Tortoise bites

[Robot_Rooster]

Just want to see if this is normal.

every day we let our tortoise out on the carpet for a walk and every time someone is bare footed or you put your fingers on the floor he will zoom to go and bite it, honeslty he moves his fasted when i put my fingers on the floor. so how can you stop a tortoise biting or is it just his personality?

 

[Greg T]

It's instinct. If it looks like food, he will bite it. Trying to train him not to bite is possible, but can also cause harm if you do it incorrectly. For example, thumping him on the nose when he tries to bite may cause him to become timid around people.

I'm not sure if you should do anything, but others may have experience with this issue. I think it is kinda funny, as long as he is small!!

 

[Robot_Rooster]

lol ok cheers, i won't bohter trying to train him not to bite, i respect him as it is his nature.

 

[Laura]

Do you hand feed him? Red finger or toenail polish?
Dont allow him to do it, so dont encourage and dont go shoeless around him.
Depending on your breed.. it can be very painful and not so cute.. or what might be 'cute' now, wont be when he is grown.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I just now got thru writing about Bob biting me...he's 73 pounds now and when he bites I bleed. He bites terrible hard. I started it by hand feeding him. I am very sorry but it's too late now. So he bites and I smack his nose and he rams me. He can get all 4 off the floor and he can almost knock me down. So smacking won't work. Bob has a big outgoing personality so I don't want to make him mean or shy by smacking him...so I just make sure I don't put myself in a position to get rammed or bit...
So don't hand feed...

 

[Greg T]

I wish I lived closer to you because I would love to meet Bob. He seems like a tort with an incredible personality! I think we would all love to have a Bob instead of a boring old tort.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Are you old enough to remember Dennis the Menace? That's Bob. He has a HUGE personality. He has caused so much trouble...just last year the caretaker came knocking on my door and says look in the bed of my truck...so I look and there's Bob...He got out, pushed open the gate of my yard and took himself for a walk. Gary says Bob was walking up the middle of the road head held all the way out and he was not looking either to the right or the left...just truckin up the middle of the road. If Gary hadn't seen him I'da lost him. Most of the people in my subdivision work and the way he was going outside the subdivision is a 2 lane 55 MPH hiway...Lordy that would have been bad. But luckily Gary saw him and was able to pick him up...or I shudder to think if a stranger had found him...always close the gate tight, I had it loosely shut. The walls of his pen are cinder block stacked 3 high with a wooden stake pounded in the top one. But Bob being who he is has figured out how to get on his back legs and he balances on his butt and uses his strength to knock off the top block and he just climbs right out. It's a freakin amazing thing to watch. He knows exactly what he's doing...

 

[dmmj]

my desert tortoise goes after my toes every time he sees them. my russians dont even take a second glance at them. of course my water turtles love fingers so I just have to be careful. IMO some bite others dont just wear shoes or learn to move quicker, lol