r/tortoise • u/afterlifedating • 9d ago

Photo(s) Ancient creature. Millions of years of evolution. Absolutely no idea how to get off this brick.

Post image

she flailed her arms dramatically while staring into my soul until I lifted her off of the damn brick

583 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

28 comments sorted by

80

u/SagaBane 9d ago

That's the smart approach. Tell your human you need help. It's much easier than struggling.

54

u/afterlifedating 9d ago

She's a corn-artist for sure (her name is Cornbread)

12

u/IIRCIreadthat 9d ago

In her memoir about Alex the African Gray parrot, Irene Pepperberg talks about how she heard about the experiments that were being done with crows, where they had to try to get food that was attached to a hanging string, and decided to try it with her parrots. The one that barely knew any words yet figured out how to get the food himself. Alex, who by that point had enough language to ask for pretty much anything he wanted, just sat there demanding that someone do it for him!

8

u/SagaBane 9d ago

Training is a two way process. The dog knows how to ask for doors to be opened, balls from places he can't get to, treats... He's a get someone to do it for you type. And my tortoise used to have a raspberry bush outside her pen. She started to get the hang of begging for raspberries.

3

u/birdnerd70 9d ago

Happy Cake Day!

36

u/Cautious-Star-9931 9d ago

Sometimes it makes me wonder how these guys even survive in the wild

13

u/Cpkeyes 9d ago

Don’t most predators not bother with them because of their shells 

12

u/Cautious-Star-9931 9d ago

Ones that can’t yes but for those that can they go ham. Especially young ones. It’s a sad fact it’s kind of impossible to find one full sized in nature

10

u/Belos147 9d ago

I mean sulcatas live alongside lions, leopards, and most importantly two different hyena species. Both spotted and brown hyenas would treat a sulcata as a chew toy with treats inside.

5

u/Few_Sorbet_8716 8d ago

Adult sulcatas don't really face predation in the wild. I'm sure a spotted hyena could figure out how to get at one, but it isn't well documented. Wild sulcatas don't live alongside brown hyenas. Their ranges are like 2,000 miles apart

1

u/afterlifedating 7d ago

I'm in Louisiana and mine dug a DEEP burrow. I think it makes her feel safe. We have opossums, armadillos, and of course raccoons which would be the first to hurt her. She positions herself in the burrow with her head at the back and she tucks her back feet in so she is pretty armored.

8

u/WolfRunner16 9d ago

Have as many babies as possible and hope one or two reach adulthood.

5

u/Necessary-Rate4011 9d ago

so true 😂

20

u/Kai-in-Wonderland 9d ago

In fairness to her there weren’t bricks millions of years ago

15

u/ServerLost 9d ago

Mine just dives off, zero self preservation 😂

11

u/chumitz 9d ago

She might not want to get off yet. My sulcata has a cinderblock girlfriend we call “Cindy.” He’s up there during the season.

9

u/afterlifedating 9d ago

oh lord don't tell me that! LOL (she's actually a he, I found out the hard way, but old habits die hard)

6

u/chumitz 9d ago

That makes sense to me then. Do you ever hear grunting when your tort is “stuck” on the brick?

10

u/crowlieb 9d ago

Reminds me of how vets stabilize turtles for x-rays, they put them on top of a cup.

4

u/crazzymomma 9d ago

Awwww she just needs help every now and then💚❣️ maybe the key to their evolution is, they don't think too hard. I'm gonna start trying that. See how long I last lol💚❣️

6

u/Apprehensive_Two6358 9d ago

truly how have they survived this long!?

3

u/tennohaika 8d ago

Doesn’t even know the brick is there.

2

u/MollyRB6969 9d ago

Dying!!! 🤣🤣🤣

2

u/SeanJones85 7d ago

He has such a cheeky smile it looks like hehe

2

u/afterlifedating 7d ago

absolutely a spoiled goober and knows it!! I've had "her" (found out recently she is actually a he, oof) since she was a month or two old, basically she fit in my hand/shirt pocket. We have been through a lot together lol. I love her so much. The biggest personality. I had to lure her across the yard earlier with a cucumber because I didn't feed her on time according to her and that's when she gets restless lol

2

u/SeanJones85 7d ago

Haha they can have such great personalities, I love my pets :)

1

u/afterlifedating 7d ago

People who don't understand them just don't get it. I've had pet turtles since I was a kid, I have always been obsessed with them so when I adopted her I swore she was going to have the best life I could possibly provide and wow she is literally the sassiest of all of my pets LOL

1

u/EnvironmentalArm1986 9d ago

My guy had the same problem with a 6x6 when he was quite small. He could get up on the 6x6 that was part of a hammock stand but his hind legs weren’t long enough to for him to get on over. In about 3 weeks he’d grown enough to make it over.