Mi-Shell

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,388
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
Mi-Shell has a special place in my heart, as she was pretty much my first tortoise. Oh, there were others before her. We had 'found' three or four of them at different times, wandering around our neighborhood. At that time we had about the same mind set as most people, and if one found a tortoise, you just tossed it into your back yard, never even thinking that it might belong to someone and you should try to find his owner. This was the late '50s and early '60s.

So, we had Gumdrop, a very large desert tortoise, that we put in the back yard with our in-the-ground unfenced pool, and we fed left overs from our dinners: salad with dressing, spaghetti, potatoes and gravy, etc. Thank goodness there was a lot of grass in the back yard to sustain him.

We found two or three other tortoises like that and we put them into the back yard (with the pool) too. One of them was quite yellow. At that time I thought a tortoise was a tortoise. I had no idea that tortoises from other countries looked different and that there were other species of tortoise.

So my son went away in the service (Air Force) and when he came home he bought his own house. By this time I had moved to a house out in the country and set my 'found' tortoises up in a large pen that was fenced with T-posts and chicken wire. One by one all the tortoises scooted under the wire and disappeared. My son was in the habit of visiting pet stores and 'rescuing' box turtles that weren't being kept properly. . . being kept in the water turtle tank, for example, with swollen eyes and not basking area. Then a Gopherus agassizi that a co-worker’s father had run over with the disc in his vineyard….well, you get the idea. That tortoise was Mi-Shell.

Things went along smoothly for months. He built separate pens for each kind of turtle he had. He nursed them all back to health and he had a happy, healthy family of turtles and tortoises. But then came the desire to get a rottweiller puppy. Big mistake! The puppy decided that all these little crawly, wiggly things in “his” backyard were just wonderful to chew on. I doubt my son gave a second thought to which came first, the turtle or the pup. He had fallen in love with the pup, and the turtles just had to go! “Mom, will you take my turtles?”

So that's how I got Mi-Shell. At that point in my life I realized I had to do some research and learn how to take care of these animals. And that was about in the late '70s, so 45 or 50 years ago. Mi-Shell was full grown at that time, so lets say she was 30 years old, plus the 50 years I've had her - she's a pretty old lady. So when I see her come out of the hibernaculum I'm pretty excited she made it through another winter. Look closely at the last picture. She has the prettiest green eyes!

Mi-Shell 1.jpgMi-Shell 3-22-20 a.jpgMi-Shell 3-22-20 b.jpgMi-Shell 3-22-20 c.jpg
 

Maggie3fan

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2018
Messages
8,046
Location (City and/or State)
PacificNorthWest
Mi-Shell has a special place in my heart, as she was pretty much my first tortoise. Oh, there were others before her. We had 'found' three or four of them at different times, wandering around our neighborhood. At that time we had about the same mind set as most people, and if one found a tortoise, you just tossed it into your back yard, never even thinking that it might belong to someone and you should try to find his owner. This was the late '50s and early '60s.

So, we had Gumdrop, a very large desert tortoise, that we put in the back yard with our in-the-ground unfenced pool, and we fed left overs from our dinners: salad with dressing, spaghetti, potatoes and gravy, etc. Thank goodness there was a lot of grass in the back yard to sustain him.

We found two or three other tortoises like that and we put them into the back yard (with the pool) too. One of them was quite yellow. At that time I thought a tortoise was a tortoise. I had no idea that tortoises from other countries looked different and that there were other species of tortoise.

So my son went away in the service (Air Force) and when he came home he bought his own house. By this time I had moved to a house out in the country and set my 'found' tortoises up in a large pen that was fenced with T-posts and chicken wire. One by one all the tortoises scooted under the wire and disappeared. My son was in the habit of visiting pet stores and 'rescuing' box turtles that weren't being kept properly. . . being kept in the water turtle tank, for example, with swollen eyes and not basking area. Then a Gopherus agassizi that a co-worker’s father had run over with the disc in his vineyard….well, you get the idea. That tortoise was Mi-Shell.

Things went along smoothly for months. He built separate pens for each kind of turtle he had. He nursed them all back to health and he had a happy, healthy family of turtles and tortoises. But then came the desire to get a rottweiller puppy. Big mistake! The puppy decided that all these little crawly, wiggly things in “his” backyard were just wonderful to chew on. I doubt my son gave a second thought to which came first, the turtle or the pup. He had fallen in love with the pup, and the turtles just had to go! “Mom, will you take my turtles?”

So that's how I got Mi-Shell. At that point in my life I realized I had to do some research and learn how to take care of these animals. And that was about in the late '70s, so 45 or 50 years ago. Mi-Shell was full grown at that time, so lets say she was 30 years old, plus the 50 years I've had her - she's a pretty old lady. So when I see her come out of the hibernaculum I'm pretty excited she made it through another winter. Look closely at the last picture. She has the prettiest green eyes!

View attachment 288627View attachment 288628View attachment 288629View attachment 288630
I thought Mi Shell had died...I am so glad to see she is still kicking a**
 

SuzanneZ

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 7, 2023
Messages
405
Location (City and/or State)
Georgetown
Mi-Shell has a special place in my heart, as she was pretty much my first tortoise. Oh, there were others before her. We had 'found' three or four of them at different times, wandering around our neighborhood. At that time we had about the same mind set as most people, and if one found a tortoise, you just tossed it into your back yard, never even thinking that it might belong to someone and you should try to find his owner. This was the late '50s and early '60s.

So, we had Gumdrop, a very large desert tortoise, that we put in the back yard with our in-the-ground unfenced pool, and we fed left overs from our dinners: salad with dressing, spaghetti, potatoes and gravy, etc. Thank goodness there was a lot of grass in the back yard to sustain him.

We found two or three other tortoises like that and we put them into the back yard (with the pool) too. One of them was quite yellow. At that time I thought a tortoise was a tortoise. I had no idea that tortoises from other countries looked different and that there were other species of tortoise.

So my son went away in the service (Air Force) and when he came home he bought his own house. By this time I had moved to a house out in the country and set my 'found' tortoises up in a large pen that was fenced with T-posts and chicken wire. One by one all the tortoises scooted under the wire and disappeared. My son was in the habit of visiting pet stores and 'rescuing' box turtles that weren't being kept properly. . . being kept in the water turtle tank, for example, with swollen eyes and not basking area. Then a Gopherus agassizi that a co-worker’s father had run over with the disc in his vineyard….well, you get the idea. That tortoise was Mi-Shell.

Things went along smoothly for months. He built separate pens for each kind of turtle he had. He nursed them all back to health and he had a happy, healthy family of turtles and tortoises. But then came the desire to get a rottweiller puppy. Big mistake! The puppy decided that all these little crawly, wiggly things in “his” backyard were just wonderful to chew on. I doubt my son gave a second thought to which came first, the turtle or the pup. He had fallen in love with the pup, and the turtles just had to go! “Mom, will you take my turtles?”

So that's how I got Mi-Shell. At that point in my life I realized I had to do some research and learn how to take care of these animals. And that was about in the late '70s, so 45 or 50 years ago. Mi-Shell was full grown at that time, so lets say she was 30 years old, plus the 50 years I've had her - she's a pretty old lady. So when I see her come out of the hibernaculum I'm pretty excited she made it through another winter. Look closely at the last picture. She has the prettiest green eyes!

View attachment 288627View attachment 288628View attachment 288629View attachment 288630
Oh I love your story, your son, and Mi-shell. Thank you for sharing them.
 

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