Toby the Tortoise
A gopher tortoise becomes my neighbor
March 2 2025 - I first catch sight of Toby
March 30 - I think the tortoise tunnel has been enlarged since I first noticed it
April 11 - I see Toby again but not as closeup as last time.
Also on March 30 - I finally get a closeup view and some pictures as Toby wanders through the yard grazing on various plants
April 15 - Toby walked close to the screen door of the patio.
April 19 - Toby walked (crawled) slowly with his shell appearing to touch the ground
until he saw me (on the porch) -- and then he walked fast (almost ran)
with his shell lifted off of the ground.
April 25 - Toby was spotted again browsing for food, at one time reaching upward for leaves that were not exactly at the usual low to the ground level. We are currently about 6 inches behind on how much rain we usually have had by now in the year. Things are very dry, fire danger is high, and green leaves are harder to come by.
May 7
I wasn't able to get a picture of it, but I had fun watching Toby shortly before this picture was taken when Toby was a bit higher up on the edge of the "apron" (the sand around the entrance of his tunnel), and he was vigorously kicking sand from the apron into the bushes next to the apron.
May 12
Toby emerged from his burrow after 24 hours of heavy rain with lots of sand caked onto his shell and skin.
May 14
I was working at home and heard something rustling through the dry leaves next to the porch. I went out to find Toby walking very close to the outside wall of the house and very close to the fence. At one point he was putting his front legs up a little bit against the fence. He seemed to be looking for a way out of the yard. There is no fence on the east side of the yard but he seemed determined to find a way out towards the west. He went along the house and fence twice. I was worried that maybe his tunnel had collapsed and he was deciding to start over elsewhere. But maybe he just wanted to enlarge his territory or maybe he wanted to find a mate. I was relieved at the end of the day to see him back in the entrance of his tunnel. It appears that the tunnel has not collapsed or if it has, he has decided to repair the damage.
I don't know exactly how to count the lines but they are supposed to be a clue to a gopher tortoise's age (just like tree rings).
I am guessing that Toby is about ten years old.
I don't actually know if Toby is a boy or a girl. If I find out someday that Toby is a girl, I will change her name to Toni.
May 17
Toby is out and about again. I see him walking very close to the house and fence again. He makes it further along the fence than last time I watched him. Last time he left the fence when he came to dense vegetation that was hard to penetrate. This time he advanced further crashing through the vegetation and apparently trying to create a path that hugs the fence. He apparently is interested in creating tunnels in vegetation as well as tunnels in sand.
May 18
I got to watch Toby digging at the entrance of the tunnel.
Sand flies backwards out of the hole alternately coming past the right side of Toby's body and the left side of Toby's body.
June 1
I haven't seen Toby since May 18. There have been incredible thunderstorms and pouring rain on an almost daily basis for quite a while. It looks like the burrow has collapsed at the entrance because of the rain. I think Toby has decided to look for a more suitable location to dig a new burrow elsewhere. I may never see him again. I hope he is successful in finding a better location and I hope he does not get run over by a car while searching for a new location.
