Hand feeding a Horsefield??

[tsemiller]

Every day after school, my 12 year old daughter will hand feed our wee tortoise. He eats fine when he's outside and in his table. He has loads of weeds growing and grazes on and off all day. He is very sociable though and comes to my girl's hand as soon as she puts it in his table or enclosure. She'll sit him on her lap and hand feed him and he climbs all over her. He's a very curious wee guy lol. Anyway the vet seems to think I shouldn't encourage her to handle him any more than necessary and def should not be hand feeding him!! He thinks we are causing unnecessary stress and said human contact is not natural for a tortoise. She only ever picks him up if he walks on to her hand and he seems to enjoy human contact. Surely he wouldn't walk onto her hand if he didn't enjoy the attention?? What do the experts think ??

 

[naturalman91]

he enjoys it because your giving him a treat i don't think its a good idea to handle anymore the necessary either no tort really "likes" being handled i would just say some are more tolerant you may not see the effect's of the stress now but down the line it might be a problem

 

[dmmj]

I am against handling, only because I like my tortoises to be as natural as possible, but it really is a personal choice. The tortoise seems ok with the handling, so do so if you wish. hand feeding is another issue, they can become spoiled and then only want to be hand fed. For now I would limit it, and cut it out if the tortoise enjoys it to much, plus they can also associate hands with food, not good. But I imagine it is hard to tell a little girl not to hand feed.

 

[biochemnerd808]

I think that if hand-feeding the tortoise helps your daughter connect with her pet, go for it. I'd make sure the foods she gives are healthy (flowers or greens) rather than unhealthy treats. And I would set a limit to how often she can do it. In my mind, your daughter is more likely to stay interested in the tortoise as a pet if she can interact with it, and feeding is a good way to do this...
I wouldn't handle it a whole bunch, just because the stress from that can interfere with eating. However, this too, in my mind, is fine within healthy boundaries. Personally I don't snuggle my tortoises because I'd rather observe them in their 'wild' habitat, and because I don't like getting pooped on. But I have seen many pics of tortoises watching TV with their person...

 

[leigti]

I don't see anything wrong with it. Although if he is Hand fed too much he may start trying to bite her fingers thinking that they are food. I hand feed my Tortoise once in a while and he likes it and I like doing it. I also don't think handling him daily is bad either. Everything in moderation.

 

[JoesMum]

The only problem with hand feeding is that sometimes torts can be a bit unintelligent. Instead of associating the feeder with food they start thinking the feeder is food and then refuse to eat food that is not being hand fed to them. This only happens when the tort is hand fed a lot. All you need to do is make sure that the tort is fed on the floor most of the time and that he continues to graze. If the grazing stops then it is time to stop hand feeding for a while

Torts do not react to change very well. If they think there is a risk of being pounced on every time they move then they will become stressed and hide away. Your daughter is old enough to know to be gentle and it sounds like she is not frightening him I think your vet's warning is because torts are not social animals like dogs. They don't want or need company and cuddles. As long as your tort is normally active for most of the day and doesn't start hiding away or stop eating then I would not be too concerned.

 

[becky_tortoise]

My tortoise loves to be hand feed but also eats the food I have put in the enclosure my tortoise loves to be handle also (I have only had her 8 months). My tortoise is perfectly happy and doesn't show and kind of stress .

 

[tsemiller]

Thanks for all the advice she only handles him after his bath so he's normally done his business lol. He doesn't get anything unhealthy - usually just a bit of food from one of his plants or his food fish. He occasionally gets a wee bit of carrot or courgette but that's maybe once a week. Think I will let her continue as she is - we're already quite strict in that she only picks him up if he goes on her hand and almost always he will. There are days he doesn't come to her and she knows then to leave him be. The only bit of advice that surprised me was not to soak him daily - I honestly thought that more was better? He's about 18 months if that makes any difference to how often he should be soaked .

 

[JoesMum]

Who told you not to soak daily? For a new tort it is a good thing to do because it gets the animal used to being handled and ensures it doesn't become dehydrated. A daily soak does no harm and coukd be doing good. Once you are sure that your tortis reliably eating and drinking then you can cut bcak if you wish. Another tip is to soak food in water before feeding. The wet food means water is taken on board. I don't soak my tort very often, but I watch him taking long drinks every morning

 

[tsemiller]

If you have a look lynnedit commented on one of my previous posts about tortoise peeing in his bed saying I should only soak x 2 per week as it can slow down digestion and reduce the nutrients being absorbed - first time I've been given that advice. Think I'll let my daughter continue giving him daily soaks as they both seem to enjoy it and because he does his business in his bath, he very rarely does it when he's in his enclosure

 

[johnsonnboswell]

What you want to avoid is an animal that relies on one person for food. I knew a German shepherd that only ate on command. He could be left next to a sack of groceries with a steak on top and never touch it. Unfortunately, when his person was in the hospital, he wouldn't eat on anyone else's command. I know tortoises aren't dogs- they live far longer. So think in terms of sustainable long term actions and behaviors. Hand feed, sure, but make sure that's only a small portion of his diet.

 

[Cuttysark]

This is all very interesting, and I'm so glad I joined this forum as I'm clearly making many mistakes! I love hand feeding Chives every morning but I can see it's not such a great idea after all! He loves his crunchy lettice but has no interest in soft salad leaves which makes me think he needs more moisture. I've been giving him his meal in a good sprinkling of water since I got him 2 months ago...it just seemed like a good idea. I have a big garden as well so weeds won't be a problem. Should cabbage, carrot and fruit be kept to a minimum? He loves brussel sprouts too. How about nasturtiums in the summer? I've never seen him drink from his water dish so I've been bathing him more often and then sitting him on a plate of fresh tepid water...I think he had a drink all though I didn't seem to see his mouth move!

 

[Archerman]

As long as she is not 'playing' with him keep encouraging her to do it, we need to encourage children to value and enjoy animals if we wand future people to care. Wonder how many of us started out doing very much the same

 

[smarch]

Its basically all been said, but I personally like to hear tons of agreeing opinions before I am sure, so it cant hurt.
I personally don't hand feed, at least not in the winter, occasionally outside i'll hand him a dandelion and he'll munch it out of my hand, even my mum who's afraid to touch him will hand feed him dandelion she may have found in the yard.
There's no real harm to the tortoise, just the possibility that they may only eat food hand given... they get spoiled, and if that happens people who just stop see them start eating on their own again. The only worry for your daughter is the tortoise may miss his food in over excitement and nip her finger, it hurts some but thankfully they're just little tortoises, my Nank has got me once, got over excited about a tomato and caught my finger.
Its a great way to bond with the tortoise and make them less afraid of you as well as keeping your daughter interested.

 

[WithLisa]

He loves his crunchy lettice but has no interest in soft salad leaves which makes me think he needs more moisture.

I also like to eat crunchy salad. It's natural for tortoises to graze on fresh, living weeds, dead leaves smell and taste different.

Should cabbage, carrot and fruit be kept to a minimum?

Yes, especially fruits are not healthy. Cabbage should only be fed every now and then.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

I also like to eat crunchy salad. It's natural for tortoises to graze on fresh, living weeds, dead leaves smell and taste different.

Yes, especially fruits are not healthy. Cabbage should only be fed every now and then.

No fruit at all. Cabbage rarely. Carrot once a month. Offer the largest variety of broad leaved plants and keep lettuces to a minimal part if the diet.

 

[Jodie]

I think hand feeding and handling is fine in moderation as well. You can get bit hand feeding though, so I would make sure she understands this as he gets bigger. It is not pleasant. Once they associate fingers with food they will occasionally bite the fingers when not feeding as well.

 

[Yvonne G]

Your vet is a person after my own heart! I don't like handling my tortoises either. In my mind, they are wild animals and the less human contact the better.

Of course, there are always exceptions to every rule, and it seems your tortoise is an exception. I see nothing wrong with what your daughter is doing as long as the tortoise is comfortable with it and not stressed. Just make sure your daughter knows to never touch her mouth or face until after she's washed her hands after handling the tortoise.

 

[jeffjeff]

i would say don't do very often. its a lesson i learned the hard way. i hand fed sparky a lot when i first got him it seemed like a nice thing him coming to me and taking food from my fingers. i now know i shouldn't have done it. most of the time when i put my hand in there now this happens whether i have food or not. good job he's only small lol