Pegasus is learning to play ball!

[ladyengineer]

Pegasus is really starting to get why I leave balls out when I get him out for a stomp! Anyone else's tort like to play ball??

 

[ZEROPILOT]

He thinks they are other tortoises.
He doesn't know it's supposed to be fun.
Is it a Russian tortoise?

 

[wellington]

That looks like what aggression would be towards another tort. I think he thinks it another tort

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

That's tortoise aggression. Mine tries to do that to people or cats if they get in his enclosure.

 

[JoesMum]

I agree with aggression.

Are you aware that we don't recommend letting torts roam the house. ? There is too great a risk if them deciding to eat something they shouldn't or them being stepped on. (And in my house I value my carpets too much to want a gallon of tort pee embedded in them too )

 

[ladyengineer]

He's a Tunisian.

I know he's starting to show tortoise aggression, but he only "plays" with the yellow ball, doesn't like the other ones. It's good exercise in any case.

And yes I'm aware, he doesn't roam the house. We vacuum the room thoroughly, close all the doors and there's no one in the house, let him out for a bit of roaming, and the reason he wears a ribbon is to make sure we see him any time we move at all. And for some reason he almost never pees on the carpet. (We're gonna move to someplace I can build him an outdoor run soon anyway.)

 

[WithLisa]

The yellow ball looks the most like another tortoise from his perspective.
I doubt he's having fun, he seems awfully stressed, trying to fight an opponent that's much faster than him.

If you want him to exercise, give him something to explore instead of fight, like new plants or stones in the eclosure.

 

[Oxalis]

That looks like what aggression would be towards another tort. I think he thinks it another tort

If that's aggression, is that bad? I know tortoises are territorial, but is their a way to decrease their aggression? Could it possibly be a sign of stress, for example?

 

[wellington]

I personally don't think it's a big deal. Many people put balls in with their torts to play with. Torts don't play, they do what yours is doing, thinking it's another tort that is trying to claim their space. Some torts will try to mate with a ball. I wouldn't leave him to do this all day long but a little a day or once in a while isn't a big deal to me. They would wonder into this type of situation in the wild, possibly daily. I don't have a lot of years experience with tortoise or with a bunch of species. However, what I have seen with my own over the years, stress isn't as big a factor as many want to think. At least not in my own.
Now, if one had a sick tortoise, then that's when stress could be a problem. I think one needs to know their own torts. If he really doesn't seem bothered by it, like acting out of sorts when you put him back in his enclosure or won't eat, just hides away, then he may be stressed.

 

[Oxalis]

I personally don't think it's a big deal. Many people put balls in with their torts to play with. Torts don't play, they do what yours is doing, thinking it's another tort that is trying to claim their space. Some torts will try to mate with a ball. I wouldn't leave him to do this all day long but a little a day or once in a while isn't a big deal to me. They would wonder into this type of situation in the wild, possibly daily. I don't have a lot of years experience with tortoise or with a bunch of species. However, what I have seen with my own over the years, stress isn't as big a factor as many want to think. At least not in my own.
Now, if one had a sick tortoise, then that's when stress could be a problem. I think one needs to know their own torts. If he really doesn't seem bothered by it, like acting out of sorts when you put him back in his enclosure or won't eat, just hides away, then he may be stressed.

OK, that is some good info. My Russian isn't super "aggressive," but he does tend to hide when he returns to his indoor enclosure from outside. This is because I will give him a soak or a quick rinse to remove the excess dirt from outside. He HATES water so I try to feed him a little Mazuri when he finishes his soak. He is usually less sulky afterward.