Leopard tortoise: food or human contact? The test that reveals highly individual preferences
Published by Planète Pets · managing editor: Clément Lacaille · how our guides are written
Offering the same enrichment to every tortoise in a group starts from a good intention, but assumes they all want the same thing. A study published in 2021 by Learmonth, Sherwen and Hemsworth in the Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research tests this assumption directly in the leopard tortoise, a species increasingly kept in captivity. Our other guidance is gathered in the reptile toys and enrichment section.
Contents · 6 sections
A two-arm, then three-arm Y-maze
Five leopard tortoises were first tested in a two-arm Y-maze: one arm led to food, the other was left empty. This first phase simply checked whether the animal could learn to associate one maze arm with a reward. In a second phase, a third arm was opened, offering three possible choices on each trial: food, human interaction (the experimenter petting and scratching the shell), or an empty arm.
Food wins first, then individuals diverge
In phase 1, four out of five tortoises clearly chose the food arm more often than the empty one; one showed no preference between the two. In phase 2, with human contact added as an option, results became more varied: two tortoises most often chose human interaction, two others kept favouring food, and the last showed no clear preference for any of the three options.
There is no single "right" form of enrichment
This result runs against the idea that a standard enrichment programme would suit every tortoise in the same group. Two genetically similar animals, raised under the same conditions, can have opposite priorities between food and human contact. This echoes findings in other chelonians, such as our article on social learning in the Greek tortoise, which likewise shows marked individual differences.
What the study does not show
The protocol covers only five tortoises from the same captive group, too small a sample to generalise to the whole species. It does not test other forms of enrichment such as manipulable objects or digging substrates, only these three specific options. It also says nothing about how these preferences might change with age or with the test repeated over several months.
What this changes for enriching a tortoise's life
Rather than imposing the same enrichment programme on every tortoise in a group, watching each individual's reaction to different options — hidden food, brief contact, new terrain features — makes it possible to tailor what actually matters to that animal. Find all our guides on the reptile hub.
Frequently asked questions
Is a leopard tortoise that dislikes petting abnormal?
No: the study shows that some individuals clearly favour food over human contact. That is not a sign of poor welfare, just an individual preference to respect.
Should enrichment offered to a tortoise be varied?
This study's results support that approach: offering several types of stimulation and observing which ones the animal actually seeks out is more reliable than a single enrichment applied to an entire group.
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This guide is part of Planète Pets’s Reptiles universe. Our advice is general in nature: for any health concern, your veterinarian remains the only reference.