pet connection

Pearl is 25 years old this month and she got a handful of rose blossoms for a present — no stems, just blossoms. Her favorite rose is a pink one called “First Prize” and her least favorite is a red called “Thunder.” Why she likes one more than another I have no idea; perhaps scent? Maybe taste? I don’t know as I’ve never tasted roses!

Pearl is a leopard tortoise. She was bred and hatched in captivity and one of the very few reptiles I have ever purchased; most of our reptiles through the years were taken in as rescues. But I fell in love with Pearl when she was just a few months old. Her carapace (top shell) was a very light white with splotches of dark coloring (very leopard-like) and her skin was a pale yellow.

She has darkened with age and as you can see in the photo is a dark cream/yellow with darker splotches.

When I brought her home, she was very shy and would withdraw into her shell when she saw any movement near her at all. To get her used to me I would watch TV with her sitting on my chest. It wasn’t long before she relaxed and learned to charge my feet when she saw me coming.

Now, 25 years later, she is bold, extroverted, and knows that I always carry something for her to eat. And she is motivated by her appetite!

She is also very bold with the dogs. Somewhere in that reptilian brain (which, by the way, is not very bright) she knows the dogs are not allowed to touch her so if she wants to go somewhere and a dog is in the way, she will pull her head into her shell and just ram into the dog. Heaven help the dog who is dozing in the sun!

Pearl has been through a lot with us. She had moved with us a couple of times. We’ve been evacuated for several wildfires and Pearl is evacuated in a plastic storage box like the one in the photo. That, by the way, shows how big she is, too. She’s been brought inside during cold weather and although she’s not housetrained (shoot!) she is otherwise good in the house. We’ve had several dogs and cats live out their lifetimes with us during Pearl’s reign.

Pearl has been our star for many reptile education events, at schools, local fairs, and other events. She allows draws “wows” from the crowds. I’m always asked, “How big is she?” and “How long will she live?” By the way, she’s nineteen inches long from nose to tail in a straight line, not measuring over the curve of her back. And I have no idea how long she’ll live; probably longer than I will.

When Pearl reached adulthood, I thought that having some baby Pearls might be fun. So I identified what subspecies she is and acquired the loan of a male of the same subspecies. Pearl was having none of his advances; no way! When he tried to mount her, she would turn around and flip him over. I don’t know how many times I went out in the backyard and turned him rightside up.

So I talked to a couple of tortoise experts and they suggested I bring in another female. Perhaps Pearl could learn by example. So I found an older female close to Pearl’s size, Amber, and introduced her. The male thought she was pretty darn cute, too, and proceeded to breed her. Amber laid three clutches of eggs that first summer and we had to find homes for lots of baby leopard tortoises. But Pearl was still having nothing to do with the male.

The next summer, when breeding season came around, I found out why. Pearl had developed a major crush on Amber. Not only did she mount Amber on a regular basis, but she chased the male away from Amber and refused to let him breed Amber. Since Pearl was significantly larger than the male, I had to send him back to his owner as I was afraid Pearl might hurt him.

Luckily Amber didn’t have a problem with Pearl’s affections; she never tried to chase Pearl away or flip her over. In fact, they were close companions for more than three years until Amber passed away. (She was quite old and just went to sleep one night and didn’t wake up.)

Pearl searched the yard for her for a while but now seems content to just hang out. But I’ve never tried to bring in another male. After all, she could be horrible for his ego.