Texas farm’s sneaky tortoise earns internet fame for escapes
Whether it’s for his constant attempts at escape, a tendency for destroying fences or the Apple AirTag he’s now forced to wear, Jeremy has made his mark on Blue Heron Farm.
Adopted in 2023 by the owners of the 10-acre Blue Heron Farm, a Waller-based producer of dairy, goat milk products and more, Jeremy has built an internet following for his shenanigans while earning an explicit nickname name on merchandise and X posts about his escapades.
Jeremy is one of several animals recently added to the petting farm and beer garden for visitors to enjoy.
“For the first 17 years we had a very, very firm rule that every animal on this farm had a job that had to contribute to the bottom line because there really is no profit in farming,” co-owner Lisa Seger said. “But then we decided that we were going to build a bar and part of the bar was going to be a petting farm. We decided we can finally add the fun animals that don’t really have a purpose.”
Owners Lisa and Christian Seger adopted 30-year-old Jeremy after hearing about Mr. and Mrs. Pickles of the Houston Zoo giving birth last spring, thinking their own tortoise would be a nice addition to the petting farm. Within a few days, the Blue Heron Farm had its own 90pound African spurred tortoise.
‘Get through anything’
So far, Jeremy has made Blue Heron his home while breaking sinks, bursting through the fence around his enclosure and occasionally hiding from Lisa and Christian. He has even been known to remove the Apple AirTag tracking device attached to his shell before attempting to leave.
“I don’t think about exactly how large (tortoises) are, but they also know that that they’re low to the ground and a tank and they can get through anything if they if they work it hard enough,” Lisa Seger said.
In the future, Seger said she would like for Jeremy to serve drinks at the bar with a tray on his back, though she is wary of his constant movement and will advise visitors to chase him down for a drink.
“He’s 30 years old so I refer to him as our millenial son,” Seger said. “We don’t know a lot about his background so we’re inventing a birthday for him and we’re going to have birthdays at the bar. We decided it would be the 5th of May and we could have Cinco de Jermo.”
Blue Heron Farm plans to continue improving and expanding the beer garden throughout 2024, possibly adding educational classes about the farming process alongside their already existing tours in the spring and fall. Overall, the farm aims to stay true to their goal of nonexploitative farming and creating quality dairy products.
‘Cult following’
As for Jeremy, Seger wanted to remind his followers that he is cold-blooded and therefore has not been as active in the winter.
“He has gained a bit of a cult following on the internet and I think people are wondering why we haven’t had a lot of updates lately,” she said. “He really is not very active in the winter. I am sure his shenanigans will resume as soon as we warm up, but he will spend several days at a time completely immobile in his home and that’s normal. Nothing is wrong with Jeremy.”
For more information on Blue Heron Farm and beer garden, visit their website.