Archives of The Cold Blooded News

The Newsletter of the Colorado Herpetological Society

Volume 29, Number 2;   February, 2002

Why This 162-year-old Tortoise Bites Toenails

Timothy, the 162-year-old resident on the Earl of Devon's estate, has been known to mistake red toenails for his favourite strawberries. After he went for the feet of a female visitor, some women with painted nails have had to be warned of the creature's predatory habits.

Tim Faulkner, the estate's general manager, said: "He definitely loves strawberries, and he gets fed them by people who work in our restaurant. We cannot feed him straw-berries all the time, but it is good to be able to treat him now and then."

"There is a well-known tale that he bit someone's toes because she had red toenails. We warn people now if they are going out around the estate to be careful if they see him - you don't know if he will do it again."

Timothy the tortoise spends most of his days in and around the 14th century castle, but has now started his winter hibernation.

Staff at the estate are amazed by how fit and healthy Timothy seems, despite his status as Devon's oldest resident. Tim said: "He is aged in his 160s but is going from strength to strength. We treat him a bit more carefully than we used to - even giving him some jabs to keep him well - but I have known him for 10 years and he is as healthy now as I have ever seen him.

"There are some steep slopes within the castle, but he still goes up and down those when he is awake. We even had to put a fence up to stop him from getting out - I'm sure he could if we gave him the chance."

Timothy, who tips the scales at around 11 pounds, was fostered by the Courtenay family more than 100 years ago, and had previously been with the Royal Navy for at least half a century. When the family moved to the Kenton estate in 1936, Timothy went with them, and he has been munching strawberries ever since.