TheKaminskiTorts

We are a small family of four ?‍?‍?‍? : Me, My Spouse, and our 2 girls. My spouse was in the hospital with Covid 19, on his first night there he had a dream about our girls feeding raspberries to a tortoise and our tort journey began. We had talked a few times about getting a tortoise before due to fur allergies in the house.

Shortly after his release from the hospital and to improve his recovery we started diving more into research and planning for getting a tortoise of our own. We decided because we are located in Michigan that we would need a smaller tort and decided on Testudos. Originally, we were looking into getting an Egyptian Tortoise but found them hard to find or too expensive for our first venture into owning a reptile. We then were looking more toward a Hermann's when we found Petunia Rose-muncher at a local Petsmart.

They didn't know for sure what type of Testudo she was but we did find out that both of the torts there were wild-caught She was super active and running into the side of the log hide and the corners of the glass enclosure that they had her in. The first day that we saw her and the other tort with her we left the pet store to discuss more on making sure a tortoise is a pet we really wanted at this time because of their longevity and the upfront efforts of building a tortoise box and everything needed to make sure our tort would have everything to lead their best life. We also had to debate the pros and cons of a wild-caught tort but felt the need to get her into a better situation with how active she was (don't tell her but we originally wanted the other tort because her shell needs some TLC - which is what brought me to this site)

After a few days and a couple of discussions we went back to the Petsmart and were pleased that she and her companion were still there We decided at that point that with how active she was ( following me along the front of the glass and trying to climb the wall) that she was going to be ours. At the time we didn't know if she was a male or a female because we had not been able to see her underbelly. We had a few things to pick up from the pet store to complete her temporary home as was finalized her Tortoise Box, we are still in the process of some things to go in with her but have a spider plant in a raised pot and a stone craved tortoise (from natural rock) along with a large piece of Ohio Blue Flagstone from the best local landscape supplier around.

Now she is the happiest tortoise and our girls love her. We will be taking her to the vet soon just to make sure that she is in good health and to get a few tips on what we can do to care for her shell, as she is wild-caught and we want to make sure that we keep us and her healthy.