“Get offa my properteh!”
Kristen D. says ‘Taco’ turtle is prosh.
Tiny Tortoise Comes When Called
April 28, 2010 By
Cute Overload :D
Cute Overload :D
“Get offa my properteh!”
Kristen D. says ‘Taco’ turtle is prosh.
Adorable! Taco turtle! Love his leetle feetsies…
now I’ve seen everything
Read “My Family and Other Animals” by G. Durrell. He had a tortoise named Achilles who would come when called. “Achilles, strawberries!” and the tortoise, who loved strawberries, would come as fast as he could.
Taco is full of beans.
Well, darn! The least they could do is feed me!
He’s thinking: OK, people, I keep hearing you say “Taco, Taco,” but do I see a taco anywhere? I do not! So where’s my G*d* breakfast already, huh? And it better be vegetarian…
(heh heh Get Ready, ‘cuz here it comes!!
)
“Me Quiero Taco Turtle”!!!
AS A PET, not at Taco Bell!!!!
Signed,
“Now MIND you, TB is my alltime favorite cheap eats on the go…”
He may be responding to your voice…or the flashlight…or your head in his door…or your out-stretched hand… Taco’s pretty cute, regardless.
When you said ‘tiny’ I didn’t think this tiny! WOW! That’s a tiny tortoise! Big-fingered guy and high-voice lady seem nice. Good luck to them all!
Jeez those people had annoying voices! Beautiful tortoise though
Taco says, “Hey. Whersh mah lettush?”
I actually have a Russian Tortoise that comes when you call his name, “Dunya”. Even from a deep sleep, well burrowed away.
But, yeah, @Jenny that woman’s voice was annoying, that and her seeming to think that this was a first-time-ever type of event.
“good boy….or girl.”
and i don’t think the voice was “annoying.” that’s how people talk to animals, in general, especially their loved pets (i am guilty of the same), and i think they respond better to high-pitches.
Give
him or her
a
schnack
already
really
after all that sweet work to get to you and perform for your and our entertaiment, a schnack is the least you could do.
Pretty please
oh. mah. gawd. That is truly the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.
I have a turtle and checked into the hearing once. Turtles hear bass sounds not higher sounds like voices. I think he saw the light or probably heard big feet thumping around outside. And if he’s like my turtle he’s just curious and shows no fear. He is adorable.
So lucky for him, he never heard that woman’s voice.
A friend of mine had a tortoise called “Bernardino”, and he would come anytime you called him.
It was cute. He would come “in a hurry” when she called his name.
He was actually attacking the hand because it cleared out all of the food left at his door by admirers! (The attack was just in slo-mo.) LOL!!
WHY DIDN’T THEY GIVE TACO A STRAWBERRRY?????
NOT FAIR
Yes, please give him a strawberry or a crisp piece of lettuce! Little Taco deserves it!
BEST … TURTLE … NAME … EVER!!!
Taco: Hey, there was a tasty looking dandelion leaf here a second a go, what just happed?
Great. Now I want a taco.
And a tortoise.
That’s funny because sulcata or other desert tortoises don’t actually “hear” in the traditional sense. They use their tympanic membranes to detect vibrations coming from the ground around them.
Taco may actually simply have been conditioned to come when presented with the light shown at the beginning, or the image of his owners’ faces. He may have learned to make this response by approaching his owners for food.
It’s just animal psychology: classical conditioning and instrumental conditioning
BUT I ADMIT THAT IT IS STILL CUTE
I didn’t think her voice was annoying at all. I thought they both sounded very sweet. I do wish they’d let Taco have a bite of that dandelion! Well, maybe they did once the camera was turned off.
i laugh every time i hear the woman says that he is responding to her voice…that is much too anthropomorphic. while tortoises may appear to be bonded to their owners, they are actually just reliant on their owners for food etc. and respond accordingly to get that food. but i guess it’s people like these that make the rest of us feel smart…
Taco is saying “I’ll take a veggie taco to go!”
S/he’s really the ATTACK TORTOISE, and was defending the burrow.
That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.
have to agree with jenny. its a little annoying. watch the video on mute or you might have “c’mere taco!!!” and “that’s amazing!!!” lodged in your brain for weeks i’m sure they’re very nice people but the constant commentary is not necessary. very cute tortoise though
@John Wolf: That is my most favorite book EVER! And Achilles the tortoise was my favorite of all of Gerry’s animals…except for Roger, that is.
Taco might the be the best name for a tortoise ever. Especially for a tortoise smaller than a taco.
I actually liked how the woman spoke to Taco, as if he were her own little boy.
There are 4 or 5 wild box turtles who come to my backdoor every morning in the summer to be fed breakfast. They remember from year to year — very smart! They prefer Mighty Dog beef grilled dinner, bananas, mushrooms and strawberries.
Taco is TEENY! I am surprised s/he trust enough to stand on that hand and be whipped into the high air.
My family has two desert tortoise who also respond to their names. Also, contrary to popular opinion, tortoises can actually really move pretty quickly when they desire it.
After all that, Taco needs some serious spoiling, or whatever it is that turtles like:
mebbe some nice teeney-turtle-sized greens, a very gentle skritch on him’s leetle hed,
and a short ride around the back yard before he is carefully replaced back in his burrow, with perhaps a tiny turtle tune whistled softly for him before he returns to his nappee……
Ohhhh! Tacooooo! Mucho Cute-o. Not only does he/she come out, but crawls up on hand!!! You guys are awesome. I loved hearing you comment and talk to Taco. He’s in good hands (!) and knows it.
I can’t get past the name Taco, as in he has a hard shell.
I think both sides of this debate are correct, as I spy a teeny one of these in his weensie ear……….http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CGYfES3nCY
Note to “Money” … Um, this site is Cute Overload so take your “I’m so superior to animal lovers” attitude elsewhere and lighten up.
I loved the turtle, but was irked by the amount of times she said ‘amazing’. He obviously wants some salad.
dmgo, I concur
Geeze, so many Buzzkillingtons..
Anyway, think the video is absolutely adorable. Whether if the tortoise was coming to them from their voice, or the flashlight or whatever. SO cute how it crawled in to the guy’s hand.
Sigh, I want a tortoise.
LEAVE TACO ALONE!!
why be negative about such a cute, fun video? Stop hatin and just appreciate the tiny taco and his loving caretakers.
I agree, Jennifer, why people always find something negative to complain about. The video is fun, the turtle is cute, the people are nice.
Take it from a biologist, turtles (including land turtles) have terrible hearing. Although they can “hear” low frequency sounds, which is to say they can feel the vibrations more than they can hear them.
I promise you that turtle is not responding to your voice lady. A herpetologist friend who was studying river turtles caught the turtles by sneaking up behind them while they were basking on logs, he could yell directions field assistants sitting on shore without the turtles ever noticing.
People always assume animals experience the world the same way they do, but that is just not the case.
sorry if that sounded negative. the tortoise is adorable, and the fact that he’s conditioned to come out to whatever stimulus it is that he’s attracted to is adorable!
What a cute video! I don’t think the couple is annoying at all, quite the contrary, very sweet with mister Taco.
Taco is adorable! We used to have a sulcata who would wake up whenever my mom started cooking dinner.
He comes when called – just very slowly.
OMG! I <3 TEENIE TINY TACO TURTLE!!!!!
taco’s like, “yes, i’m coming! i’m coming, damnit, it just takes me a while!! sheesh! hold yer horses!!”
Regardless of hearing/not hearing and that rather annoying but sincere lady, Taco is so darn precious that I want to give him a big crunchy piece of lettuce and a fat juicy strawberry for being so cute and making my day!
I squeeeeealed through the whole thing!!!! OH MAN
Now i want a tortoise even MORE!
Hank the tortoise also comes to my hand. I say her name (she’s inappropriately named, we didn’t know she was a she) but that’s mostly for me. She comes to my hand and quickly bites it. What can I say, she knows where her food comes from. And tortoises can’t see well so she’s also done it to my toes.
The other day she lured my husband to the fridge too. She knows the food sequence is fridge, hands, Hank.
I thought I was the only one to ever read Gerald Durrell! And now he has a fan club! And we all met here, over a special little friend named Taco…
All you have to do is look at the little guy to know that he’s lonesome. Watch his little head cuddle up on the man’s hand.
Add me to the My Family & Other Animals fanclub!
LizzyBee-how about Widdle & Puke?!
Love love LOVE that book.
And this video is charming as hell-what a sweet tortoise!
I’ve had desert torties for years and could always call them out from under the shed where they burrowed. They do indeedy respond to voice.
Good boy. Or girl.
I’m with the scientists on this one, he probably saw the light and responded with natural curiosity. And if they’ve fed him before he knows that light = noms.
Still damn cute, though.
TO EVERYBODY ON THE PLANET
(ok, maybe just the NICE PEOPLE ON CO UNLIKE THE NASTY GUY :WHO decided he needed TO RUIN MY DAY yesterday just for his own fun)
See? ABOVE IS A LESLIE
I AM NOT THAT LESLIE
(I WAS once Leslie-NTA though)
AND I”M SURE THAT THAT LESLIE IS A FINE PERSON
but Leslie isn’t a one-trick name around these parts ….I know of another Leslie which I think said librarian or something.
I’m either gonna stay O NO (he/she/it) DI-unt or if ennybody cares to vote, I’ll also consider going to
“NOT THAT LESLIE THE OTHER LESLIE”
but only if nice people want me to. I”M TIRED of changing my name and the other Leslie’s probably didn’t know that there are several around these here parts so it
really was to make THOSE peeps’ lives easier.
The guy from yesterday:
JUST DEAL. You’re an unnecessary drag to my joy and I never knew who you were before you called me crazy. Youre welcome to see my doctors’ diagnoses and
depression occasionally? YUP.
CRAZY for real??????
NOT at all. Perhaps you don’t enjoy people who have a healthy appreciation of
silliness which DOESN”T HURT someone else. Think about it.
LEAVE ME ALONE (maybe leave co)
The best part is that his NAME IS TACO. That’s far too adorable.
*shares her broccoli with him* (or her)
Oh, and money – yeah, that’s why animals respond to their owners. that’s also why BABIES RESPOND TO THEIR PARENTS. what’s your point?
Crunchy taco shell? *takes tiny nibble*
Adorableness:
-Hey Tacooo!
[half an hour passes]
-Theeeere you aaaare!
If I was in the middle of a nap, and some a*hole was at my door yelling “TACO, TACO”, I would come out too. Although I would probably be wielding a baseball bat. I bet Taco wishes he could swing a baseball bat.
That’s awesome!! Taco is adorable
Cute tiny turtle, but sorry lady, I need more evidence for the “proof.”
SO CUTE! Oh, how I miss me and my sister’s childhood turtles, Yertle and Timothy. *sigh*
My parents had a Sulcata (African spurred tortoise) named Tortellini. She was big, 20 lbs, and tanked around the yard along with the four dogs, two turkeys and three ducks. She escaped once and was gone for two weeks and my parents were sure she was dead, but some guy who lived two miles away found her in his yard one day and returned her. She escaped again about a month later, but the second time, it only took about 6 hours to go that two miles. She must have found something tasty in that guy’s yard!
My turtles do it too
Nobody believes me but they actually come and sit on my lap when I’m sitting on the floor, really cute.
CUTEST LITTLE CRITTER EVER, TACO, I LOVE YOU SWEETIE !!!!
I’m not sure what’s more awesome, the fact that the turtle’s name is Taco, or that he responds to voice.
Yes, turtles do indeed come when called!! Growing up we had a gopher tortoise that lived in our yard. We used to feed her & play w/her when she was little and she would come when we called her. Well, Willie is older than I am! (close to 30
And a while back, when we hadn’t seen her in years, we called her & she changed directions & came to the porch to get grapes & green beans (her favs =) Not only do they know their names, they have memory!
I doubt he is coming because he is being called. He probably coming out because he associates the sound of their voices with being fed.
Taco’s itty bitty tail makes me suspect she’s a girl. A very, very adorable one.
This is an African Spur tortoise baby. I have one and he is now 50 pounds. They will get to 150-200 pounds. Mine is named Speedbump.
OMG! I Love It! I mean, how cute is that. Where can I get one?
I had a Russian tortoise that would come out of his burrow every day when i came home from school. He even did that when he escaped his pen one morning and my mom couldn’t find him; he came out from under my sister’s bed when I came home. Of course, noms also came with the person, so there was a benefit to waking up and moving around.
The little guy in the video is all “Whaddya want??” when he comes out. Then, when noms do not present themselves, he’s all “Fine, if i have to walk onto your hand to get noms, I’ll do it. But I better get some noms!”
@Linda, the name, Speedbump for your tortoise is a WINNAH! That’s great! How long have you had him?
Oh my GOODNESS. That is *lethally* adorable.
I LOVE TACO!! What a sweetie!! And it’s so dear to see how kind his “people” are to him. They do not have annoying voices–some animals respond to higher voices. Such a sweet video…
My grandma has a backyard tortoise named Elmo that comes when you call, chases the dogs (slowly), plays with your feet, and can open the screen door and sneak into the house. They are incredibly intelligent and can become very comfortable around people.
@ Jorden: Ah yes. Widdle and Puke. I forgot about them. And I know it wasn’t an animal, but I really liked the Bootle Bumtrinket as well. I need to read that book again.
We have had Speedbump for about a month. He is 14. We lost our Sulcata, Shellby on March 15th. The Ides of March. He escaped. Our collie, Spirit, saw it happen but she was inside and could not stop him. We were away at the time. Spirit was his herder. We have had the whole rural subdivision and area out on the lookout for him. People have seen snapping turtles and thought it was him and called me. We were even on the local news. But no Shellby. A gal who lived in a condo and could no longer care for Bump just gave him to us. He is totally different than Shellby. Shellby was a wanderer. Bump just hangs. Spirit? When we brought Speedbump home, she smelled him and gave us this look like “Don’t try to fool me. That is not Shellby!” But now she is caring for Bump.
Um, pretty sure they had a variable that wasn’t controlled for… uh… flashlight?
WHO CARES WHYYYY the cutesy little taco tortoise came out???? IT came out!!!! AND went through great effort to climb on the gigantic hand that most probably feeds and cuddles it!!!! HOW AMAZINGLY CUTE IS THAT?!!! A TORTOISE!!!!!!!! AGHHHH!!! *dropped dead*.
oh. my. god. That is the cutest little turtle. Even the name Taco is adorable. I love his little slow deliberate moves. This makes me want to get a turtle!
So cute. We raise box turtles. And we are pretty sure Taco is not so much responding to voice, as he is looking for some chow!!!! Adorable little guy! My husband goes outside in the yard & his all come running. They are climbing all over his feet, to where he can’t even walk. Turtles are so smart & have incredible personalities once you get to know them.
cutie patooootie!!! how sweet.
Tortoise! <3
I can haz strawmaberries nao?
Wow! This video is amazing.
I don’t think it’s so amazing the turtle came out to investigate what was going on. It is absolutely adorable but I’m not sure why the woman owner is acting all surprised? Regardless of whether the turtle can actually hear, it can definitely feel vibrations and see the flashlight. Obvi it came out because he knew he had some company and decided to see what was up with his human owners.
Very Cute—–Taco…Taco should be rewarded every time he comes out when called……We have a Squirrel out back that comes every time I call “Sugar” I call her this cause she’s so “SWEET” when she comes I give her something….
The turtle is so cute. I can tell you how you tell if it’s a boy or not. The boys have an indent on the bottom side of their shell. This is for mating reasons so they fit on top of the female.
no he responds to a light being shown in his borrow
Great. Now I have a craving for tacos.
Add me to the “My Family and Other Animals” fanclub… my favourite critters were the ‘magenpies’, but the scene which always makes me laugh till I cry, pee my pants and roll on the floor in agony holding my belly is the party with the seagull.
Nobody commented on the rare Powerpuff Girls reference in the caption.
And, cute turtle.
he is sooooooo cute!!! the dgn mascot is a turtle too!! his name is ralphie and he looks a lot like taco.
bye!! : )
~editors of the DGN~
but does he respond to voice???
que pequeno!!