I found my way to a road where humans are somehow, and someone found me and called Animal Control. They thought I was a huge desert tortoise!! They put me in a big truck and brought me to TortoiseAid.
Hi everyone!
I am a (now) nearly 50 pound Geochelone sulcata. I came to TortoiseAid last month. (February 2001)
You see, I grew too big for my owner,
and I was brought out to the Mojave desert and dumped out here all by myself.
I was all alone out there, and it was so cold that it snowed. I was nearly
frozen when I got here, it was 39 degrees when I was found at 11 AM.
I found my way to a road where humans
are somehow, and someone found me and called Animal Control. They thought
I was a huge desert tortoise!! They put me in a big truck and brought me
to TortoiseAid.
I have been battling a bad case of pneumonia and parasite infestation. I weighed 34 pounds when I got here. I am still skinny but I'm trying to gain more weight. I was starved, and my diet wasn't too good. I have some shell problems. This hasn't been very fun for me, because the shots hurt a lot and my nose is irritated. That is why my name is "Sniffles." I even had a cough.
I am starting to feel better now and I have gotten a good home, but I want you to remember that we sulcatas get very big! I have gained back almost 15 pounds in the time I have been here.
It has also cost a lot of money to make
me well again. At my size I did go through a lot of medicine!
It is not my fault I got so big, but I ended up suffering when someone did not want me anymore and thought it would be "cool" or "funny" to dump me here.
If you want to get a cousin of mine, PLEASE PLEASE be SURE that you can provide him or her with everything needed to be healthy and happy, and also remember that we often outlive our human caretakers. Getting dumped and trying to fend for myself was not much fun, and I almost died. :-(
Sincerely,
~Sniffles the sulcata~
SAD UPDATE: Early this summer 2005, Sniffles suddenly died while exiting her burrow for her afternoon feeding.
She had grown to nearly 90 pounds, and had no known health problems at the time of her death.
We hope that anyone taking on the responsibility of any tortoise (including Sulcatas) be well educated in their needs.
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