What an adorable crew you have in your backyard. I enjoy hummingbirds and no matter how often I see them, they always amaze me. I used to have just a few but in the last couple years they don't seem to come around. I miss them.

Remind me again of how you got Teddy? He just gets handsomer with age. I suppose he has many many years to go. How big is he?

Pam, Teddi is a she..of course I was told when I first laid eyes on her that she was a he.. It's very hard to "sex" a tortoise when they are young, unless the breeder knows what they are doing. By incubating the eggs a certain temps, you control the sex..~interesting huh?
Anyway, Teddi came to us via a class room pet that needed a place to stay over Spring Break almost 3 years ago. I was told 'he' was a desert tortoise, and ate this and that..but really I wasn't clear on what it was and what it ate. It took hubby and the boys and I about an hour to research what 'he' was. Finally we found the matching picture. I then found an online forum that was hooked up with a turtle/tortoise rescue, and emailed the head of the rescue, asking specific questions. With her help and a photo she told me the Teddy, was Teddi. Given her size, that she was roughly "this age" and that she'd not been well taken care of due to shell deformation and a few other things. We began the process of correcting her care and habitat, and diet. I took her back to school after spring break, and then when it came to the summer, we were asked to keep her again, since the teacher was going to Africa and she knew her husband wouldn't care a minute about the Tort. (She was given to the teacher that school year by one of the students, who didn't really want it.)
So when it came time for Teddi to return to school in September, we lost her! She disappeared..3 weeks later we found her under the deck with the help of the dog.
The teacher told us to keep her forever..
and forever..is a long time in Tortoise lives. She can live to 75 plus years (don't tell my husband!) I am told by the rescue lady that her life is shortened by the way she was kept the first 6-7 years, but in a life span that long..who's to know how long we've got with her.

She is roughly 9-10 years old now, weighs about 2lbs, and her shell is over 8" from front to back. She should be about done growing, since she's sexually mature.(once a female hits over 6")
She's been spending alot of time in her out door pen during the day, but some how she keeps finding her way out..we aren't sure if she's climbing out, or if the DOG is helping her out! They are very good climbers but she's pretty heavy to withstand the plastic fencing that I use around her pen. She should fall back in. And the dog has picked her up in the past and "hid" her from us!

This is Teddi and my middle son (the one who's class pet she was) taken in March of this year. He's a "normal" size almost 11 year old at the time.
{{gwi:1417091}}

All that yellow 'banding' is over growth. She was over feed, and had no room to exercise.Her shell flairs out on the edges and especially in the back. Her shell should be very domed and curved. With no flatness to it.

Hmmm, is that the kitchen elf, almost grown?? Time flies.

Teddi was lucky to have found you. She is darling. I would love to have a pet like that. We used to find them near the beach in New Jersey when we were kids. We'd bring them home for a few days and then return them to wherever we found them.

Funny that the dog picks her up and moves her around. Must be a gentle dog! A retriever?

My brother has a cockatoo that is supposed to live to be 80. The bird is 10 and my brother is 57. I don't know what will happen to the bird when my brother is gone. Maybe one of my grandnephews or nieces will take it. Unfortunately the bird is an enormous nuisance. He is very noisy and bites everyone. They can do some real damage with those strong beaks.

Thanks for the story.

no, not the pantry elf..that's the "BABY"..LOL
This is the middle son.

No she's a herder actually. Border Collie/Aussie...

Yeah larger birds can last a while..LOL

Terri I love your hummingbird pics. My brother also has them on his deck on Vancouver Island and sometimes he sets up his webcam so we can watch the hummers at the bird feeder outside the window. I wish we had them here too.

Your Teddi sure was lucky to find the right family when she came home to you. Not everyone would bother to do online checks about the care and identity of a turtle. She's very handsome, especially in the 2nd pic! And doesn't your son look good.....so typical of a young boy with his pet, lying on the floor and letting it crawl around on him. Like my younger grandson and his dog.

SharonCb

What a handsome guy you have there, Terri. I love the picture of him and the tortoise.

I got a guinea pig once after "volunteering/being drafted" to take care of it over summer break. Darned thing drove me nuts but the girls loved it.

75 years? So which one of the boys is going to have to care for the tortoise when they grow up and leave home, LOL.

Annie

The one who has her on him...

When I was in high school some people that had a boat in a marina near our home had a turtle that they got from the pet store when their kids were little. When I knew them their kids were all grown and married with kids of their own, and they still had the turtle. They had become attached to it and loved it just like you would a dog or cat. They would take the turtle down to the boat and put it overboard so it could swim around the marina, and it would always come back. It was like a member of their family and went everywhere with them. They had already had that turtle for about 30 years when I knew them. That was 30 years ago and we've lost touch with them. I wonder if it's still alive?????

Wow! 75 years! I don't want to take care of anything or anybody that long! (Just kidding)
I love your pix, and love that you are a book of knowledge about the "pets" you acquire.
Good looking son. Will he take "Teddy" on his honeymoon???
Sherry

Sherry...yeah that'll work...LOL

Not likely...but what a "gift" to his new bride...LOL
It's a learning curve with this girl..We kinda were thrown into it full speed, and had to figure it out. I was so glad to the wonderful resource of the WWW to get it done. Our local ma and pa pet store is clueless..I've tried to tell them they are giving the wrong instructions out to people..but they don't seem to care.

Dlynn, wow..I ran into a lady that had a red foot tortoise at the pet store, she was telling me what a joy she was in her life..That's a swimming Tort..mine likes to soak in water..but she's not made for swimming.

I went to the duck pond at Haverford College the other day and you should see th whopping turtles in there! Even the geese are scared of them.

An interesting fact I recently learned is that red-eared sliders have become invasive. They mostly started out as pets purchased for kids at the 5 & 10 store, then later released when the kids got tired of them. There are some in this pond and they ask if you find one, to please capture it and turn it in. I don't know what they do with them, but I bet turtle soup is on the menu in the cafeteria. They are actually terrapins imported from Mexico. If I go back to the pond, I'll take the camera and snap a picture. They were eating bread out of people's hands!

Really, the stores should no longer be selling the red-eared sliders. They have become a pest and kill endemic fish, snails, birds and vegetation.

and bread isn't on the food list....Stupid People...

Just like Teddi, was feed any old thing in her previous life..Yeah she loves tomatoes and strawberries..but she's not supposed to eat them...They reak havoc on their insides and will cause them to get skin bacterial infections..
Poor girl...now the "sweetess" thing she gets is a little fresh pumpkin in the fall. Otherwise it's danelions, clover, mums, pansies and roses...Tough life huh? LOL
Unfortunately, she doesn't get the roses all year long..I tried freezing them..LOL doesn't work..but as I was typing this, I did just have a thought, I could definately dehydrate some and crumble the dried petals on her damp greens I give her in the winter.

Thanks Pam..for jogging my mind..LOL

But yes, I'd love to see the size of those Turtles.

Yeah turtle soup, Pam. Great name for a turtle...Soup. And 'Speedy'. Hey I named the rat 'Kitty', why not.