Tortoise Tales

Meet Cherepahka

Just before Christmas last year, we were given a Russian Tortoise whose owner had left him behind in an apartment when she went home for the holidays. He was dehydrated and very weak. For a while we didn't know if he would survive.

Survive he did! He's a personable little fellow with some strong opinions about kale and anything that looks like it, and curiosity that gets him into some predicaments.

He's about 5 inches from nose to tucked up tail.

For quite a while, he spent his days in a big tub with a mixture of Bed-A-Beast and calcium sand under him and a heat lamp giving him warmth from above. He was so weak it took all his energy to eat. Then he would sleep for hours. He expressed his opinions on kale and some varieties of lettuce (especially anything with a red tint) by refusing to eat at all. He much prefers Romaine - but since that's basically tortoise candy, we try to get him to eat a more varied diet and sprinke his Romaine with Tortoise Dust for a nutritional boost.

As the months passed and it got warmer outside, he graduated to a plastic pool with substrate (and holes to let any rainwater drain out). He has his own terra cotta soaking pool in there too. Eventually we'd like to make him a nice enclosure outside and plant a browsing garden for him. In the meantime we let him graze in the yard - especially when some of his favorite weeds are abundant. Unfortunately he requires a babysitter for that. He goes everywhere!

His pool is in a nice shaded area - and we bring him inside if it storms - but he seemed restless. So one day I brought him inside the house and let him run free. I didn't have time to let him roam the yard, and I figured that in the house we could at least find him if he wandered.

What a funny little guy! He explored every nook and cranny. He likes to hang out with the kittens in the morning sunshine. We'll be sitting at the school table, working, and he'll go cruising through the room and back the hallway. Later I'll find him at the other end of the house. When evening comes, he finds a spot to snuggle up and sleep. One day I found him under a pile of pillows in our room. A different day he was in a corner under my guitar case. He likes to go under the quilt rack. A couple of days ago, I couldn't find him at bedtime so I decided to wait and see if he came out in the morning. Hannah came out with him, saying he was under her dresser and had tried to come back out where it was too low and she heard him bumping. He had given up and gone back to sleep. Most of the time, when he gets stuck he just turns around and figures a way out. He's a lot smarter than I ever thought he would be. He also has a lot more personality than I could have dreamed. He likes the kittens and they like him - Benny especially. Sometimes they'll curl up and nap together.

Benny and Oreo saying 'Hi'.

Cherepahka is our interpretation of the Russian word for 'tortoise'. Thanks Phyllis and Will for helping us with the naming! We usually call him 'Chere' (sounds like cherry) as Will suggested.

Earlier this week my mommy radar told me to go look for him (how does that work anyway?). I found him in my bedroom, in front of the sliding door, upside down. The kittens were with him. Apparently somebody thought it might be fun to flip him over and see what happened. He wasn't terribly upset but he didn't feel like hanging out with the kittens anymore either.