Sybil, Our Sliding Tortoise Who’s Gone Viral!
We posted one of our tortoises, Sybil the Leopard Tortoise, on Facebook, enjoying the thrill of sliding down the slide in her indoor run! The video has gone CRAZY! to say the least!
It has currently reached over 7.6 million people on Facebook and been shared over 76k times, with 15k comments and over 1.1m engagements. The video shows Sybil the tortoise, climbing up her ramp, at her tortoise pace, venturing through her tunnel and over the top walkway to her “slide” and sliding down. No matter who is in her way, (as you will see from the video!)
Sybil and Eric also regularly enjoy their outdoor adventures in Fishers specifically designed grassed enclosures, (where the Fishers team might now have to invest in a tortoise slide as their next project!).
A little bit about our Tortoises
Sybil and Eric came to Fishers Farm in 2015 from a local resident who could no longer look after them. They were about 12 years old when they arrived at Fishers Farm. They have always been together and get along so well!
Sybil is a female Leopard Tortoise, she is the larger of the two. Eric is the male and much smaller. Leopard tortoises are the 4th largest tortoise breed. It is common for the females to be bigger than the males. A leopard tortoise can live up to 100 years of age! As an adult, Sybil can grow to anything from 16-28 inches and weigh up to 13-40kgs. Females can lay up to 30 eggs and breed between May to October.
Both tortoises are bathed twice a week for 15 minutes a time which often encourages them to go to the toilet too! Their nails are trimmed once a month if needed. They get more pampering than us!
In the summer, they are both out in the small grass paddocks during the day eating grass and lying in the sunshine. They come inside in the evening to a room that’s temperature controlled by an electric radiator. When they can’t go outside due to weather, the UV lamp is on during the day to replicate the sun and also the radiator is on to keep the room at the correct temperature.
From being outside in the summer months, the tortoises graze during the day however in the winter they are fed hand-picked grass and greens suitable for the breed.
Calcium powder is lightly dusted over their grass. They are fed Komodo Tortoise Diet three times a week. When inside, they have access to a tortoise block and often a cuttlefish which also helps to keep their beak at the correct length.