My Tortoise Made Me Buy It

The tortoise sweaters and chewy products I bought on a whim!

By Kyra LopezPublished 3 years ago • 3 min read

Mr. Socrates, giving me a few hints at his Amazon wishlist

No, I do not have free will under the high council of the tortoise.

Thousands of years of knowledge is stored in the wrinkled heads of my loveable pets. They built the sacred temple of their meetings by claw, and they require the utmost respect. In order to speak with them, you must present them with a gift in exchange for their time. Just in case you're wondering, the high council is made up of Socrates, Migi, and Tusk (my pets).

They hold the wisdom of the Earth, they are centuries old, and they are the final law. Just like the Greek mythology stories that detail the existence of the fates, they can see the lifelines of all humans.

Beware of upsetting the tortoises, or else you will lead a life of misfortune.

Ok, so maybe they don't have real magic powers.

BUT... they do nag me with pleading eyes to give them new and unnecessary things.

Which in this case, brings me to my top two unneeded but "worth it" purchases that I bought for my pets:

1. Cat tunnels, dog toys, and extra supplies

2. Tortoise sweaters

Once I was able to pull in extra money from my art, I quickly ran to the internet to get ideas on what to buy. Whenever I scroll on my pet instagram, I always get tailored ads to Etsy shops or pet care brands that I should check out. One day, I saw a post about a tortoise wearing a cute dinosaur sweater. Naturally, I screamed in delight at the thought of my own torts wearing such clothing.

I HAD TO GET IT!

But, I also needed to find some enrichment items. Unbeknownst to the public, tortoises can get bored just like humans do. Staying in an enclosure all day with the same background can get to be too mundane for their routine! In the wild, tortoises roam around to find food and get a lot of exercise by walking. This kind of lifestyle is different than one in captivity, which is why I try to make it interesting. To cater to their needs, I have to get creative! Sometimes, I shop for dog toys, cool hideouts in the guinea pig section, or even look at what cat toys are out there that are safe for my reptiles.

For this "Add to Cart" haul, I went to Chewy pet supplies and MyCuteCreation on Etsy!

What I loved about Chewy was their excellent service and super quick delivery. I was amazed to see that my package had been shipped a day after I placed the order!

Check out the list of things I purchased:

The open design of this dog toy was a great fit for my tortoises, as I could stick some Endive or Romaine lettuce into the holes for them to eat. Even though this may seem ridiculous, it is a great way to stimulate your tortoise's day to day activities!

Other than the essentials added to my cart, such as the food and water dish, I decided to get a cat tunnel for my redfoot tortoise. Miss Migi is very fond of hiding and squeezing herself into spots that she can still spy on me from. So to satisfy this need of hers, I bought her a fun tunnel and filled it with coco coir soil! Now she can dig, relax, and peer out of the opening with those beady eyes of judegment!

Now for the purchase everyone has been waiting for me to talk about....

Buying the Tortoise Sweaters

Despite his intial grumpiness, Socrates grew accustomed to the sweater. No, it doesn't hurt him or restrain his movement. This purchase is more for the aesthetic, and shouldn't be kept on in their enclosure or else it will inhibit the UVB rays from reaching their shells.

However, this can be a fun break for some cute picture time when your tortoises are just roaming around the room! Seeing a walking strawberry never ceases to brighten up my day, so why should I even regret this purchase? Exactly, I shouldn't!

I purchased a lovely strawberry sweater from MyCuteCreation on Etsy! They have a HUGE variety of sweaters to pick for your sweet wrinkly faced friends! While Socrates didn't really think one way or another about the sweater, I absolutely adored his new look.

Here are some examples of the products on her page!

Check out their shop below!

I HIGHLY recommend getting some sweaters for your tortoise friends! They are made with time, love, and consideration of your tortoises' shell size. Everything can be customized to ensure a proper fit, and the seller was extremely kind to work with!