Territorial or being friendly ?

[Linz2491]

my guy is about 10 years old now and if I go in the backyard he follows me everywhere kind of rampaging. I assume he is being territorial. In the house he sometimes come and tries to crawl on my lap. Again I assume he is looking for food or being territorial. But he also will kind of raising he body and head towards me when I’m sitting on a low seat like he is looking for pets.

I’m not one to confuse a tortoise with a dog, to my knowledge/thinking they aren’t looking for attention like a dog even if it looks like it, but what do the experts think?

 

[Tom]

... but what do the experts think?

I think your tortoise should never be loose in the house.

The inquisitive, engaging traits you describe are exactly the traits that make most people fall in love with sulcatas, in spite of the monumental challenges that come with keeping them. They have the best personality of any tortoise species that I have worked with.

If the tortoise were being territorial, he'd be ramming and biting at you. Is that happening?

Most likely, he's looking for more of that food you seem to always be offering every day. Food is one of the primary tools used to win over any wild animal. Dolphins, hawks, big cats, and yes, tortoises. You have succeeded in wining your tortoise's trust and making him associate you with his daily sustenance.

Some of them do seem to seek out affection, petting, and the warmth of humans. I'm not willing to go so far as to ascribe human powers of logic and reasoning to a tortoise, but I will certainly agree that at least some of them seek out and "like" attention and petting, in addition to begging for more food.

 

[Linz2491]

I think your tortoise should never be loose in the house.

The inquisitive, engaging traits you describe are exactly the traits that make most people fall in love with sulcatas, in spite of the monumental challenges that come with keeping them. They have the best personality of any tortoise species that I have worked with.

If the tortoise were being territorial, he'd be ramming and biting at you. Is that happening?

Most likely, he's looking for more of that food you seem to always be offering every day. Food is one of the primary tools used to win over any wild animal. Dolphins, hawks, big cats, and yes, tortoises. You have succeeded in wining your tortoise's trust and making him associate you with his daily sustenance.

Some of them do seem to seek out affection, petting, and the warmth of humans. I'm not willing to go so far as to ascribe human powers of logic and reasoning to a tortoise, but I will certainly agree that at least some of them seek out and "like" attention and petting, in addition to begging for more food.

I think your tortoise should never be loose in the house.

The inquisitive, engaging traits you describe are exactly the traits that make most people fall in love with sulcatas, in spite of the monumental challenges that come with keeping them. They have the best personality of any tortoise species that I have worked with.

If the tortoise were being territorial, he'd be ramming and biting at you. Is that happening?

Most likely, he's looking for more of that food you seem to always be offering every day. Food is one of the primary tools used to win over any wild animal. Dolphins, hawks, big cats, and yes, tortoises. You have succeeded in wining your tortoise's trust and making him associate you with his daily sustenance.

Some of them do seem to seek out affection, petting, and the warmth of humans. I'm not willing to go so far as to ascribe human powers of logic and reasoning to a tortoise, but I will certainly agree that at least some of them seek out and "like" attention and petting, in addition to begging for more food.

H

my guy is about 10 years old now and if I go in the backyard he follows me everywhere kind of rampaging. I assume he is being territorial. In the house he sometimes come and tries to crawl on my lap. Again I assume he is looking for food or being territorial. But he also will kind of raising he body and head towards me when I’m sitting on a low seat like he is looking for pets.

I’m not one to confuse a tortoise with a dog, to my knowledge/thinking they aren’t looking for attention like a dog even if it looks like it, but what do the experts think?

I think your tortoise should never be loose in the house.

The inquisitive, engaging traits you describe are exactly the traits that make most people fall in love with sulcatas, in spite of the monumental challenges that come with keeping them. They have the best personality of any tortoise species that I have worked with.

If the tortoise were being territorial, he'd be ramming and biting at you. Is that happening?

Most likely, he's looking for more of that food you seem to always be offering every day. Food is one of the primary tools used to win over any wild animal. Dolphins, hawks, big cats, and yes, tortoises. You have succeeded in wining your tortoise's trust and making him associate you with his daily sustenance.

Some of them do seem to seek out affection, petting, and the warmth of humans. I'm not willing to go so far as to ascribe human powers of logic and reasoning to a tortoise, but I will certainly agree that at least some of them seek out and "like" attention and petting, in addition to begging for more food.

 

[Linz2491]

Hi Tom, my guy actually came from you.
I absolutely agree that he shouldn’t be loose.
We were on acreage for many years and had the proper indoor (when he was a baby) and outdoor set up. Unfortunately we are now in town at least for the time being. In a small house with a small backyard. So options are basically waiting out our living situation or trying to rehome and having no control of how that ends up. (A pumpkin farm near me has a couple that were rehomed to them and insist that they hibernate through the winter 🤦‍♀️)

He does not ram or bite. Just follows.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I've always supposed that whatever the tortoises intentions are, if we interpret them as something positive, it's only beneficial for both the tortoise and the keeper.

 

[Tom]

10 years old, so a 2013 baby... That might be a Daisy baby. She made a lot of babies.

Are you sure its a male? Long tail? Concave plastron? Long gulars?

 

[Linz2491]

10 years old, so a 2013 baby... That might be a Daisy baby. She made a lot of babies.

Are you sure its a male? Long tail? Concave plastron? Long gulars?

Well you had incubated for a girl but several months ago “she” showed me her penis so I’m *pretty* sure it’s a boy 😂

 

[Linz2491]

Well you had incubated for a girl but several months ago “she” showed me her penis so I’m *pretty* sure it’s a boy 😂

And he came to me august 2013 I believe

 

[Tom]

Well you had incubated for a girl but several months ago “she” showed me her penis so I’m *pretty* sure it’s a boy 😂

I incubated at 88. In theory, if all my thermometers were accurate, 88 should make mostly females, but not 100% females. You have to go to 90 degrees to make 100% females, but that increases the likelihood of shell malformations and congenital defects, so I back it off two degrees to make a margin of error.

 

[Linz2491]

I incubated at 88. In theory, if all my thermometers were accurate, 88 should make mostly females, but not 100% females. You have to go to 90 degrees to make 100% females, but that increases the likelihood of shell malformations and congenital defects, so I back it off two degrees to make a margin of error.

 

[Linz2491]

Yeah, I know it is not 100% full proof. It doesn’t matter to me, I am not breeding, nor keeping more than one.

 

[Tom]

Yeah, I know it is not 100% full proof. It doesn’t matter to me, I am not breeding, nor keeping more than one.

I don't get to see too many of the babies I sold, so thank you for posting!