Hidey

Question
I have a Tortoise named Hidey, you can probably guess why.
Every time I touch him, he goes into his shell.
he gets scared of anything that moves and he will sit in his shell for a long time.
How can I get him get used to being picked up?

Answer
Hi Nicholas,

You didn't say where you got your tortoise or what species it is, but some species of tortoises are naturally shyer than others--leopard tortoises, for example.  If your tortoise is a Russian tortoise from a pet store, he's wild caught and will take some time to warm up to you.  The best thing you can do is to limit handling him as much as you can and simply observe him.  Offer him a good variety of food, and if you can find dandelion flowers offer those as well.  Most tortoises can't resist dandelion flowers, and if Hidey begins to recognize you as Bringer of Food, he'll get a lot more enthusiastic about you.  Sometimes individual tortoises are just shyer than others.  I have wild caught tortoises that will follow me around in the pen, and others that don't pull into their shells anymore but are still a little shy.  Be patient, and most likely Hidey will get used to you and not hide all the time.