If you bring a tortoise to college, then make sure you are prepared. Do your research on what they eat, what their habitat should be like, how to take care of them, etc. You also better make sure that you're ready for how adorable they can be. If you bring a tortoise to college, take lots of pictures and make the most of it. That's what we did. Let me introduce you to a dear friend of mine. This is Puddles the Russian tortoise:
In my dorm building, students are allowed to have a five gallon (or smaller) tank in the room, but it may only contain fish. No snakes, mice, etc. allowed. I was totally content with this rule, as were my roommates. Until one day we jokingly discussed getting a tortoise. We looked up pictures and basic care information and next thing you know, we were on an adventure to the pet store! A little over $200 later (supplies included), my roommate and I were the proud mothers of a Russian tortoise!
Sneaking the little princess into our room was a good laugh. I dumped out the contents of my purse and placed Puddles inside. As we were waiting in the lobby for the elevator to our room, the Senior Resident Advisor entered the building. To avoid an awkward ride in the elevator, I decided to take the stairs. As soon as I did, the SRA made the same decision. No complications ensued so we were safe — for the time being.
Our friends were just as fascinated by Puddles as my roommate and I both were. We would take her out of her habitat (created from bedding, a plastic storage bin, and the necessary lighting) and let her roam the floor or our desk. She was so adorable bobbing her head up and down as she breathed. If one of us was sitting on the ground with her, she would try to burrow under our legs. Every time we went to dinner we would bring back greens from the salad bar to place in her food dish. We did everything we could to keep her happy and healthy.
Tortoises stay hydrated by soaking. Forced soaks (placing them in an escape-proof container with water) once a week helps prevent dehydration. We didn't really have anywhere to do this for Puddles, so we used a clean to-go container from one of the dining halls and filled it with just enough warm water to cover part of her shell but still allow her to breathe.
After about a week and a half, despite our best efforts to keep our little friend on the DL, we got caught. We returned her to the pet store and hoped that some other loving home would take her. While our time with Puddles was short, we made some fantastic memories.
