Russian personalities

[goReptiles]

Are your Russians friendly? Do they follow you around?

My guys don't mind me there, but could care less. They just want to be fed, and that's really the only time I see any personality from them- running to the food plate.



And, for the past few months, when they are inside, all they do is hide. I have two plastic pots connected and burried so they can hide in. When it was just one, they would sit on top of each other inside the one hide. Now they are much happier with the hide, but never come out unless to eat.

 

[Sweetness_bug]

I have two russians..Squirt who i have had for several months now. is very outgoing he is Gangter lol...He will follow me aroung. Wont eat from hand but..but is very social he will come when you call him. He likes to try to scape and he will flip himself trying to do so. and he crawls up his cage and onto his hide a box. No fear lol

Now Houdini (which is the skilled russian rehome from cl that i took in a few weeks ago) he is personable to..He will eat out of my hand. Hes not has daring as squirt but loves attnetion he will come to me sometimes not all the time when i call him. He loves to eat.

They definatly have personalitys and they are different that my Sulcata and my leo.

 

[bllauben]

My Sonya is shy to a point. Very emotionally dependent on Boris. Boris is friendly, outgoing and comes to his name when called. He is intuned with Sonya. If she is scared, he will nuzzle her. If I let them both roam the apartment and cannot find Sonya before I put him back in the enclosure, he will search for her and get very upset when he cannot find her.

 

[Sweetness_bug]

My Sonya is shy to a point. Very emotionally dependent on Boris. Boris is friendly, outgoing and comes to his name when called. He is intuned with Sonya. If she is scared, he will nuzzle her. If I let them both roam the apartment and cannot find Sonya before I put him back in the enclosure, he will search for her and get very upset when he cannot find her.

aww that is to cute!

 

[bllauben]

You should take an hour a day to really spend time, lay down in the grass with your Russian. mine seem to enjoy that- it helps them bond.

Last time I did that, Boris indirectly told me how he thought of that. I still cannot get that stain out! Tort poo is something else!

 

[goReptiles]

I guess personality all varies per tortoise. Mine always act like I'm bothering them, unless I'm feeding them.

 

[ChiKat]

Nelson has always been friendly and fearless. I haven't interacted with him as much lately since it's too cold to bring him outside, and I've noticed he isn't as friendly as he was during the summer. Sometimes he will even hide in his shell when he sees me (usually when he's tired)

 

[goReptiles]

I just wanted to make sure that Russians weren't supposed to be like sulcatas and a few other species that have loads of personality. If htey were, I was going to get worried, as I've had mine for over a year and they're just like 'whatever. I don't care you're watching me'.

 

[Kristina]

Every tort is a bit different, but I DO find that mine are like "mini-Sulcatas." If I step into their outdoor habitat they charge me, lol. Inside they sit and look at me when I talk to them, but they are probably just begging for food.... They do however follow me around.

 

[-ryan-]

Mine have tons of personality. All tortoises do. The first mistake people generally make is assuming that the tortoise's personality must be based on that animal's interactions with humans, and that's generally not true (with some exceptions). I have a large adult red-footed tortoise who will come to me and seems generally interested in me, but I am sure this is just a reaction to me as the bringer of food. Most of my russians are kept in a group, and I can see how they express themselves within the group setting. They have a ton of personality.

Tortoises, especially small tortoises, will generally always be a little weary of their human care takers, but they are highly motivated by food.

 

[MichelleCarrigan78]

I have had my russian for 6 months now and I have found that mine doesnt have much of a personality either. He always puts his head in when I come near him. I would like to "socialize" him, but Im afraid that it would stress him out. I am wondering how this can be done so I can have a friendly tortoise also.