[wellington]

This is so outrageous! What happened to positive reinforcement??? Good grief... I’ll just lurk and learn... no more post from me. I hope you don’t run off more good hearted people!

You are taking everything personally. If you can't be open minded to learn from the mistakes we made you are one day going to be sorry. Your not perfect and mistakes happen. I too learned how fast they can disappear. Luckily I found my quickly. The panic Tom mentioned, believe me, you don't want too go thru. It sets in the second you realize he isn't in the last place you saw him.
Your taking everything Tom says as if he's attacking you. He is one of the most helpful people on this forum. Personally helps people not just thru forum communications. He's had many years past and still working with tortoises and animals of all kind. You don't even know him and your attacking him. Take the advice gracefully. He has no idea if you have money or not and he or any of us don't care if you do or not. We still would rather do things as cheap as possible. Cuz even the cheap way isn't all that cheap.
You of course can listen to the advice and take it or not. When you have been a member long enough that you have come across reading the same kind of "I keep my eye on him every second" or the other one is "my dog would never hurt anything" threads over and over, just too eventually them coming back to say something like, " they wish they had listened".
Some people let others fall. Some people will catch you before you fall. Toms trying to catch you before you fall!