Tortoises dig, bury and burrow instinctively to regulate their temperature, prepare for brumation and to escape predators. The desert tortoise, for example, digs itself into the ground to escape the burning desert sun. Some breeds dig elaborate burrows or dens for communal brumation. Others use it as a strategy for escaping predators.
In this guide, we’ll help you uncover the sometimes-vague signs of a tortoise in trouble. You’ll learn how to tell if your tortoise is happy, how to tell if it’s upset or sick, and what you can do to improve its life and ensure its happiness in some simple and easy ways.
Most often the answer is yes, tortoises can live safely with other animals. However, any animal can get aggressive, playful, curious and sometimes sick. In these scenarios, problems between tortoises and other animals can come up.
There is no scientific proof that tortoises actually like music. On the flip side, there is no proof that they dislike music either. But some tortoises do grow to respond to certain songs that their owners play often.
You can train a tortoise to do tricks with quite a bit of persistent training on your part. Some tortoises can be taught simple tricks while others may eventually learn more complex ones. Breed, training tactics, and age all play a role in how much a tortoise can learn to do.
Tortoises can get fat and it’s a major health hazard if they do. Turtles and tortoises can gain too much weight, adding fat deposits on their limbs and necks, which restricts their ability to tuck into their shells for safety.
Tortoises and turtles absolutely cannot live without their shells. The shell is not something they can simply slip on and off. It is fused to the tortoises’ and turtles’ bones so they cannot live without it.
In the wild, tortoises live relatively solitary lives. They usually come together for breeding purposes but live most of their lives alone. Female tortoises may guard their nests, but they do not protect or raise their babies. That means even very young tortoises naturally live on their own.
A tortoise can turn itself over but it can take a lot of work. The shape, size and health condition of a tortoise affects its ability to turn itself over. The rounder the shell, the easier it is for a tortoise to turn itself over but if a tortoise is large or sick, it will be more difficult.
Tortoises cannot swim. At most, they can float and drift, and if they’re lucky they’ll bump into land. Some species of tortoises can swim poorly, but most will simply sink and drown.