So much to say right now for an introduction to the life of my sulcata, my cat, and I - i dont know where to start to be honest.
I'll start with the latest news, my Sulcata just turned 3 years old last month and from the day I got him as a hatchling i assumed he was a boy, and so his name was Boris up until I found out literally 2 days ago that Boris is in fact a Dolores.... So that's a life changing event in it's own lol.
Now to go back to 3 years ago-ish. I finally moved out of my dad's home that i was taking care of (living alone, taking care of property he never visited), and moved back to where i'm from which is the Florida Keys, namely Big Pine Key. So I decided to do what i've always wanted to do, get a tortoise! My cat gets along with every other animal except other cats, he was raised with snakes, dogs, lizards, etc. all of which I had to rehome after a major surgery. But my cat being my ESA, I fought tooth and nail to keep him. ANYWAY, so I got my first place on Big Pine. A small trailer but it got alot of sun inside, unfortunately the neighborhood I was in wasnt exactly the most trustworthy... So I kept Dolores inside most of the time, just free range (I know, I know, bad me), using pool noodles to corral her to the livingroom/kitchen. Anyway 2 years later and my rent was raised 25% and I couldnt afford to live there anymore! So I moved onto my moms property.... even though I was technically living outside, I was behind a private gate on private land, which benifited Dolores in the best way, since I have 2 dog pens that I put together to make a great outdoor living space. My cat and I camped either in the back of my SUV or in a tent depending on the brutal summer tropical weather UGH! Well, next thing I knew.... I was staring Hurricane Irma in the face....
Some of you might recognize the island name "Big Pine Key", it was ground zero for landfall when Hurricane Irma came a demolished my island. I lost everything. But I had already gone through total hurricane devistation once before in 2005 when Hurricane Wilma took everything from me when I lived in Key West. I knew I had to get out. So i packed as much of my most important crap into a "borrowed" uhaul trailer (at the time I worked at a shipping/uhaul retail outlet), and packed up my "kids" in my SUV, which I just bought and I literally just fixed the transmission... I wasnt even sure she could tow anything! (yes, my SUV is a she) and made the journey of a lifetime. With any vehicle ive ever owned or driven, I have never made it past Orlando, ever. Period.
It took me 2 weeks to get to upstate Vermont, where my dad relocated to a few years back. Now, I had never ever expected to be out of south florida.... So now I'm staring my first winter ever right in the face, and I have my tortoise.... WHAT DO I DO?!?!?! So ever since September, I did find a small efficiency to call home, at least temporarily. Dolores hasnt been outside it that amount of time, and I can tell shes going bonkers. luckly spring is SUPPOSED to be around the corner (it snowed yesterday). and i'll get her back outside as soon as i can!
I'm actually going to admit myself to the ER this wednesday, i'm not going to get into those details, but I have a friend that will be babysitting my tortoise and cat.
Needless to say, its been a very traumatizing year and a half, but my "kids" are staying strong, and at the end of the day, coming home to them is the greatest gift I could ask for.
OH! and yes even though my tortoise is free range when she is indoors, my cat and her are BEST FRIENDS. They eat, sleep, and even play together. Hell, since it was everyone first winter, they shared a heat lamp too! haha. I've never stepped on her, but shes bee lightly kicked once. but once was all it took for me to learn to look down. Dolores is easier to avoid stepping on than my "under the foot" cat, who will never learn his lesson....
Ok now I'm just blabbering lol. I was super excited to come across this forum, ive read sooooooo much great info and stories since I came to this site this past saturday, ive learned so much on how to PROPERLY take care of Dolores, apparently Ive been winging alot of stuff that i shouldnt be doing, oops!
I'll start with the latest news, my Sulcata just turned 3 years old last month and from the day I got him as a hatchling i assumed he was a boy, and so his name was Boris up until I found out literally 2 days ago that Boris is in fact a Dolores.... So that's a life changing event in it's own lol.
Now to go back to 3 years ago-ish. I finally moved out of my dad's home that i was taking care of (living alone, taking care of property he never visited), and moved back to where i'm from which is the Florida Keys, namely Big Pine Key. So I decided to do what i've always wanted to do, get a tortoise! My cat gets along with every other animal except other cats, he was raised with snakes, dogs, lizards, etc. all of which I had to rehome after a major surgery. But my cat being my ESA, I fought tooth and nail to keep him. ANYWAY, so I got my first place on Big Pine. A small trailer but it got alot of sun inside, unfortunately the neighborhood I was in wasnt exactly the most trustworthy... So I kept Dolores inside most of the time, just free range (I know, I know, bad me), using pool noodles to corral her to the livingroom/kitchen. Anyway 2 years later and my rent was raised 25% and I couldnt afford to live there anymore! So I moved onto my moms property.... even though I was technically living outside, I was behind a private gate on private land, which benifited Dolores in the best way, since I have 2 dog pens that I put together to make a great outdoor living space. My cat and I camped either in the back of my SUV or in a tent depending on the brutal summer tropical weather UGH! Well, next thing I knew.... I was staring Hurricane Irma in the face....
Some of you might recognize the island name "Big Pine Key", it was ground zero for landfall when Hurricane Irma came a demolished my island. I lost everything. But I had already gone through total hurricane devistation once before in 2005 when Hurricane Wilma took everything from me when I lived in Key West. I knew I had to get out. So i packed as much of my most important crap into a "borrowed" uhaul trailer (at the time I worked at a shipping/uhaul retail outlet), and packed up my "kids" in my SUV, which I just bought and I literally just fixed the transmission... I wasnt even sure she could tow anything! (yes, my SUV is a she) and made the journey of a lifetime. With any vehicle ive ever owned or driven, I have never made it past Orlando, ever. Period.
It took me 2 weeks to get to upstate Vermont, where my dad relocated to a few years back. Now, I had never ever expected to be out of south florida.... So now I'm staring my first winter ever right in the face, and I have my tortoise.... WHAT DO I DO?!?!?! So ever since September, I did find a small efficiency to call home, at least temporarily. Dolores hasnt been outside it that amount of time, and I can tell shes going bonkers. luckly spring is SUPPOSED to be around the corner (it snowed yesterday). and i'll get her back outside as soon as i can!
I'm actually going to admit myself to the ER this wednesday, i'm not going to get into those details, but I have a friend that will be babysitting my tortoise and cat.
Needless to say, its been a very traumatizing year and a half, but my "kids" are staying strong, and at the end of the day, coming home to them is the greatest gift I could ask for.
OH! and yes even though my tortoise is free range when she is indoors, my cat and her are BEST FRIENDS. They eat, sleep, and even play together. Hell, since it was everyone first winter, they shared a heat lamp too! haha. I've never stepped on her, but shes bee lightly kicked once. but once was all it took for me to learn to look down. Dolores is easier to avoid stepping on than my "under the foot" cat, who will never learn his lesson....
Ok now I'm just blabbering lol. I was super excited to come across this forum, ive read sooooooo much great info and stories since I came to this site this past saturday, ive learned so much on how to PROPERLY take care of Dolores, apparently Ive been winging alot of stuff that i shouldnt be doing, oops!