Here Rocky, Gracie and Big Black Bart are shown not in hats, but belts in honor of National Dress Up Your Pet Day.
Many people ask us if the belt Big Black Bart wears has constricted his shell. We’re glad they ask us this because it shows they care about turtles who have been shown to have a shell restriction problem due to plastic tie rings. In our case, it’s actually just the opposite: we thought of getting Bart a belt for his shell BECAUSE adult, male red-footed tortoises have a natural, hourglass waist and indentation in their shell: perfect for a belt! So, Bart had the natural indentation in his shell before we ever thought of getting him this costume so he could be the mascot for our motorcycle run for the turtles for 12 years.
You can also see Rocky and Gracie’s belts don’t fit nearly as well as Bart’s since they do not have a natural indentation in the middle of their shells. Their belts fall off a lot—which is fine with us. 😊
Here, the 3 turtles are enjoying some fresh air and reminding riders to please stop for turtles on the roads at the Roar to the Shore motorcycle rally in Wildwood, New Jersey.
For a series of pictures of Bart wearing hats in honor of National Hat Day tomorrow, SCROLL DOWN…