It’s time to look back on 2024! Check our blog between Christmas and New Year’s for a variety of stories and memories of 2024 from the staff and volunteers of the Wildlife Center of Virginia.
I am not really a turtle person. I’d hate to admit this to my fellow coworkers, but there’s just something about turtles that I could never get behind. I don’t dislike them—I’m continually amazed by their resilience and adaptability in an ever-changing, fast-paced world. However, I certainly don’t feel the same spark of excitement interacting with a turtle as I do with some of our other common patients. They’re not the most eye-catching compared to the colorful songbirds we see at the Center, nor do they share the same breathtaking appearance as our raptor species. I also don’t find them as charismatic as other reptiles. So, if you had told me at the beginning of this year that the memory I would take away from 2024 would be about a turtle, especially one that has been a part of my work life for well over three years, I probably wouldn’t have believed you.
Emma the Russian tortoise is our oldest resident ambassador at the Wildlife Center of Virginia. She was admitted as an adult in October 2000 after she was found wandering the streets of Charlottesville. As a non-native species to Virginia, Emma was likely an abandoned or released pet. At an estimated age of 40, she has watched the Wildlife Center change for nearly 25 years. From her spot in the lobby, she has supervised multiple building and office remodels, met dozens of new staff members, and watched hundreds of veterinary and rehabilitation students come and go as they complete their externships. When I first met Emma in 2021, I’m sad to admit, I had very few thoughts about her.
“Cool, there’s a tortoise,” I thought.
However, in true tortoise fashion, Emma slowly grew on me. While we spend our seasons bustling about the front desk—intaking patients, collecting paperwork, or chasing down a baby squirrel in the lobby (some folks have difficulty finding transport containers before dropping off patients at our door)—Emma would mosey through her enclosure. Mosey to her food. Mosey through her hay tunnel. Then mosey to her favorite corner. Every now and then, we’d catch her with half of a strawberry on her head or shoving rocks around her enclosure floor. My heart would melt for just a second before it was dragged elsewhere.
This year, front-desk coordinator Paige brought up the idea of remodeling her enclosure in an effort to improve its visual appearance and provide Emma with more enrichment opportunities. I had a plethora of old reptile enclosure decorations from a late pet, way too much free time with a light course load this semester, and a bit of unwarranted confidence to help put something together.
A lot of research, a few YouTube rabbit holes, and multiple failed attempts led me to destroy my living room in an effort to build a background that somewhat resembled the small, rocky cliffs of Emma’s natural habitat. Despite very little experience with power tools and paint, I was able to carve a rocky texture in a scrap piece of XPS foam. Pet-safe sealant, paint, small pieces of wood, and moss to cover several large mistakes left me with this:
Paige and Connor, our Director of Outreach, worked with our rehabilitation team to select the ideal substrate options, while our Maintenance Tech Mathew covered the sides of Emma’s enclosure with a stronger material and installed siding on her floor to hold in the substrate. I think there are a few more details we hope to add in the future, but I can say the final product impressed me.
I had the honor of placing her in her new home. While Emma didn’t bust into cartwheels and sprint around her enclosure to check out our hard work, we watched in awe as she looked back at us, then took three steps forward and immediately dug herself into a hole.
“Very cool, Emma. Very cool.”
She spent most of the weekend in her new burrow, but my phone was buzzing the following week with photos from coworkers as she explored her new home. Every photo made me smile, and I’m sure my family and friends were tired of looking at photos of a random tortoise they’d never met. I couldn’t help but share my excitement.
I don’t know if this project changed much for Emma. She still moseys around her enclosure, now spending more time burying herself in her substrate and hanging out in her new hides. She still stares up at us with her beady eyes and fervently comes out to chomp down on her greens every day.
But, I think it changed a lot for me. Beyond learning how to properly use a drill and a silicone caulking gun, I think this project changed the way I look at turtles. Since the remodel, I find myself excited to head in to work early just to see where Emma has explored overnight. I’ve been taking the time to watch Emma expertly traverse over wooden logs and rocks to reach her favorite hide or use her long, specially adapted nails to dig burrows through her new substrate. I stop multiple times a day to watch her move through her pile of greens to find her favorites or chase her strawberry treats around her feeding platform.
These are behaviors I probably would have noticed before the remodel if I had just taken the time to slow down and appreciate them. While I still don’t find tortoises the most eye-catching or breathtaking, I have found a much deeper respect for these curious creatures. It's easy to get used to the fast-paced, slightly chaotic nature of this field, and Emma has consistently reminded me of the importance of “mosey-ing” every now and then. I don’t know if I could consider myself a turtle person just yet, but I think Emma is working on changing that.
— Lilly Farmer, Front Desk Coordinator