A stroller ride to the park

Alaskamike

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South Florida
I used to do this with my young ( 20 lb ) Sulcata in Alaska , but it was to classrooms Started with a granddaughters school and then spread from there. I remember heating up the car real good before transport :)

The education was on Africa where I'd spent some time but the star of the show was always Bilbo. He had no fear and immediately would start looking for treats right outta the box.

Many of the young children had never seen a turtle or tortoise of any kind. The look on their faces when I brought Bilbo out was priceless.

Keep it up. Passing on an appreciation for nature is worth the effort.
 

Prairie Mom

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Sep 13, 2014
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Such an awesome thread! Thank you for sharing. All the pictures were so cute! I love watching little kids learn about animals and be so gentle with them. I think it's good for tortoises to socialize. Im assuming they probably are nervous at first but then get used to it. Just like their soaks. Bogart hated soaking and now he enjoys it.
I'm so glad you liked it:) Thanks for your comment! I agree with you 100%. And my tortoise was really a very nervous creature when we first got her, but now she's quite amazing. I've posted photos of her being down-right snuggly in other threads. And as you said, it was really awesome to see the kids being so good with her that day. It was a lot of fun. We'll definitely do more exploring and visiting places.
 

Prairie Mom

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Joined
Sep 13, 2014
Messages
4,340
I used to do this with my young ( 20 lb ) Sulcata in Alaska , but it was to classrooms Started with a granddaughters school and then spread from there. I remember heating up the car real good before transport :)

The education was on Africa where I'd spent some time but the star of the show was always Bilbo. He had no fear and immediately would start looking for treats right outta the box.

Many of the young children had never seen a turtle or tortoise of any kind. The look on their faces when I brought Bilbo out was priceless.

Keep it up. Passing on an appreciation for nature is worth the effort.
That's so cool to hear! I'm sure a tortoise is an even more unusual sight in Alaska!!

Speaking of Africa...Half my kiddos are Ethiopian. We have great fun with our "African pet" and have joked that she's Ethiopian too. Mavis got a special treat on Ethiopian New Year this last month:D

Bilbo is a great name! Ha! Love it!
 

Boogeyman

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5 Year Member
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Aug 30, 2015
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274
Outings with Mavis

In the short time we've had our sulcata, we've taken her to a few places and intend to keep taking her out on family outings. I have no idea how we'll manage when she is 200lbs, but we love her and are stubborn enough that we'll find a way! I'm going to attempt to snap photos whenever she goes on trips out of her yard.

Animals in our family must learn to travel and we must learn to meet their needs as we do so. Mavis has already been on wintery car trips out of state when my kids get their medical treatments at the children's hospital. We've come up with awesome car setups that incorporate car adapters and plugged in heat sources. She has spent a holiday with us visiting relatives and gets lots of loving attention and socializing at home.

She is becoming one COOL SULCATA!!! She is quite happy and habitual in her routines at home, but she is also so brave and friendly in a variety of situations. This tortoise we love continues to surprise me regularly.

Elementary School Picnic
My kids' school had an end of year picnic at a community park. Parents were encouraged to attend and we were thrilled that the school chose a park only minutes from my home. My husband and I decided to leash the dog and grab the tortoise as a surprise visit to our children's picnic.

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This is a double stroller that includes a standup area. I can usually squeeze three kids in it. This is the same Tupperware that Mavis takes her beloved soaks in EVERY day. She seemed perfectly at ease being put in the Tupperware.

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I know she isn't too stressed if she's still willing to eat:) I took this photo as the stroller was moving! She ate the whole way to the park and occasionally looked up at us and up at the tree tops that strolled by. I was pleased she filled up on our picked grass, because I didn't want her to eat much of the treated grass at the park.

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I packed along hand sanitizer and had the kids clean their hands when they were done visiting her. She was shy and hid briefly in the beginning. But it really only took a few minutes for her to come out of her shell to check things out and receive the mountains of flower treats I packed along. (The rosy cheeked freckle monster on the right is one of my babies)

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The African Princess on the left is also my baby. I love the way Mavis took everything all in for a few minutes. By the end of our visit she was well fed, well petted, and did some exploring to the delight of a hundred or so kids that sporadically checked on her.

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I packed a large grocery bag of my own weeds and home grown flowers and let the kids feed her.

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Look at my daughter hugging my dog in the background!!! My kids thought our visit was such a sweet surprise and they felt like the life of the party showing off their beloved pets.

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The flowers were coming in so fast and Mavis was adorable and did her best to eat and keep up with the delicious presents.

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The kids were delighted when Mavis would walk up to them and take the offered treats. Mavis sure put on a good show! She even showed off her huggable side and allowed me to show the kids the many ways she likes to be petted.

Many kids, parents, and teachers had lots of great questions about her. I live in a cool, dry, elevated climate with long winters where turtles and tortoise are not common at all. (It's a bit crazy to own a tortoise here!) Many kids had never interacted with a turtle or tortoise of any kind. It was a special day. And Mavis loved her treats!!!


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Our stroller ride went so surprisingly well with our happy snacking tortoise inside that we intend to take her on additional rides in the future. Feel free to mock this crazy tortoise owner as you see fit ;)
That is so awesome. . Great experience for the kids.
 

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