You may have been wondering who or what that big shelled creature is that you see patrolling our store aisles. It is are African Spurred Tortoise, also known as the Sulcata Tortoise or Geochelone Sulcata. The African Spurred is the third largest tortoise in the world, with only the giant Galapagos and Aldabra Tortoises being larger. These tortoises can easily reach 26-35 inches in shell length, and weigh up to 200 lbs.

Rainbow is in Harleysville. He is 8 years old, weighs 35 pounds and is about 20 inches long. Rainbow lives in a big pen near the front of the store. He will take some strolls throughout the day around the store, meeting the customers and making new friends.

This tortoise carries on a tradition at the store that began with one tortoise named Junior. As a young tortoise--just a few months old--Junior became very sick with a respiratory infection that threatened his life. Tom Herron, the store owner, learned of the little guy in March of 1990 and brought him back to the shop to nurse him back to health. Tom kept him near his side (in a 10-gallon tank on his desk) so he could continue to watch him through his recovery. The store staff began calling the young tortoise Junior (for Tom Jr.) and the name stuck.