Small Start, Big Finishes

Not many pets are projected to weigh 100 pounds and live perhaps just as many years, but for Springfieldians Dana and Gino Barbo, that is just the case for their sulcata tortoises.

Up a street called Turtle Hatch Hill, in a magical place in Turtle Village there is a special place for turtle friends, well...sort of. There is a street called Turtle Hatch Hill that has a house where three sulcata tortoises live. But home– and turtle–owner Dana Barbo says that the name of the street and her exotic pets are just a coincidence. Dana and her husband, Gino, live in Springfield with their three children—McKenzie, Garrison and Remington—and their three turtles—Flash, Napoleon and Josephine

Dana, who grew up on a farm near Lowery City, has always been an animal-lover. But it’s not farm animals she spends a large part of her week tending to these days. In addition to the turtles, the family also has three birds, four dogs and a goldfish.

“I’ve just always loved turtles,” Dana says of why she decided to get the sulcatas. The family did not set out to have so many pets, but over time the number just grew and grew. “I’m PTA president at Pershing Middle School, too, so I do have a normal side,” Dana laughs.

While the turtles seem like a small pet now, they will be a much bigger situation down the road. When the Barbos bought the turtles each was the size of a silver dollar. In the first year, the little guys grew 10 inches, and they’re not even full size, yet. Sulcatas generally double in size each of their first three years of life. Adult sulcatas will have a shell from 18 to 30 inches long and weigh from 70 to 150 pounds. Dana built an area in the family’s backyard out of stone where the turtles live in warm months. There is a sheltered area with a heated lamp for nighttime and an area where they soak in water—one of their favorite activities. Dana feeds them cabbage, bok choy, lettuce and kale.

Most days during the summer, they just hang out in the backyard and eat clover, leaves, grass and weeds. Flash, Napoleon and Josephine generally stay in the yard, but from time to time they’ve been known to make a break for it and take a stroll down the sidewalk. In which case, Dana takes off after them and returns them to the yard. Because they are not hibernating animals, the turtles, who have an African origin, come indoors to an aquarium when Missouri winter hits. As the turtles get closer to full size, the Barbos will have to create larger indoor living arrangements.

Dana and Gino, who are both in their 40s, also came to realize that the turtles life expectancy is greater than theirs, as sulcatas can live more than 100 years. Flash, Napoleon and Josephine will have to be willed to family or arrangements made for them to be taken care of when Dana and Gino no longer can. For now, they’re just enjoying watching them grow.