Groundhog Day was Tuesday.
And for many of us parents of school-age kids, Groundhog Day has felt like every day this week.
Wake up, is there school?
Not today. Yes, snow, I see why.
Try again tomorrow.
But lucky for me, Tuesday was more exciting than that.
Tuesday for me was Tortoise Day.
And I got to meet…drum roll, please…Shelley🐢💕.
Charlie had been asking for a tortoise for several months and got some Christmas money from his loving grandparents. Maybe I’m a sucker for Charlie’s freckles. Maybe I get nostalgic about the few months I fostered a tortoise 17 years ago. Whatever it was, we made the decision, did the research and enclosure-build and finalized a plan with a reptile rescue center 4 states over.
She’s a 4-year-old Hermann’s tortoise. Charlie came up with the name Shelley (genius). I don’t know much about her backstory except that she started as a household pet baby turtlette and was deemed unwanted or unable to be cared for any longer by the previous caretakers.
Her surrender to the reptile center was a familiar story last year. Christina, the woman in charge there, said they had over 400 admissions, almost double from the year before.
“I hope your grandkids like tortoises”, as the saying goes. Me too, since Hermann’s tortoises can live for 40 or more years with proper husbandry (a new word for JP for this week).
Once we made the decision to get Shelley, like many a new mom, I felt like I had to become an expert in a very short amount of time. And like many a new mom, whether I liked it or not, all the ways I could accidentally cause her demise arose in my mind. So I started reading.
The language I found on what to feed pet tortoises was quite telling.
” In nature, much of their day is comprised of grazing or browsing for edible vegetation. Unfortunately, many uninformed keepers turn to supermarket produce which is generally lacking in acceptable fiber levels and is too high in sugar… Sometimes, supermarket produce may be your only option. Whenever possible, purchase only organic greens…”
– C. Leone of the tortoise refuge Hermanni Haven at Garden State Tortoise
Wow. So grocery store greens are not fit for my tortoise.
Noted.
Honestly, it’s a little confusing on what to feed her. Different internet authorities disagree on what’s best for her diet. Leafy greens, yes, but only certain ones. Too much can make her obese (!). Supplemental calcium is necessary daily, says one; supplemental calcium causes long-term bone damage, says another. Sound familiar?
The one dominant and agreed-upon advice for feeding my tortoise is this:
“The key to providing your pet with balanced nutrition is VARIETY! So make it your goal to provide as many different kinds of [suitable] foods to your pet tortoise as possible.”
– M. Healey on the Russian Tortoise Care Sheet on Reptifiles
Ok, I can do that.
Right now, Shelley is resting. She dug herself a little burrow in the 8′ by 4′ box JP built her in the living room (and filled with about 800 lbs of sand and clay). She had a busy day upon arrival, lapping her enclosure too many times to count, eating a big plate of our fresh garden leafy greens (romaine’s a fave), and receiving many neighborhood children visitors, out of school from snow, and happy to say hi to the newest girl on the block.
We’re going to build her an outdoor enclosure, too, in the flower bed outside our house for springtime, and hopefully another walled garden bed at the farm stand this summer.
I’m so looking forward to the other half of my life as a tortoise caretaker. Shelley already has lots of lessons for me. Move slower, Sally.
Look at things first.
Think long-game.
Work towards a design that will outlast dinosaurs.
🐢We can’t (can?) wait for you to meet her this summer. If we do our job right, she’ll outlive us here.
Recipe for Fresh Winter Greens Salad & Lemon Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 2/3 pounds of fresh greens mix (any blend of lettuce mix, baby mustard salad mix, arugula, or Italian mix of radicchio and endive, and/or baby spinach)
- 2 pinches of microgreens
- 1 carrot, grated
- 1 purple daikon radish, or watermelon radish, cut into thin slices
- 3 tablespoons of toasted sunflower seeds
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 garlic clove, crushed, or 1 tablespoon of minced shallot
Directions
On a wide and pretty serving platter, fluff the greens as a base. Top with the microgreens, carrot, and radish slices. If sharing with your tortoise, stop there and feed that to her, about the amount equivalent to the size of her shell.
For you, add sunflower seeds. Mix the remaining dressing ingredients together in a jar. Drizzle over salad platter just before serving.