Learn about some of our Tortoises
Cooper's Story:
Cooper, the sulcata tortoise joined the sanctuary in August of 2025 at the age of 22 years. Shortly after joining the sanctuary he wasn't eating and he was having a hard time going to the bathroom. We brought him to the vet, x-rays were taken and it was discovered that he had a bladder stone the size of a baseball lodged in his pelvis. Given the size of the bladder stone he needed to undergo a procedure under anesthesia to have the stone broken up and flushed out.
Dr.Powers at Carolina Veterinary Specialists in Huntersville, NC was able to perform the stone removal. He stayed two nights with them to ensure he was recovering well and could come back to the sanctuary. Upon returning the sanctuary, we were thrilled to see him begin eating (and pooping)! He is doing great and has a firey personality. He makes it clear to us that we shouldn't stay in his enclosure for long, it belongs to him.
Rawhide's Story:
Rawhide, the sulcata tortoise joined the sanctuary in May of 2026. He was found as stray in October of 2024 with a severe (old) shell injury. His finders took him in, got him care for his upper respiratory infection and took amazing care of him. He was so lucky to have been found as the cooler weather winter weather would have been too much for him. (Sulcata tortoises should be kept above 60 degrees.)
Rawhide is missing over 20% of his shell - he was found this way and it appears to be an old injury. Our best guess is that he was chewed on by a dog when we was smaller. We took him to the vet when we got him and had him x-rayed to see if he had any internal bone damage or weakness. He did not. Aside from missing some of his shell, he get's around great. He makes lots of grumbling noises especially when he eats and goes to the bathroom. Checkout our social media or YouTube to see all of his videos.
