Tortoise Leash

Wow! A sulcata leash! I kid you not! I was taking Frankie on a walk around the neighborhood yesterday evening. During any walk there are always problem areas where Frankie will not walk in the direction I want to go. I have to use my foot to guide him by either putting it under his carapace just behind his front leg and lifting him to move him in the new direction. Or, I can put my foot just enough in front of him that he is forced to re-direct himself.

The second method of putting my foot slightly in front of him usually means I will be stepped on, sometimes painfully depending on where he puts his foot. My foot was already bruised and still healing from our weekend walk (five days ago) and I wasn't looking forward to using this technique.

By corner #5, the top of my foot was getting sore. I didn't want to put him on the skateboard because we were heading up a very steep hill. But a thought came to my mind - why not try using the luggage strap? So I put it around his carapace just behind his front legs and ta-da! a sulcata leash. By holding the leash I could guide him left and right in the direction I needed without using my foot.

Oh, did I say it was easy? When is anything easy with a 48 pound sulcata? Guiding Frankie turned into a tug of war and I will say we almost were equal in strength -- but I won out. It does need some work.

The luggage strap cost me $1.50 at Wal-Mart.

It must be an unusual sight - a big tortoise on a leash