Think Keeping Up With Your Dog Is Tough? Try a Pet Tortoise
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Aesop’s fable, it seems, may have sold the tortoise short. Tortoises and turtles of all types have soared in popularity as pets. It turns out they are resilient escape artists with long lives—and surprisingly adept at outmaneuvering their owners.
“Tortoises can walk really fast and get really far away,” says Susan Tellem, executive director at American Tortoise Rescue in Malibu, Calif. “They have nothing to do all day but figure out how to escape.”
Tortoises have been breaking out of fenced yards, heading down sidewalks and crossing busy streets at a good clip—leaving heartbroken owners and bewildered bystanders to post lost and found photos on social media. Speeds vary by tortoise, experts say, but one British tortoise, Bertie, was clocked at a pace of .92 feet per second, which made him the Guinness World Record holder as fastest tortoise.
Many owners never research the challenge of building a truly secure outdoor habitat. “Tortoises can scale a 6-foot fence and dig a 20-foot burrow,” warns James Liu, managing director of the Turtle Conservancy in New York. A tortoise on the run could be seeking a mate, heading out to lay eggs or foraging for food, he adds. A quick tutorial: Turtles live near water while tortoises are land based.
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Those who start with a cute little baby tortoise from a pet store, particularly if it is an expensive Sulcata, are often shocked as it grows to more than 100 pounds. And many tortoises have lifespans of well over 60 years. While some may break free, others are eventually dumped. Some are stolen.
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https://www.wsj.com/articles/catch-me-if-you-can-pet-tortoises-are-increasingly-popular-and-surprisingly-fast-11544543725 (paid subscription)
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