Say hello to Shirley

Joined
Apr 14, 2020
Messages
35
Location (City and/or State)
California
Hello. My tortoise is named Shirley. Actually, her full name is Ms Shirley Tortoise.

Shirley came to my family nearly 40 years ago, in either 1981 or 1983.

A man found her walking down the street (so he says). He stopped, picked her up and walked up to my grandmother's house. He asked her if she had lost the tortoise. She said no, but that she would watch him until the man found her owner.

The man never came back.

Since she was not my grandmother's tortoise, she called her "Ms. Tortoise".

Grandma took care of her for years. When grandma passed away, my mom took care of her. When my mother moved to Washington, I took over her care.

I have had Shirley for several years now. She was christened "Shirley" by a visiting friend of mine after I explained her informal lack of name "Ms. Tortoise." Shirley stuck...and she has been Shirley ever since.

We have no idea how old Shirley was when we "found" her. She was already a fairly decent size then---not very small at all. She has grown some, but not enormously so.

We think she is a gopher tortoise, but are not sure. She has burrowed in the past. She can't in my backyard as the ground is far too hard.

Now that the days are warming up, she loves being out in the yard. She still comes in the house at night and will usually come to the sliding door to be let in to the dining room, where she sleeps in her "cardboard condo". She also has a plastic igloo-shaped dog house she sometimes goes into (which I just pick up and move into the house at night). Occasionally, she'll crawl around to the far side of the house and try to sleep in the corner next to the fireplace. I hunt her down and carry her back inside.

I'm worried she might be getting very old. It may be I've forgotten how she was last year, but she seems to get very tired out very quickly these days---and takes mini-naps on her walks from Point A to Point B quite frequently.

I don't think she is sick at all. She did get very sick one time and had all of this drainage coming from her nose. I didn't see it myself, but heard about it. My mother had to take her to a specialist vet. That was years ago and she has been fine since.

Food-wise, she is hard to figure. She sometimes goes days without eating. Other times, she is a little piglet. She loves thawed frozen peas usually---and will only eat Romaine lettuce (when she bothers with lettuce at all. She hasn't eaten much of it lately). I've tried apples, strawberries, etc...she doesn't seem to like them. She loves dandelions---so I've let my backyard go with them. She also seems to eat a lot of grass. I've also tried green beans, corn, carrots, grapes...doesn't want them. Any suggestions (or I should probably poke around on the forum first before asking...)

Anyway, this is Shirley.

Thanks for having us on the forum.


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jeneliza

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Joined
Mar 30, 2020
Messages
525
Location (City and/or State)
burton michigan
welcome, very nice looking tortiose, i dont know her breed but i am sure many on the forum do, and will be along soon to help with your questions please feel free to ask as mant questions as you have there is wonderful help and advise here
 

MichaelL

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5 Year Member
Joined
Nov 18, 2018
Messages
983
Location (City and/or State)
Ocala, Fl
That's a cool story! I wouldn't try to feed as much vegetables/fruits/lettuces and instead give a larger variety of weeds and grasses. She looks like a California Desert Tortoise, a Gopher Tortoise would be pretty rare to have all the way over in California. Nice tortoise, thanks for sharing!
 
Last edited:
Joined
Apr 14, 2020
Messages
35
Location (City and/or State)
California
welcome, very nice looking tortiose, i dont know her breed but i am sure many on the forum do, and will be along soon to help with your questions please feel free to ask as mant questions as you have there is wonderful help and advise here
Hello. Thank you for the welcome. I often feel like a bad tortoise uncle as I've had Shirley for a number of years and never really did any research on her. Of course, in the nearly 40 years we've had her, I don't think my grandmother or mother really did any research either. Hopefully I'll get some good advice here. Thanks!
 
Joined
Apr 14, 2020
Messages
35
Location (City and/or State)
California
That's a cool story! I wouldn't try to feed as much vegetables/fruits/lettuces and instead give a larger variety of weeds and grasses. She looks like a California Desert Tortoise, a Gopher Tortoise would be pretty rare to have all the way over in California. Nice tortoise, thanks for sharing!
Thank you for the welcome as well. Weeds, huh? Well...I've kind of let the grass get weedy as she seems to like dandelions so much. Do California Desert Tortoises burrow? She's made long tunnels before (at another location). Are Gopher Tortoises not from here? I don't know much about tortoises obviously, aside from having one in the family all of these years.

Thanks for the welcome.

Cheers!
 

jeneliza

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2020
Messages
525
Location (City and/or State)
burton michigan
Thank you for the welcome as well. Weeds, huh? Well...I've kind of let the grass get weedy as she seems to like dandelions so much. Do California Desert Tortoises burrow? She's made long tunnels before (at another location). Are Gopher Tortoises not from here? I don't know much about tortoises obviously, aside from having one in the family all of these years.

Thanks for the welcome.

Cheers!
[/QUOi belive most will burrow. its kinda of a way of protection, and cooling from the sun,does she have an area to cool her self,or a shallow pool so she can bath in it, most enjoy sitting in shallow water,not sure about this breed but most enjoy this ,
 
Joined
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Messages
35
Location (City and/or State)
California
Hmm... I can get her a place for her to bath in. When it gets really hot, she always seems to want to come in the house where there is A/C.
 

jeneliza

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2020
Messages
525
Location (City and/or State)
burton michigan
Thank you for the welcome as well. Weeds, huh? Well...I've kind of let the grass get weedy as she seems to like dandelions so much. Do California Desert Tortoises burrow? She's made long tunnels before (at another location). Are Gopher Tortoises not from here? I don't know much about tortoises obviously, aside from having one in the family all of these years.

Thanks for the welcome.

Cheers!
okay i did a fast look up, for you , they are also called gopher, tortiose, in Calif, they do burrow to cool down they eat mostly weeds, and catus, and are protected in cailf, now, but being you had her 40 years this shouldnt be an issue, being you had her before this was passed, found this on the cailf, web site . on other small fact is there your state reptile.
 

jeneliza

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2020
Messages
525
Location (City and/or State)
burton michigan
okay i did a fast look up, for you , they are also called gopher, tortiose, in Calif, they do burrow to cool down they eat mostly weeds, and catus, and are protected in cailf, now, but being you had her 40 years this shouldnt be an issue, being you had her before this was passed, found this on the cailf, web site . on other small fact is there your state reptile.
but i wouldnt use most information about care from the internet. most times its incorrect. and not sure if its the same breed as groher tortiose in other areas or if its just a tech name .
 
Joined
Apr 14, 2020
Messages
35
Location (City and/or State)
California
okay i did a fast look up, for you , they are also called gopher, tortiose, in Calif, they do burrow to cool down they eat mostly weeds, and catus, and are protected in cailf, now, but being you had her 40 years this shouldnt be an issue, being you had her before this was passed, found this on the cailf, web site . on other small fact is there your state reptile.

FASCINATING. Thank you.
 
Joined
Apr 14, 2020
Messages
35
Location (City and/or State)
California
but i wouldnt use most information about care from the internet. most times its incorrect. and not sure if its the same breed as groher tortiose in other areas or if its just a tech name .
Well, it is something to go on...more than I knew already. I appreciate your help.
 

jeneliza

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2020
Messages
525
Location (City and/or State)
burton michigan
Well, it is something to go on...more than I knew already. I appreciate your help.
And she's probably full from weeds in your yard, just watch her, to see how much she's eating when she's out in the yard, most prefer fresh weeds to store brought foods, so I bet she's eating the weeds in the yard, and just not hungry for the store brought foods,
 
Joined
Apr 14, 2020
Messages
35
Location (City and/or State)
California
And she's probably full from weeds in your yard, just watch her, to see how much she's eating when she's out in the yard, most prefer fresh weeds to store brought foods, so I bet she's eating the weeds in the yard, and just not hungry for the store brought foods,
Thank you again. I just worry about her. I'm sure I'm doing an adequate job, but... I just want to be sure she is okay and remains okay. CHEERS!
 

MichaelL

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5 Year Member
Joined
Nov 18, 2018
Messages
983
Location (City and/or State)
Ocala, Fl
Happy birthday!!!!??? And also, gopher tortoises are from here in Florida, and nobody really has them as pets, they're protected by the law. Over there in California, many people have Desert Tortoises, and yours looks like one.
 
Joined
Apr 14, 2020
Messages
35
Location (City and/or State)
California
Happy birthday!!!!??? And also, gopher tortoises are from here in Florida, and nobody really has them as pets, they're protected by the law. Over there in California, many people have Desert Tortoises, and yours looks like one.
Thank you for the birthday wishes. Aha---okay. Then she is a desert tortoise. We've had her a long, long time as I explained. THANK YOU so much for the info.
 

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