Lucy, a 60-pound sulcata tortoise surrendered to a Nebraska shelter after her owners moved into an apartment, quickly found a new home after a surge of people reportedly contacted the shelter to adopt her.
Here's what to know
According to KOLN, Lucy's owners gave her up because apartment living could not provide the space she needed. On Oct. 21, Capital Humane Society in Lincoln said the 13-year-old sulcata had been adopted after many interested would-be owners reached out.
With a life expectancy of about 75 to 100 years and an adult size that can approach 100 pounds, sulcata tortoises demand a much bigger commitment than many common pets.
Haley Vandewalle, a behavior coordinator at Capital Humane Society, told the station that Lucy is not an unusual case for the shelter. During her eight years at Capital Humane Society, she estimated that four tortoises have come through needing new homes.
Three of those four have arrived in 2026. "Tortoises we rarely see. This year for some reason we've had quite a few," Vandewalle said.
More background
Animal shelters are usually focused on dogs and cats, not large exotic pets that can live for decades. At 13, Lucy likely has many years ahead of her, so any adopter needs to understand the species' long-term care needs.
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As desert animals, sulcatas need plenty of outdoor space during hot summers, Vandewalle said, and they also eat fresh fruits, vegetables, and hay daily.
Winter in Nebraska creates another major care need. Owners must provide a spacious indoor enclosure, along with proper heat and lighting, to keep the tortoise safe in colder months.
"They need quite a bit of extra care," Vandewalle said, according to KOLN. "They like to push things around, they like to dig, so handling a little creature that can dig holes in your backyard and stuff is pretty important."
What can be done?
Capital Humane Society said Lucy went to someone who has owned tortoises before, a key detail for an animal that can outlive many owners and requires specialized housing, per KOLN.
Vandewalle said prospective owners should be ready for a pet that may live up to a century, needs fresh food every day, requires outdoor space in warm weather, and must have a large heated indoor setup during winter.
The strong response from interested adopters also gave the shelter a list of experienced "tortoise people" it may be able to call if it needs to place another sulcata or reptile later, Vandewalle said.
"We've gotten so many phone calls from tortoise people, and the enthusiasm is amazing," Vandewalle said. "It gives us people to contact in the future so if we do get another sulcata or other reptile we have people to immediately contact so they can get out of here faster."
Where can I learn more?
For a wider look at the issues tortoises can face, these stories show how shelters, wildlife centers, and conservation teams respond.
• After a Florida hurricane, experts found dozens of disoriented tortoises scattered across damaged habitat.
• At a U.K. wildlife park, a critically endangered pancake tortoise hatched and boosted the species' prospects.
• In South Africa, conservation teams deployed unusual helpers to detect endangered tortoises across biodiversity hotspots.
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