Our Residents
Come Meet
Some Friendly Faces You’ll See Around The Ranch!
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Juke
Juke, age 34, was named because he tends to shake his bootie when you scratch the back of his shell. The tortoise shell is part of his spine. His nerve endings reach into his shell, so he feels when your fingers touch his shell, the same way he feels touch on his skin. That's why he “Jukes” when he feels the scratching.
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Rocky
Rocky, age 34, runs laps around the yard to train everyday. Tortoises are cold blooded and cannot control their own body temperature so they stay in zones above 65 degrees whenever possible, but Rocky will venture out for exercise even when it's very hot or pretty cold. Turtles can move surprisingly fast.
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Tank
Tank, age 7, was donated to us by a veteran of the Marine Corps when he started getting too heavy to carry outside. He used to be quite shy, but now he recognizes his human food providers and he runs to greet us. He is getting big for his current enclosure, so we will have to develop a new habitat for him within the next year.
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Oaxaca
Oaxaca, age 7, was badly mauled by a dog when he was a hatchling and consequently grew very slowly for five years. In the last 12 months, he has been growing at a normal rate, but is still quite small next to Tank, who is the same age. We named him for natives in Oaxaca, Mexico who don't tend to grow very tall.
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Jack and Diane
Jack and Diane are Red foot tortoises from South America, and they need more humidity than other tortoises to stay healthy. We began fostering them when a family moved from Alaska to Texas and had too many responsibilities to care properly for the tortoises. We encourage people who can't dedicate the time required to care for their animals to reach out to certified rescues for assistance.
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Random
This cat just shows up some times so we call him random
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Lil brick
This baby cow was just born and is one of the most pretty baby cows we have had born thinks he’s too good to eat grass, only flowers
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Frick
We called him Frick, because he’s the color of brick. His brother Frack, was the color black, but Frack was gangsta, so now he’s hamburger meat.
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Pro-lif-ic
Frick, I mean, that’s a good looking stud right there, or so the lady cows say. We have seen quite a few red calves this spring.
Our Incredible Team
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Theresa
Theresa is the owner/ operations manager of the Turtle Ranch. She coordinates activities, oversees all feedings, approves design ideas for the habitats, and acts as ambassador between the Turtle Ranch and the community. Her turn-ons include long walks on the beach and fireside whiskey.
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Orlando
Orlando is the owner/ lead designer of the Turtle Ranch. He designed every building on the ranch and built several of them himself. The design for the turtle house is so expansive that it has more square footage than the family home. He never saw a tool, a fishing rod or a shotgun that he could resist purchasing.
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Eric
Eric, our oldest, serves as the main muscle for the ranch, and a general hand to Orlando. He unloads the heavy bags of feed, hay bales, deer corn and drinking water. His preferred activity is cutting grass and he has the ambition of opening a landscape company called the lofty name, "Eric Mows."
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Tony
Tony, the middle boy, is Theresa's assistant chef, tending to most of the outdoor cooking. He's helpful with general maintenance like fence repair, painting and sinking t-posts. He reads voraciously, lifts weights in the hottest part of the day and knows more Eminem lyrics than Slim Shady himself.
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Scotty
Scotty, the baby of the family, certified as the ranch dietician when he was only 13. He can explain dietary differences between turtles and tortoises, knows which plants can be toxic, and can give a good rundown on the food needs of every animal on the ranch. The main staple of his own diet is Hot Takis.
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Claudia
Claudia is our vet who keeps all our pet residents in optimum health. We are grateful for her care with our turtles and with her and Scotty, we know we would be up a creek without her assistance!