‘Shameless’ tortoise celebrates 19th birthday
Fred, a 100-pound Sulcata tortoise, can often be seen crawling around the aisles of his home at Petland Orlando South, sometimes pressing his nose against the glass to greet the puppies and kittens up for adoption.
But on Sunday, all eyes were on Fred, who celebrated his 19th birthday in the South Semoran neighborhood pet store with a Safarithemed party.
Children colored pictures of elephants, lions and zebras, and they raced baby turtles on the sidewalk in front of the store.
“He’s our store mascot,” pet counselor Karen Colick said. “People bring family members to visit Fred.”
Fred originally came to the store as a baby and was purchased by a local couple, who later moved up north and didn’t want to remove the reptile from the hot, humid climate of Florida. He was returned to his first home eight years ago and inherited the mantle of store mascot from his predecessor, Merlin the tortoise, who retired.
The store has been celebrating Fred’s birthday every year with different themes, including superhero costumes and a tribute to his more famous reptile counterparts — Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Fred’s species, also known as the African Spurred tortoise, enjoys a diet of lettuce leaves and fresh fruits. His breed can live more than 70 years, so Fred is still in his prime, Colick said.
Humans weren’t the only ones in attendance to honor Fred — a 7-month-old tortoise named Roger was brought by his family in a wooden bucket, cushioned by a lettuce leaf bed and paper towels.
Joyce Tassey and her 8-year-old granddaughter Chloe carried Roger to visit the pet store he was purchased from as a Christmas present last year.
“He’s going to get as big as Fred,” Tassey said. “We’ll probably be dead because I’m 78 and my husband is 80, so my family will have to carry on with him.”
A store-bought cake was available for the human attendees, but Fred was only interested in his buffet of various fruits that served as his birthday cake.
The tortoise has free roam of the entire
“He’s our store mascot. People bring family members to visit Fred.” Pet counselor Karen Colick, talking about Petland Orlando South’s tortoise
store during the day. He often sneaks up on customers, crawling stealthily through the aisles until someone happens to look down.
“When he hears more of the foot traffic, that’s when he’s more active,” said JayCee McFarland, one of the store managers.
“A lot of people don’t understand how shameless he is,” McFarland said, adding that Fred always seems happy to pose for a photo.
During the party, Fred made his way outside of the store to the sidewalk, wearing three birthday balloons taped to his back. Cars stopped driving in the parking lot, and some drivers leaned out of their windows to yell “Happy Birthday” to Fred.
McFarland had to lift him a few times off the ground, redirecting the tortoise from munching on a landscaped patch of grass.
“Everybody’s job is to handle Fred,” McFarland said. “Fred is our baby.”