- Joined
- Jul 16, 2014
- Messages
- 29,102
- Location (City and/or State)
- South Eastern Florida (U.S.A.)/Rock Hill S.C.
So many posts ask if a behavior is normal. I'd like to share my observation of my five Redfoot tortoises. All fed the same food and housed in the same conditions, going from my smallest to my largest:
My baby female will sleep 23 hours a day. I remove her from her house at about 3;00 pm to eat and she will sit in the sun for a moment, clear her plate no matter what is on it, make a quick lap of the enclosure and then vanish back in to her house until the next day.
My small male will sleep most of the day. I also take him out of his house at 3:00 to eat and he will always take a long drink, but select certain things on his plate only. Sometimes I have to keep guessing what he wants, but his favorite is hibiscus ground up into Mazuri. Once he eats or decides he doesn't like the food, he makes a B-line straight back to bed.
My small, adult female spends her days guarding the entrance to her favorite den and rams and chases anyone that comes near. She only sleeps at night. Only when it's dark, but will sleep out in the open most nights. She can also be found in mid afternoon swimming in one of the pools and she has food preferences and must be fed away from the others. This one will also attack shoes and bare feet. If you try to handle her, you may be chomped at!
My second largest female sleeps a LOT. When she is not sleeping, she rarely travels more than a few feet from her house and stares into a corner. It's always the same corner. She only likes to eat brightly colored things such as flowers and is very fond of the color red. She also likes long baths and will sit for an extended period soaking up the sun while floating in a pool. It's always the pool near her house.
My largest female is very large and she is constantly on the move. She free range eats grasses and leaves and will clean everyone elses plates, even if it's old and dried-up. She is a master of grabbing things that would look out of reach and sleeps very little. She is often roaming around at night and even when she sleeps, she is peeking out of her bunker, I suppose looking for more food. She never swims, but likes to foul the water with her poo. She actually tolerates being petted and scratched. She will sleep in anyone's house or burrow. Even if they are already inside.
So I don't know about "normal" behavior.
Like people, they are wildly different.
My baby female will sleep 23 hours a day. I remove her from her house at about 3;00 pm to eat and she will sit in the sun for a moment, clear her plate no matter what is on it, make a quick lap of the enclosure and then vanish back in to her house until the next day.
My small male will sleep most of the day. I also take him out of his house at 3:00 to eat and he will always take a long drink, but select certain things on his plate only. Sometimes I have to keep guessing what he wants, but his favorite is hibiscus ground up into Mazuri. Once he eats or decides he doesn't like the food, he makes a B-line straight back to bed.
My small, adult female spends her days guarding the entrance to her favorite den and rams and chases anyone that comes near. She only sleeps at night. Only when it's dark, but will sleep out in the open most nights. She can also be found in mid afternoon swimming in one of the pools and she has food preferences and must be fed away from the others. This one will also attack shoes and bare feet. If you try to handle her, you may be chomped at!
My second largest female sleeps a LOT. When she is not sleeping, she rarely travels more than a few feet from her house and stares into a corner. It's always the same corner. She only likes to eat brightly colored things such as flowers and is very fond of the color red. She also likes long baths and will sit for an extended period soaking up the sun while floating in a pool. It's always the pool near her house.
My largest female is very large and she is constantly on the move. She free range eats grasses and leaves and will clean everyone elses plates, even if it's old and dried-up. She is a master of grabbing things that would look out of reach and sleeps very little. She is often roaming around at night and even when she sleeps, she is peeking out of her bunker, I suppose looking for more food. She never swims, but likes to foul the water with her poo. She actually tolerates being petted and scratched. She will sleep in anyone's house or burrow. Even if they are already inside.
So I don't know about "normal" behavior.
Like people, they are wildly different.
