Darwin on his first day at the ranch.
Hanaeleh is a horse rescue, but we have a myriad of other animals who we have also rescued: chickens, sheep, feral cats, and now, a tortoise!
We were told about a tortoise at the Irvine Animal Shelter who needed a home. One of our board members, Charlotte, has a tortoise of her own, and she has extensive knowledge about their care. Two of our other board members have relatives with tortoises, so we felt confident that we could provide the tortoise a safe haven.
We weren’t certain if the tortoise was a male or female, but our vet confirmed that we have a male Russian tortoise. The vet said that he is an adult and is full-grown, so he won’t get any larger. We named him Darwin.
Darwin is not a very big tortoise- only about six inches long and four inches wide. We have him in a extra-large crate for now, but will design something more permanent in the future. He seems to have settled in well at the ranch, and is eating and wandering around his enclosure. He is very fun to watch and, contrary to every cartoon we’ve ever seen, he is super quick! We definitely have to keep an eye out for him if he is outside of his pen!
The vet said that besides noting he’s an adult, there is no way to determine exactly how old he is. Russian tortoises live between 40-60 years, so regardless we are certain he will be with us for a long while!
-
- Volunteer Michelle brought him to the ranch from the shelter!
-
- Preparing a flat ground for Darwin’s crate!
-
- Darwin’s setup!
-
- Charlotte bought him all of his toys and tortoise food!
-
- Charlotte looking through all of the stuff she got for Darwin!
-
- Darwin on his first day at the ranch.
-
- Darwin’s shell has some knicks, but the vet said that was normal.
-
- Darwin exploring his new digs!
-
- Parkour!
-
- Taking a little swim! Tortoises can drink, but they also absorb water through their shell!
-
- Darwin hanging in his new abode! (picture courtesy of Volunteer Tarah)
-
- Darwin looking around at his new home.
