KauaiKai
New Member
My wife and I currently live in Phoenix, AZ with our 10 year old 80 pound sulcata Bowser. Bowser lives in the backyard, he has a heated house for when it gets cold and has dug himself a burrow for when it is too hot out. There's also about 500 square feet of grass growing back there which is his primary food source.
My wife and I are considering becoming snowbirds, living in Phoenix from October to March and in the North East from April to September. We both have jobs that can be done from home and neither of our employees cares where we do it from.
We are trying to figure out what the best thing to do with Bowser is.
1) Fly him with us when we travel to and from Phoenix twice a year. We'll have to get a crate and find an airline that will take him. I can see how this flight, as well as going to the airport and driving to the new place, could be stressful for him.
2) Drive him to and from Phoenix twice a year. I have a truck with a cap that can turn the bed of the truck into a small living space. I would put him back there with some food and water and check on him as I make the drive. I think this would be less stressful but he would be cooped up for several days.
3) Leave him in Phoenix. We plan on keeping the house we currently live in. We could just leave him in the backyard, it's not like he's a needy tortoise who needs human companionship. He's my buddy and I do hang out with him in the backyard but I have a landscaper who takes care of the backyard and could make sure the grass is growing properly and friends who could come by sometimes to check on him. He would probably prefer the Phoenix summers to the Northeast summers.
4) Don't move. What's not an option is giving him up. He's our tortoise and we're not going to take him to a rescue or give him to someone else. While we would love to come up with a solution that makes everyone happy we're not going to get rid of him.
I'm curious what other people's thoughts on this are.
Thanks for the help!
My wife and I are considering becoming snowbirds, living in Phoenix from October to March and in the North East from April to September. We both have jobs that can be done from home and neither of our employees cares where we do it from.
We are trying to figure out what the best thing to do with Bowser is.
1) Fly him with us when we travel to and from Phoenix twice a year. We'll have to get a crate and find an airline that will take him. I can see how this flight, as well as going to the airport and driving to the new place, could be stressful for him.
2) Drive him to and from Phoenix twice a year. I have a truck with a cap that can turn the bed of the truck into a small living space. I would put him back there with some food and water and check on him as I make the drive. I think this would be less stressful but he would be cooped up for several days.
3) Leave him in Phoenix. We plan on keeping the house we currently live in. We could just leave him in the backyard, it's not like he's a needy tortoise who needs human companionship. He's my buddy and I do hang out with him in the backyard but I have a landscaper who takes care of the backyard and could make sure the grass is growing properly and friends who could come by sometimes to check on him. He would probably prefer the Phoenix summers to the Northeast summers.
4) Don't move. What's not an option is giving him up. He's our tortoise and we're not going to take him to a rescue or give him to someone else. While we would love to come up with a solution that makes everyone happy we're not going to get rid of him.
I'm curious what other people's thoughts on this are.
Thanks for the help!