The Adventures of Fudukazi & Friends

A big Thank you to everyone who donated towards this backyardigan's spay. She is ready to protect the backyard for many moons to come.

How far can tortoises travel in a day? You might think we are slow, but our little legs sure can travel. Especially if there's food along the way 🐢❤️

https://www.tortoiseowner.com/how-far-can-a-tortoise-travel-in-a-day/

How Far Can A Tortoise Travel In A Day? | Tortoise Owner Depending on the species and its size, a tortoise can travel anywhere between 300 meters to 100+ kilometres in a day. Giant tortoises are notoriously slow travellers while smaller, pet tortoises can travel much farther as pacing around is a natural behaviour for them.

Hey friends. I'm not native to Florida, but my friends outside my castle are. Help me spread the word about the Gopher Tortoise and it's very special important role it plays in the southern ecosystem. By the way. When we are both small. We kind of look similar. So please don't pick up a gopher thinking it's a sulcata. If you think it's a lost sulcata and it's small. There's a very good chance it's a native gopher tortoise. Leave it alone. It's illegal and if caught you can face a fine or possibly jail time. Watch out for my southern tortoise friends. Keep them safe. Over 300+ different kinds of animals depend on this burrow making bulldozer of a tort. Happy Gopher Tortoise day 🐢❤️🌎

It’s a tort-tally wonderful day! 🐢🐢🐢
That’s because today is Gopher Tortoise Day! By participating in activities that help this state-threatened reptile, you can help give gopher tortoises and the 350+ species of wildlife that use their burrows the best chance of survival both now and into the future.
🐢 Volunteer on a habitat clean-up at a local park.
🐢 Attend a wildlife appreciation festival.
🐢 Make your yard more tortoise friendly.
🐢 Spread the love and share how to help gopher tortoises with friends and family.

To learn more about and other ways to celebrate please visit: gophertortoisedayfl.com/

Hey guys hope you are doing well. I'm thankful that spring is here. I made it through my first winter and my castle got bigger. I still eat, eat, and eat as much as mom will give me. I still tell her she doesn't feed me enough. But somehow I got 40lbs in only 4yrs. She says I eat too much. I say.... She's wrong.🐢❤️

Happy Gotcha Day. 🐢🌏 4yrs and almost 40lbs later. Made it through my first winter outside. My castle has been expanded and I'm just out here being my tortly self.

Time to expand my castle

Eat your greens. Don't be like a spoiled lizard. Be like a tortoise and eat everything in sight. 🐢😁

Question of the day is..... What's living under Fudukazi's hut? First of all. It looks like a gopher tortoise hole, but the question is. If that's what it is. How did it get in the castle to make its own room? Fudu can't get out? So if it's not a native tortoise. Then what is under there. Regardless... This woodland creature found warmth under the summer hut. 🤷

Please friends sign this petition. Tortoises like Fudukazi and anything that's not a cat or a dog will be on this list. No beautiful salt water fish to look at. No bunny for your child's first pet. Not everyone can live with a cat or a dog. Reptiles matter too. Their owners matter. Get educated and help share the knowledge. Sign this petition for Fudukazi.

URGENT: Oppose Amendments to Lacey Act in House COMPETES Act HR4521 URGENT: Oppose Amendments to Lacey Act in House COMPETES Act HR4521 Take action now UPDATE: The COMPETES Act bill (H.R. 4521) passed the House on Friday, February 4 and it is now headed to the Senate for consideration. Use the form below to contact your Senator and oppose today! A last-minute amend...

Please be the voice for the voiceless.

You may have already seen the news regarding the America COMPETES Act of 2022 (HR4521). This bill was passed in the House of Representatives on February 4 and is headed to the Senate next. It is extremely important for ALL exotic pet owners to familiarize themselves with this legislation.

Please take the time to reach out to your Senators and urge them to oppose this bill! Sample letters are available on the USARK - United States Association of Reptile Keepers website here: https://usark.org/2022lacey/

Brr friends. It's currently 34 degrees outside. Mom says this is winter. Im really not sure. But my hut is currently 80. I'll just chill inside today. Where it's always summer 😁🐢

Hey guys I'm sure you are wondering what I've been up to lately. Well Santa came and brought me grass seed for the spring. Mom is expanding my castle. And I've been hiding away most days in my hut. Im hoping this snowstorm comes my way. Mom told me I get to camp inside if it does.

Wishing all of our clients and friends a very safe and Happy Holiday season! We wanted to take this moment to post a reminder that while a new pet can make a great gift, they are a life-long commitment. Make sure you do your homework on what your new pet will require for housing, lighting/heating, and feeding before deciding to bring a new family member home. If you want to gift an animal to someone else, make sure they're ready for it.

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*note: These are typical life spans. Many well taken care of pets can live much, much longer!

My basking light is about to go out for the night. Mom finally got home to turn my Santa lights on. Do you think he will see me?

Hey friends. Hope you are doing tortly great. It's my first Christmas outside. I told mom we should decorate, So Santa knows where to take the pallet of grass and the hot summer days I asked for in my letter. She said not to worry because Santa already knows where we live. She said will will make sure he knows how to find me. 🐢♥️🎅

Temps are dropping into the mid 50s tonight. It's my first real cold night outside. My hut is currently at 87 outside of my basking light. Here's to my heater keeping me at 65 and up tonight.
If you're wondering about my eating habits. Well even though I don't hibernate or brumate. I'm definitely slowly down with the cooler temps. I'm just barely grazing and I'm wasting more cukes then I am eating them. So..... Here's to my first winter outside. 🐢♥️

Tortoise heat now installed. Thanks to dad for making sure I stay plenty warm this winter. Yay. 🐢❤️

Meanwhile out by the tortoise castle. Dad is working on my heat box, and mom ran into these cool friends. Mom was just amazed by the amount of pollen the bumblebee had and beautiful butterfly stopped by to say hi too.

Hey friends. It's almost October and I've been outside for almost 6 months now. Nighttime temperature is starting to drop. So dad is getting my box ready for winter. Mom says I can't come in unless it's really nasty outside. Well I didn't want to come inside anyway. 🐢🤣♥️

Did you know?

Gopher Tortoises can also be found in the water!

But Why?

Sometimes just to cool off. Other times to get ticks and bugs off their skin they can’t reach with their claws.

If you see one heading to the water, please allow them to enjoy their day at the beach.



Picture description: Gopher Tortoise walking on beach sand and shells. Ocean and partly cloudy sky in the background.

Look at this toad. Mom and Dad stopped by a reptile shop in Gainesville. Mom ran into this Cane Toad. I know that happy mom face. It's the same happy face I saw the day I became part of the family. Now mom is after a big Toad. Not today mom. Not today 🐸

Toby. 40yrs old and well over 100lbs. One day I'm going to be this big. Mom says Toby is cool. Well I'll show her who is the coolest tort around. Watch my wiggle videos. Now those are fun.

Today I got a special treat. I don't normally eat fruit but watermelon is great on these hot hot Florida days. It's hot and mom was nice enough to share. This is definitely my favorite fruit and the only fruit I ever get. When she is nice of course 🐢🍉♥️

Looks like a local baby gopher tortoise has taken up house next to my castle. Mom loves these friends. However they are protected in the Southeastern part of the country. The gopher is a key part of our ecosystem here in Florida. Almost 350 different species of wildlife depend on it borrows. As long as it doesn't find it way into my castle. I still haven't figured out that I borrow too. Mom doesn't want me picking up bad habits from the local wildlife. While I naturally borrow just like my gopher friend. A tort the size of me can dig a very deep borrow in a matter of hours. Mom says no borrows here Fudukazi. That's why you have a house. 🤷🐢

Ghost. Moms Blue Eyed Leucistic Ball Python. He is a rockstar she says.... He doesn't make music. She's nuts. I'm the real rockstar around here. I'm pretty much a rock with legs. 🐢🤣♥️

It's getting closer friends. Trying to convince mom I should come inside tonight. Dad says I love the rain. It's been storming tons in the last few weeks. They say this is a good one. Maybe I'll get my pond after all. Stay safe friends. Ill keep you updated on wether or not I get a inside slumber party

Hey guys. Hope you are all doing well. We are watching the storm. You see that blue dot? That's the Tortoise Castle, and as of this morning. Mom told me I get to have a slumber party inside if it gets too bad. She seems to forget. I like the rain. It's been one of my favorite things about living outside. Water from the sky. Well keep up with me this weekend. Find out if I get to visit my friend the dog during this thing they are calling Elsa.

Hey guys Luna the Sandboa, Bowie the Dragon and I were guests at the local BSA scout meeting. It was way passed my bedtime and I wasn't much of a guest after those cukes. Bowie and Luna stole the show 🐢🐍🐲

At our house every life is important. Today while mom was brushing the big blue watering hole. She found this guy near death and in a whole lot of trouble. She quickly grabbed the scooper thing she uses all the time and saved my friend. He just chilled and watched mom clean the watering hole. She moved him to the tree and he just watched her some more. This guy sure is lucky mom was out back.. He lives to run the backyard another day.

Good morning friends. It's going to be a hot day in central Florida. Mom said she was going to make it rain today. We've waited for the real rains, but I guess my yard misses those clouds. So mom says she's got it handled this afternoon. I really like the rain. I'm always playing in it. And eating the wet grass. Then mom throws out a cucumber and I'm in Tortle heaven. I love cucumbers. Just gotta watch that dog. She's always stealing my cukes.🐢🥒♥️🌏

Flowers from around my Castle. Oh yeah and a statue of me.