Hi MrDesertTortoise. Yes, I fully agree that he is behaving this way because of his high level of testosterone... the head nodding, the territoriality, the desire to circle around me...
He was rescued years ago from another family who had a dog that chewed up his shell. We know that he has upper respiratory disease. We know that it is unwise for him to be released back into the wild - he has probably been in captivity for much of his life.
We try to keep a positive attitude - that is - his high level of testosterone is NOT sad, its natural. We keep him in an enclosure that is not with our other tortoises, because he is so territorial.
We indulge his desire to chase, fight and work off energy. I usually let him "win", and chase me out of his territory, so he has a feeling of success.
We have a cow skull in his enclosure, upon which he indulges his mating behaviors (it has a "ditch" around it, from his constant circling).
Hi, I guess I came across as a know-it-all. I certainly am not that ! Last fall my tortoise( Chex - 6 yrs old) started the " ritual" w/ my cat and I do not know what to do other than bring the cat in the house. Had never seen Chex RUN before last fall. Solutions ? Can a tortoise be neutered? All this energy going nowhere-that is what I find sad. Thanks for the reply DesertRaven !
"I guess I came across as a know-it-all." Absolutely not - you recommended looking and learning, which I always love to do!
I made a long reply because I thought you brought up a GREAT point, and I wanted to further participate in discussing it! (In fact, you've inspired a new blog entry, I'll send you my blog link when I'm done!)
"All this energy going nowhere" - yes, my hubby and I joke that we want to put Reptilicus on a treadmill and have him charge up some batteries for us!
By the way - my cat is TERRIFIED of Reptilicus!! We kept him in our house, non-hibernating one year after his upper respiratory was really acting up. He would chase my cat, and she ran immediately. Now she's afraid of our African spur-thighed tortoises, who are 1/3 the size of Reptilicus and have no interest in chasing...
Sad — he clearly is full of testosterone... mine chases after my cat. That is sad, too. Plz read up on their mating ritual.
mrdesertttortoise 2 years ago
Hi MrDesertTortoise. Yes, I fully agree that he is behaving this way because of his high level of testosterone... the head nodding, the territoriality, the desire to circle around me...
He was rescued years ago from another family who had a dog that chewed up his shell. We know that he has upper respiratory disease. We know that it is unwise for him to be released back into the wild - he has probably been in captivity for much of his life.
DesertRavenGrrrl 2 years ago
We try to keep a positive attitude - that is - his high level of testosterone is NOT sad, its natural. We keep him in an enclosure that is not with our other tortoises, because he is so territorial.
We indulge his desire to chase, fight and work off energy. I usually let him "win", and chase me out of his territory, so he has a feeling of success.
We have a cow skull in his enclosure, upon which he indulges his mating behaviors (it has a "ditch" around it, from his constant circling).
DesertRavenGrrrl 2 years ago
Hi, I guess I came across as a know-it-all. I certainly am not that ! Last fall my tortoise( Chex - 6 yrs old) started the " ritual" w/ my cat and I do not know what to do other than bring the cat in the house. Had never seen Chex RUN before last fall. Solutions ? Can a tortoise be neutered? All this energy going nowhere-that is what I find sad. Thanks for the reply DesertRaven !
mrdesertttortoise 2 years ago
"I guess I came across as a know-it-all." Absolutely not - you recommended looking and learning, which I always love to do!
I made a long reply because I thought you brought up a GREAT point, and I wanted to further participate in discussing it! (In fact, you've inspired a new blog entry, I'll send you my blog link when I'm done!)
"All this energy going nowhere" - yes, my hubby and I joke that we want to put Reptilicus on a treadmill and have him charge up some batteries for us!
;-P
DesertRavenGrrrl 2 years ago
By the way - my cat is TERRIFIED of Reptilicus!! We kept him in our house, non-hibernating one year after his upper respiratory was really acting up. He would chase my cat, and she ran immediately. Now she's afraid of our African spur-thighed tortoises, who are 1/3 the size of Reptilicus and have no interest in chasing...
Poor kitty! :)
DesertRavenGrrrl 2 years ago
MrDesertTortoise - Thanks for watching my video and offering your knowledge!!
DesertRavenGrrrl 2 years ago