What kind of attention am I supossed to be giving him?/Can you soak for too long?

[erdavis]

I've had Turbo since Christmas(so about 2 months) and he has about doubled his weight, from 54g to i believe 103g. Does that sound about right?

Whenever I pick Turbo up(like to bring him outside or to weigh him) he pees on me. Is it because he's scared of me? He does come out of his shell while I carry him but i feel like it may be because he is trying to get away. Also when he sees me he hurries and hides in his shell, but then he'll come right back out. So I was wondering today..what kind of attention are you supossed to give a tortoise?
Is it good to sit near him while he is romping in the yard? Or does that not do anything? I am guessing I am not supossed to to just sit with him on a couch. lol! But should I ever just sit and hold him?

Also, is it possible to soak him for too long? He falls asleep within two minutes of soaking and I don't like to bother him. Every few minutes I'll walk in my room to check on him and he'll wake up and fall right back asleep. Rarely ever does he try to get out(he used to). My question for this is, if he is really enjoying himself, how long should I wait to take him out? Today he was in there for a good hour and 10 minutes before I finally took him out.

Don't forget to add him on facebook!!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Turbo-the-Sulcata-Tortoise/332184230147448?ref=ts

 

[dmmj]

When a tortoise gets picked up they think "PREDATOR" It is not really anything against you they just don't like being picked up at first. Over time they will realize that you are not a predator, so just give him time, he will stop eventually.

 

[JoesMum]

RE: What kind of attention am I supossed to be giving him?/Can you soak for too long

Joe rsrely pees when I carry him, but I do take the precaution of carrying him in the washing up bowl as I've had it all down my leg more than once over the years!

I'd cut down on the soaking to 30 mins simply because the water will go cold in that time.

 

[HonuFonu23]

You don't want to soak your tort for that long. 30 mins tops.. as long as the water is still warm. I let mine soak for about 20 minutes. I do check on the temp of the water every so often. After about 10 mins.. the water gets too cold for my liking.

As far as letting him out and about... you do want to be out there to watch him. From what I've exp, thus far, they just wanna be left alone to wander around and explore the yard.

 

[Doc Holliday]

What about predators? I sit down and read a book or have a snack and don't hover over them, but I don't feel safe leaving them totally unsupervised. At this size (mine are a couple inches) I'm too afraid a crow, or squirrel, or cat, or tarantula might get them! Is this something to worry about or am I being too protective?

EDIT: sorry Honu, I thought you said 'you don't want to be out there to watch him.' me culpa :]

 

[knight_visionn]

I would reiterate what others are saying - soaks over 30 minutes probably aren't good.

As for the attention part, I've found that they prefer to have their feet on something solid if you pick them up. Even with that though, my guy still pees about half the time - needless to say, I now try to get him to wherever I'm bringing him ASAP.

The first time I took him to the vet, he must have lost a good 5 grams on the way