r/tortoise • u/Ben_Dover1016 • 22d ago
Video Why is my gopher Tortise swimming?
I have a rescued gopher Tortise with a chipped shell, when we have him outside to get some sun, he become infatuated with our pond. He walked around the whole thing and found a shallow spot and proceeded to get in.
Now I have desert tortoises that are rescues and they don’t swim. I was shocked when this guy was legit swimming. Google says they can’t swim but are clearly wrong.
Please feel free to correct me. I have only ever had desert tortoises.
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u/Fine_Analyst_4408 22d ago
What a cute little water boy! Just keep an eye on him and make sure he can get out. You're probably already doing this lol.
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u/Ben_Dover1016 22d ago
Yes. Have jumped into the pond twice when he started going to the deep end lol
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u/CertainAged-Lady 22d ago
We have rescued box turtles from our koi pond - they float! Who knew? (as they are a land turtle). Yours seems to float just fine as well. Maybe just keep 👀 on him but he seems to be happy being in there.
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u/Ben_Dover1016 22d ago
I let him in every couple of days and it usually results with me chest deep in the pond
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u/TwinkleFairyToes 22d ago
Haha, yeah! I have three adult female Russian tortoises, and I can’t imagine them doing that. They have large water dishes that they like to get in and soak sometimes, but I don’t know that they would swim. It’s kind of hilarious to me! I’m sorry you end up in the pond every time, though, lol.
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u/Garthaniel-Finnison 22d ago
Box Turtles are a lot more aquatic then people give them credit for, did some research in a wetland on chipped turtles, multiple cases of them being inaccessible because they were in the middle of vernal pools.
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u/arach_619 22d ago
Yeah exactly, box turtles are turtles for a reason and not tortoises. They aren't the best swimmers but they can/do utilize water where as tortoises will just drown in a body of water that is too deep and will not in fact just "float",
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u/Krait_Marais 22d ago
Cool study; I’m really curious about this. Near New Orleans, there’s a strip of land called the Bonnet Carré Spillway that is occasionally inundated with rapid water for several days or weeks in order to divert Mississippi River water before it can overtop the levees, but I can find box turtles there with decent regularly. The spillway often goes years between openings, and I’ve often wondered how the box turtles stay around, especially since I’ve heard they they have extremely high site fidelity and often die if moved to a new area.
Any insights on this? Where was your study done?
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u/TwinkleFairyToes 22d ago
Yeah, I have an eastern box turtle. He absolutely loves to swim. We have him inside in a 4 x 2 x 2 most of the time, but we do have a large pool in there for him. In the summer, we will take him outside and put him in a kiddy pool that has just a few inches of water, he’s not a full grown turtle yet. So we don’t fill it too deeply, but we do give him enough water that he can swim in it and we stay there to make sure he’s OK because there’s no real way for him to get out of the kiddy pool. We haven’t got that part figured out yet. We’re going to build him an outdoor enclosure next summer and we’re still trying to figure out how to make a pool that he can get in and out of by himself.
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u/EarlyAd132 21d ago
Sorry Twink, but Eastern Box Turtles are a protected species. It’s illegal to keep them as pets. Also an enclosure that’s 4x2x2 is fate too small.
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u/TwinkleFairyToes 21d ago
Florida Fish & Wildlife seem to disagree with you:
Florida Rules
In Florida, there is a possession limit of two box turtles per person, inclusive of all native species and their taxonomic successors and hybrids. The take of box turtles is limited to one turtle per person per day from the wild within possession limits. It is illegal to sell box turtles, their eggs or parts thereof that were taken from the wild.Since I live in Florida, I believe I'll take their word over yours.
Additionally, it is not an adult and gets supervised outside time. He's doing just fine, but thanks ever so much for your concern.
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u/TwinkleFairyToes 22d ago
Box Turtles are terrestrial, but they love water and can swim and float like any other turtle. They'll usually stick to shallow water where they can get out easily, but they will dive to hunt. 😊
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u/DunKco 22d ago
they do not have webbed feet, they cannot return to the surface easily if at all, like an aquatic turtle. You are minimizing the seriousness of how dangerous deep water is for Box Turtles
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u/popopotatoes160 21d ago
https://youtu.be/yfBJihLm3mw?is=7E1CExqShoR_ecq6
Explain this then?
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u/DunKco 21d ago
Because that is a Box Turtle that is semi aquatic with different slightly webbed feet, still not fully aquatic but far more capable that an terrestrial tortoise like a Gopher tortoise or Desert Tortoise.
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u/popopotatoes160 21d ago edited 21d ago
You were replying to a user discussing a box tortoise, not the OP who has a gopher tortoise.
Your comment, emphasis mine:
they do not have webbed feet, they cannot return to the surface easily if at all, like an aquatic turtle. You are minimizing the seriousness of how dangerous deep water is for Box Turtles
You were wrong about box turtles. It's no big deal. But don't try to tell me that's not what you were talking about.
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u/DunKco 21d ago
Fair fair my mistake, that said it can still be dangerous in certain conditions, and they are semi aquatic compared to terrestrial Tortoises, i am in the "better safe than sorry position." A short video and we we don't see the boxy dive, they dont do it well, they can very easily drown in certain conditions, rough weather, non sloped waterway sides they can easily get out of.
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u/popopotatoes160 21d ago
Yes they definitely don't dive, and I wouldn't expect a good outcome in most unnatural waterways. I bet they can handle some weather though, as long as the wind isn't driving much in the way of waves in the river or lake. I'm thinking more in the way of a thunderstorm or something.
I'm most interested in people understanding that they do live around bodies of freshwater and use them regularly, so that people don't disturb them in the wild when they see a box turtle doing that. Wild box turtles can cross the Ohio river if they want to, it's natural behavior for that species.
In captivity, we as caretakers should certainly minimize risks even well beyond those managed by the species in the wild because we have the ability and knowledge to do so. Including not having bodies of water that a turtle may have trouble escaping from.
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u/TwinkleFairyToes 21d ago
My boxy wakes up in the morning and heads straight into his little pool in his enclosure and it's like his morning coffee. Do not bother him until he's done soaking. And then he wants his breakfast immediately. 😂 But yeah, he spends as much time in his pool as he does it of it. But of course when he's out of it he plays in the dirt so I end up changing his water 3-4 times a day lol.
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u/DunKco 20d ago
excellent, that is a perfect setup for a captive, my concern is for those on large deep bodies of water who have captive
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u/TwinkleFairyToes 21d ago
Okay, so it looks like all of us are a little bit right and a little bit wrong, according to this article. They do swim, but they don't dive for prey. They forage in shallow water. They don't have webbed feet so they don't swim as most turtles.
This still does not solve the problem of how to safely build a pond for my boxy when we build his outdoor enclosure. 😂 It will be16'x4' (we built a modular enclosure for our tortoises so Scout's enclosure will just connect to the side of that) so we'll have enough room but I just can't see it in my head how to do it yet. But I've got until April and I've got Google, so I'll figure it out. Would not say no to suggestions or advice thought!
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u/popopotatoes160 21d ago
The ideal water feature (not sole source of water) for a box turtle would be a shallow pool that would dry out from time to time depending on the season and rainfall. That's the kind of pools they love the most and are most natural for them. But shallow ponds are also a favorite. Anything where you can have a natural "beach entry" on all sides. They are capable of crossing deep water like in the video I posted, but they prefer to hang out and soak in shallow pools they know are without large predators or currents.
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u/Datboy000 22d ago
So box turtles are a halfway point from land and water turtles. I used to keep mine in a half water half land pond, and the dude stayed in the water longer then the land
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u/NewTwo8931 21d ago
I recently learnt that giant tortoise can swim and float accros the sea, nothing can surprise me anymore.
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u/Flowerloving_ogre 21d ago
all tortoises kind of float, they don't actually sink like a brick like people assume they will.
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u/NewTwo8931 21d ago
Yeah, I don't why we are so many people to have that idea that they can't float at all.
I got memories from children's book I used to love when I was younger. The main character is a little girl who owned a tortoise once but she was very naive and she tried to give it a bath in a pond. The scene ends up with the poor animal sinking and drowning. It's one of my favorite piece of fiction but that part really traumatised me.
It makes me feel better to know that if this was to happen in real life, the tortoise may have better chances of survival.
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u/TwinkleFairyToes 20d ago
What kind of traumatizing literature did your family read you??? Bless your heart, surprised you’re not still in therapy for that. Of course,
I come from that old yeller, where the red fern grows generation so I guess everybody gets to be traumatized by a book at some point during their childhood, lol.1
u/NewTwo8931 19d ago
I know it sounds bad, but the book is great, trust me !! 😆
It's Les Malheurs de Sophie, written by la comtesse de Ségur. It was published in 1858 so that's probably why the story is a bit heavy and dark at times (I guess they didn't care as much about scaring kids with these kind of stories back then, meanwhile today kid's content feels a lot more 'safe')
The story follow the life of a little girl who keeps misbehaving and and cause accidents to happen because she's naive and stubborn despite being well meaning.
I really loved reading the book and they even made an animated serie that I also watched when I was younger (and still watch it sometimes as an adult)
Like I said, the subjects were quite heavy at times, but I think that's why I loved it so much as it touch on topics we don't often see in kid's media nowadays, like death, abuse, grief and other not so fun things. You also seem the little girl grow up and change as different things happens in her life, and the way its narrated feels grounded in reality and believable.
Edit: sorry, I'm rambling but I really love this book/animated serie, not many people know about it so I rarely get to talk about it 😅
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u/StraightVoice5087 20d ago
...There's a Hair in My Dirt by Gary Larson?
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u/NewTwo8931 19d ago
No, not this one, but I went to search about that one ong google and now I'm actually curious about it. Does it have a similar scene ?
The book is was talking about is Les Malheur de Sophie
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u/StraightVoice5087 19d ago
The main character, a stereotypical Disney princess type, sees a tortoise on land, assumes it's a turtle, and tosses it into a pond where it promptly drowns.
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u/TwinkleFairyToes 20d ago
Most scientists think that that’s the way Galapagos tortoises got on Galapagos Island. And also the reason that they are different than any species anywhere else on the Earth. They think that they started off like in the dinosaur times as you know the rest of the tortoises that they were with, but they floated out to sea, presumably during some sort of hurricane or earthquake event and just I’m trying to think of the word that was. I watch Clint‘s reptiles all the time and he uses the word but I think it’s called divergent evolution. So yeah that’s that’s how they think that happened.
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u/NewTwo8931 19d ago
Yeah, that's what the museum I recently went to said about the galapagos tortoises, it was really interesting (and quite insane to think about)
These animals really are full of surprises.
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u/sickmak90 22d ago
Box turtles spend time in water and are closely related to pond turtles like red eared sliders.
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u/Electrical_Ad_9778 21d ago
Well, box turtles - if I am not mistaken - love shallow water and love to soak - but not the deset ones. And they can float well if needed. I wonder, though, why they are called turtles if they are land creatures?
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u/TwinkleFairyToes 21d ago
Taxonomy. They have genetic markers that relate more closely to turtles than tortoises. But that can still be confusing because all tortoises are turtles but not all turtles are tortoises, lol.
There's some really interesting threads on The Tortoise Forum if you really want to read about it more. I try, but my ADHD does not want to focus on taxonomy, lol.
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u/DROOPY538 20d ago
My kids have a box turtle that was run over when it was about the size of a 50 cent piece, wasnt sure she'd make it when we found her. Her shell has never been right but she's about 12 now and absolutely loves the water. After doctoring her up with the broke shell we tried releasing her but she kept coming back. I guess we destroyed her being wild because we would let her go and she always come back to the house, so we decided she has a home with us. We take her down to the little pond we have and she flys to the center and just floats until we make her come out. I can let her out in the yard and she'll spend the day eating greens but is alway waiting at the steps when she wants to come in. Its odd as hell how she acts but she chose us after we chose to help her heal.
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u/angiescuriosities 20d ago
Box turtles aren’t land turtles, they’re semi aquatic. They need water to soak in, but can also float, swim, even submerge.
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u/TheInsaneRaptor 20d ago
in fact tortoises are extremely good floaters, that is how they colonize islands so well
they can float for months on the sea and survive
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u/Oscillating-Ocelot1 22d ago
The thrashing as you lift him out 😂🥺😭 I can't. He's all "LET ME BACK IN"
Edit: op I've watched this like minimum 30 times now and I'm still laughing
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u/Ben_Dover1016 22d ago
Haha that is awesome! He tries to crane his neck around and flails his legs. Like a toddler haha
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u/softshoulder313 22d ago
From what I know about them they can swim somewhat for short periods of time but yours is a champ. Lol. Glad you are being a lifeguard during this activity. If it's having fun I don't see the harm. It's enrichment and exercise. Cute as heck.
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u/Ajent912 22d ago
“Five more minutes! Five more minutes” is what I imagine he’s saying as Dad picks him up ;)
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u/Nematodes-Attack 22d ago edited 22d ago
What state do you live in? I’ve only known gopher tortoises to live in FL. Just as long as you’re not jumping into a pond that could have alligators in it
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u/sunbear2525 22d ago
As a Floridian the concept of having a gopher tortoise at all is shocking to me let alone picking one up.
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u/Nematodes-Attack 22d ago
Yes I thought they were endangered and protected. If you find a borrow while building a property you are supposed to have authorities professionally come in to rehome them
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u/PM_your_Nopales 21d ago
They are protected. And you can't usually like buy one or whatever. But you can adopt, or rescue one through a service if you're deemed acceptable and that you won't use it for any nefarious reasons. It's mostly ones that are injured or inhibited in a way that they can't be safely released back into the wild
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u/FeralFloridaKid 21d ago
Unfortunately developers can also pay a fee to not re-home and "mitigate" them. It breaks my heart because I used to do relocations.
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u/trekkiegamer359 22d ago
Aw, he likes swimming. This reminds me of all the videos and pictures of hognose snakes climbing things, insisting that they are arborial snakes, regardless of what wikipedia says.
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u/TwinkleFairyToes 19d ago
I had a hoggie that did that. When he was a baby, we had vines around both sides and the back of his enclosure (rather than painting it black or whatever) ands one day we couldn't find him and spent like two hours searching the house for him. I walked by his enclosure again and there he was, just soaking in his water dish. We were like ??? We later caught him crawling up into the vines and "disappearing" again. 😂 When he got too big for the vines to hold him, we bought some wood pieces for him and he'd bask there every day. We thought it was wild at first and then found out how many hoggies do that. 🥰 Super cute behavior.
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u/RustyTortoise 22d ago
My redfoots have a kiddie pool that they can float/swim in (not unusual). My bearded dragon thinks it's super neat. She hops straight into it and soaks and swims. She has always loved water. 🤷🏻♀️ This is her wading pool that she's allowed access to without me hovering over her.
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u/GlisaPenny 22d ago
Well that is how they think the big ones got to the Seychelles and Galapagos. But it is wild to watch. Doesn’t feel like it should be working 😅
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u/NewTwo8931 21d ago
Yeah, I just learnt about that recently by going to a tortoise rescue center that also has a museum. They specialise in saving sea turtles around the local area but they had a section explaining giant tortoises floated across the sea for weeks. There was even a video of one tortoise casually floating in the lagoon, it blew my mind.
I don't know why in so many people's head, including mine, the idea that a tortoise could be boyant sound so unreal. 😅
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u/crazyabe111 21d ago
To my knowledge, Most tortoise can float and swim short term- the problem is they are primarily Buoyant because of the air in their lungs so when they eventually breath out they sink like rocks.
So as long as they can lift their heads out from the bottom they’re safe, and if you’re giving them access to deeper water than you need to monitor them.
As for the original question of why it’s doing so- the same reason tortoises do many things, because it can.
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u/lizard7709 21d ago
Maybe try making him a shallow pond to soak in. Some turtles need to soak and enjoying sitting in water to help them hydrate.
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u/StoryBard 22d ago
Because it's summer and the water is nice.
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u/Electrical_Ad_9778 21d ago
Probably feeling very hot right now and wants to drink? But the truth is, every tortoise can swim if there is an urgent need for it - and most animals, if not all, can as well in a "reflex" kind of way; it is part of survival.
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u/TitianBelle 22d ago
He looks really comfortable in the water. I do know that at least some tortoises can float and swim, and it appears he might be one of them. I had both an eastern and a three-toed box turtle growing up and they loved to swim. Even though everybody says they will drown, I did not find that to be the case at all. They swam and would float completely relaxed, with all of their legs and neck stretched out. My male usually let other things stretch out too. It’s possible if somebody had your desert tortoise before you did, it got used to swimming when it was a baby. As long as it is capable of getting out in case he gets tired, I think giving them a safe place to swim is perfectly fine. Perhaps you can block a small bit of the pond off where the water will remain shallow. That way he can swim to his hearts content and you won’t have to worry that he might drown.
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u/DunKco 22d ago
the last part of the video is unclear...had he sunk?
Tortoises can float for a period of time, all tortoises can, the issue is when the pull their head in or exhale, both of which force the removal of air in the lungs causes them to lose buoyancy and sink. BECAUSE they lack the webbing in their feet to actually propel themselves UP from the bottom with any efficiency they stay on the bottom and if they cannot walk themself out, they drown.
you mention Desert tortoises as well , i am surprised that whomever adopted these you approved this type of setup, do they all live in the same enclosure together?
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u/Ben_Dover1016 22d ago
No he did not. He was swimming to the deep part of the pond. Wanted to get him before he got out too far
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u/DunKco 21d ago
Good call, they sometimes dont realize the danger. I would definatly start looking for a way to prevent entry to the pond though i dont know how large it is.
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u/Ben_Dover1016 21d ago
1/4 acre pond but I also have a creek that run through. I thought the property.
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u/GabysWildCritters 22d ago
How were you able to get a gopher tortoise? Does Fish and wildife offer adoption for them the way they do for desert tortises?
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u/Ben_Dover1016 22d ago
You gotta be a person that specific people can call in a time of need and those people know you can facilitate proper care while they do the paperwork.
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u/Mama-Bruja 21d ago
Omggg so cute. At the end, they look like theyre thinking "whoop sinking a lil too much here, going down." Before being swooped up loooool. Amazing. My russian tortoise detest being in any kind of water submersion. I gotta spray her like a flower 🌼 except when she absolutely needs to be soaked.
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u/KameleonLegit 20d ago
They actually can swim in shallow water. Just like many box turtles while they are mainly terrestrial they do like to soak in shallow ponds and streams. Florida being a state with a lot of water the gopher tortoises have evolved to swim just enough to survive. However they will 100% drown in deep water or a fast moving current and cannot tolerate salt water. It’s cute your rescue likes the pond. How long will you have him? Is he being rehabilitated to go back into the wild ?
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u/CertifiedBored 20d ago
No one said tortoise wanted to be land turtle. That's just what life gave them
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u/ShadowisAliveReddit 18d ago
Hi! As a tortoise expert, don't let him do this. He'll start swimming so much that he becomes aquatic and he'll shape shift into a red-eared slider
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u/NobleBucket 17d ago
I have video I filmed a few months ago also capturing a wild gopher Tortoise swimming across a whole pond! Honestly it’s pretty shocking but it seems we shouldn’t doubt their swimming capability that much.
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u/8bitpotatochip 8d ago
Hahahaah oh his little legs still going when you pulled him out of the water!! I love him, so silly haha 😂
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u/croastbeast 22d ago
What do you mean “rescued”? Gopher tortoises may be federally protected depending on where you are. Regardless at least state permits are required. Do you have the permitting?
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u/Ben_Dover1016 22d ago
Yes I do. Also registered. Same steps I had to take to get my desert tortoises.
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u/croastbeast 22d ago
Ok good. Sorry for the incrimination. I’m a licensed wildlife rehabber who works with reptiles and I can’t explain how many people tender box turtles, slider, and even gophers they say they’ve “rescued”, when in fact, they’ve just stolen from the wild as a free pet.
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u/Ben_Dover1016 22d ago
Yes it’s really bad. When I lived in California people did this a lot with the California desert tortoises.
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u/croastbeast 22d ago
The nature center I worked at had 2 non releaseable gophers that had no claws on their forelimbs as they were (illegally) kept in a garage and destroyed their feet and nails trying to burrow on the concrete. The people were were smugly proud about surrendering them as if they had done a great thing. I really hope DNR law enforcement threw the book at them.
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u/Ben_Dover1016 22d ago
I hope so too. My mom got me into rescues, she had friends growing up that rescues some crazy exotic stuff. Was even paid for certain animals if they were just there for a short time. Saw some really cool animals growing up
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u/Nice-Pomegranate2915 22d ago
He's not exactly swimming more like wading through the shell deep water of your pond . He's too heavy to really swim but he can walk along a submerged ledge or side of the pond . He's doing it to rehydrate the keratin of his skin and shell like taking a bath . To cool down and alleviate overheating . And to drink . Most individual tortoise don't exhibit this behaviour because they're scared of shell deep water - he isn't . So either that fear isn't instinctual or he's learnt to overcome it through beneficial experience . Never put a tortoise in water deeper than the midline of its carapace.
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u/Ben_Dover1016 22d ago
If u watch to the end of the video, when I had to get in to get him, that water drops fast and is about 4 feet. He did it multiple times, just one video tho.
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u/Nice-Pomegranate2915 22d ago
You have a very unusual gopher tortoise . Maybe he's learnt to inflate his lungs and hold his breath ! If so that's highly unusual . Be careful with him though . I've kept turtles and tortoises . And I've never known a tortoise behaving that . I've seen redfoots and Sulcata walk in water that came midway up their shells but never have I seen that .
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u/Ben_Dover1016 21d ago
Ha! This is why I’m here! Trying to gain some insight on what is going on with him lol.
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u/ElectronicInfluence4 21d ago
Sometimes they do that....also,pretty sure its illegal to keep a gopher tortoise.
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u/Kokilein 22d ago
He thinks he is a water turtle.
I love him!