Tortoise Paradise

I thought I show the tortoises today. They are African spurred tortoise that Chris got for his birthday, nine years ago.

This is how little they were when he got them, they were 10 days old
they are sitting on a plastic lid for a bowl

 Some  of you may know that we had to separate them because they had babies. And we knew this would happen, but our research made us think it would happen when they were much older. We must have missed the part that said if they are really healthy they mate sooner in life. Luckily for us we found a great tortoise rescue to take the babies. So both have pens with heated sheds and room to roam around in. They mostly eat hay, and for treats they get prickly pear cactus, and strawberries, they love both of those things.

Chris planted this prickly pear for them when he got them,
it produces huge pads and also fruit for them to eat

This is Steve

This is Sheila 

They are desert tortoises but they do still need water and shade. Our Sheila is so smart, she figured out where the sprinkler was hitting in her pen, she dug a hole and now has her very own pond. They like to sit in mud and fling it up on their backs, it keeps them cooler. It's really fun to watch

Sheila in her pond

When we first put Steve out in the pen, he started digging and he has dug a hole underground so big we can't see him when he's all the way in it. We know he can turn around in the hole, so it must be big down there.And I'm pretty sure it's cool in the summer and warm in the winter for him. We turn on the heat in his shed in the winter but he likes his hole better, he has it totally lined with hay.

Steve he likes to hang out in the opening of his hole when it's hot

I figured Sheila had her own pond, Steve needed one too. I put a mister in Steve's. It's just a pipe with a mister that sprays a fine mist of water. I wrapped it around his palm tree so it would drip down from the fan palms  and make him a little pond. He did not seem all that thrilled about it.

The mister

Steve kinda likes it

 These tortoises should live 30 to 50 years possibly longer, and grow to be any where from 100 to 200 lbs. It least we hope so. They are Good tortoises.