Re: Smart tort....

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Posted by Erich on August 11, 2001 at 22:04:49:

In Reply to: Smart tort.... posted by Georgia on August 10, 2001 at 19:02:37:

Hi;
First off; kudos to you for not wanting to breed more sulcatas!!!
My boys are TonkaMan ( 65lbs & 16 years ) and Ziggy ,a 3 year old
I've been rehabbing/ fostering for the last 6-7 months. Ziggy will
be going to a nice 1+ acre home in a few weeks.
Now, my yard isn't large enough to provide enough graze for my boys
so they go for a 2-3 hour walk almost every day in my south florida neighborhood.
Luckily for us there is a very wide berm that is left unfertilized and untreated
with an amazing varity of grass & weeds. This is all the eat. TonkaMan has put on 11 lbs
this year and poor Ziggy who was pale and soft shelled when i took him in is now hard and
strong with new growth comming in smoothly. Many
cars pull over to ask about him and I try to educate all who listen
about the comming glut of these wonderful naughty
tortoises. I like to think that maybe I've saved some poor hatchling
from going through what Ziggy had to endure by offering my time and experience
with these guys.
After a few hours, TonkaMan has had enough and turns around and heads unerringly
for home. He knows exactly how to get home even when we are over a mile from home.
He's such a good boy!
Erich in South Florida

P.S. TonkaMan did once dig a good 15-20 foot long
burrow but since I gave him the shed to retire to
he no longer digs much, thank God!

: I have been home on vacation all this week, a vacation with no plans. Among many things I have been enjoying the all day company of our two sulcatas. Buster, the younger one, in particular. The two of us have gone on walks through the neighborhood and he has been touring the house every morning. He is allowed to do this because he keeps his own house clean. Tonka...well that's another story. Anyway this morning after basking in the sun Buster came up to the sliding screen door, waited for it to open and I guess got impatient and decided to take matters into his own "legs" and opened it himself. We have one of those dog guards on the outer side of the screen and he pushed it with his left front leg/spurs until it slide open wide enough for him to enter. He walked around the house for about half an hour and then went to the door to be let out. Early in the afternoon, he got very frustrated when he tried but it wouldn't move because he had the glass door there instead of the screen. He tried again just an hour ago and this time was successful. Smart tort...it will be interesting to see if he ignores the door in the future when it's the glass door and not the screen.

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: Hi; : First off; kudos to you for not wanting to breed more sulcatas!!! : My boys are TonkaMan ( 65lbs & 16 years ) and Ziggy ,a 3 year old : I've been rehabbing/ fostering for the last 6-7 months. Ziggy will : be going to a nice 1+ acre home in a few weeks. : Now, my yard isn't large enough to provide enough graze for my boys : so they go for a 2-3 hour walk almost every day in my south florida neighborhood. : Luckily for us there is a very wide berm that is left unfertilized and untreated : with an amazing varity of grass & weeds. This is all the eat. TonkaMan has put on 11 lbs : this year and poor Ziggy who was pale and soft shelled when i took him in is now hard and : strong with new growth comming in smoothly. Many : cars pull over to ask about him and I try to educate all who listen : about the comming glut of these wonderful naughty : tortoises. I like to think that maybe I've saved some poor hatchling : from going through what Ziggy had to endure by offering my time and experience : with these guys. : After a few hours, TonkaMan has had enough and turns around and heads unerringly : for home. He knows exactly how to get home even when we are over a mile from home. : He's such a good boy! : Erich in South Florida : P.S. TonkaMan did once dig a good 15-20 foot long : burrow but since I gave him the shed to retire to : he no longer digs much, thank God! : : I have been home on vacation all this week, a vacation with no plans. Among many things I have been enjoying the all day company of our two sulcatas. Buster, the younger one, in particular. The two of us have gone on walks through the neighborhood and he has been touring the house every morning. He is allowed to do this because he keeps his own house clean. Tonka...well that's another story. Anyway this morning after basking in the sun Buster came up to the sliding screen door, waited for it to open and I guess got impatient and decided to take matters into his own "legs" and opened it himself. We have one of those dog guards on the outer side of the screen and he pushed it with his left front leg/spurs until it slide open wide enough for him to enter. He walked around the house for about half an hour and then went to the door to be let out. Early in the afternoon, he got very frustrated when he tried but it wouldn't move because he had the glass door there instead of the screen. He tried again just an hour ago and this time was successful. Smart tort...it will be interesting to see if he ignores the door in the future when it's the glass door and not the screen.

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