It’s turtles all the way

Astute reader Steven points out that my recent column was not the first time I referenced a tortoise sitting on my foot, and asked for more details. First, can I say how annoying it is to be discovered repeating myself? Getting beyond that …

My foot-straddling friend is a Hermann’s tortoise. Native to southern Europe, an imperiled species in the wild, Hermann’s have long been exploited by the exotic pet trade. Judging by this individual’s shell and personality he’s not likely a wild caught animal. That doesn’t mean his life’s been easy.

My officemate, Clovis, was tucked under a car’s tire which scraped him along several feet (so says a witness) miraculously not crushing him but removing layers of his bottom shell and several toes. PHS/SPCA veterinarians and exotics staff were able to save him.

I’ve always had a very soft spot for these hard shelled animals. I built a 5-foot-by-3-foot enclosure equipped with different lights providing artificial sunlight and temperatures ranging from 80 to 100 degrees, allowing freedom to move about for warmth as desired. As big as it is, it’s still a cage, so most days I strap on a rubber-band attached to 3 feet of cord and he wanders (the cord helps me know where he might be hiding). He seems to love this. He meanders up to visitors and has been known to chase a few around the room. And, yes, he often climbs up to sit on top my foot.

Stephen Hawking’s “A Brief History of Time” starts with this anecdote. A lecturer’s description of the universe is challenged by a member of the audience: “’What you have told us is rubbish. The world is really a flat plate supported on the back of a giant tortoise.’ The scientist gave a superior smile before replying, ‘What is the tortoise standing on?’ ‘You’re very clever, young man, very clever,’ said the old lady. ‘But it’s turtles all the way down!’”

Ken White is the president of the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA.