My ceramic friend Rita gave me a young red footed tortoise/turtle that my grandson named Max. We won’t know if Max is a boy or girl until he/she is older. For now I will assume he is a boy but Rita says that I would really want him to be a girl.
I have always had doggies, but now that I am older and really into gardening and growing a nice grassy lawn, I don’t want the headache, heartache, and constant responsibility of having a dog. A turtle fits the bill – dry food, water, and very little doodoo to pick up.
The only problem with Max is that he hides constantly. I ring a bell in the morning while I am putting out his food and water and sometimes I find him, sometimes I don’t. Once, in the early stages, he was missing for a week! Such panic, overturning pots, bushes, searching everywhere and anywhere. Turns out he was under the house in a ABS pipe stacked on other pipes. Phew! It was SUCH a relief to find him! He was very hungry and thirsty and I sealed up all spaces that he could use to go under the house.
He still stumps me from time to time – his latest hiding place is under the washing machine. He is getting bigger so he might get stuck one day and learn that it is not a good place to be. Somedays I can’t find him and give up. I don’t worry as much because the food I put out for him is eaten at some time during the day – though I had to bird proof his eating spot.
Although a cold blooded creature such as a turtle does not give me the same warmth and love as a doggie, Max is a good second choice. I think he likes me. And I definitely like him. That’s good enough for now.
Here’s a YouTube video of Max chewing on a cuttle bone stick. The reason? I had to upload a video to YouTube to keep my channel active.
Beautiful shell! Isn’t Max a tortoise since he/she is a land creature rather than a Honu? Anyhow.. Max is cute.
He is adorable!
I’ve seen people with turtles with feather “wings” glued to their shell or other “locators” when walking through the parks in Japan. Really cute.
Their life span scares me! Need to write him in your will, methinks.
Yep, he will live at least 50 years. Fortunately the grandkids love him – though he doesn’t really love them because they are young and loud.
In the beginning I put an airtag on him using a kid’s watch band but it slipped off of him. Can’t believe people walk their turtles! They are pretty slow.
Red-footed tortoises are long-lived reptiles that average 50 to 90 years in captivity with proper husbandry, though wild specimens typically live 20 to 40 years. Because the tropical climate in Hawaii Kai is ideal for keeping them outdoors year-round, they can easily thrive for several decades.
He/she will be your pal for a very long time.
Yup, he will be my pal for a LONG time.
An interesting pet. i though they ate lettuce.
I get big pellets from Amazon by a company called Mazuri. He used to eat kale and some fruits but I don’t worry too much about his diet because he likes to eat leaves in my yard and garden. Unfortunately he ate all the emerging leaves from a pakalana (nice flower for leis) plant that went dormant and was starting to grow new leaves – so it is now struggling. I put out a small plate of water for him. Sometimes he puts his whole body in it and soaks. He is so cute!