- Caitlin Doran had Tiptoe the tortoise when she was only seven, and they’ve been inseparable since.
- In 2020, Caitlin started sharing video of Tiptoe and his adorable activities on Tiktok, which quickly went viral!
- To date, Tiptoe has almost four million followers enjoying his videos, especially when he’s eating his veggie charcuterie boards.
If you haven’t seen a tortoise devouring a nice plate of fruits and veggies, here is your chance.
Meet Tiptoe, a 19-year-old African desert sulcata tortoise weighing 175 pounds, who has been with his human family for more than a decade now. His mom, Caitlin Doran, had him since she was only seven. Since then, the two have become inseparable.
In 2020, Caitlin got unemployed so she decided to offer her time to creating content videos, featuring no other than her very own Tiptoe!
Seeing videos on meal preparation for human families has inspired Caitlin to do the same, but with a little twist of course — she’s doing it with her tortoise.
“I was like, okay, I do this for Tiptoe all day anyway, so I might as well make a funny little video of it and post it so I can put some smiles on my friends’ faces,'” Caitlin said.
Caitlin started with a minute-long video of serving Tiptoe’s lunch — a plate full of carrots, cucumbers, and tomatoes — which showcased how Tiptoe could chomp it all down quickly.
@caitlinandtiptoe A plate in the life of Tiptoe #PetsOfTikTok #fyp #animal #tortoise #yum #losangeles
♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys – Kevin MacLeod
In just an hour, Caitlin’s post gained over a million views!
One year after, the video has reached over 12.2 million views and two million likes! And that motivated Caitlin to keep doing what she does.
More adorable videos of Tiptoe have been shared, from shots of Tiptoe eating veggie charcuterie boards to meeting a group of Pomeranians to even receiving (and eating) a rose from The Bachelor’s Matt James. And all these are definitely enjoyed by their almost four million followers.
“From the moment I got him, he has been by my side,” Caitlin said. “He just makes me a better person and helps me recognize what’s truly important in life.”
Tiptoe has a long way to go. Species of his kind usually live for up to 80-120 years old. And this gives his mom the comfort that she has a lifetime to truly take care of him.
Source: Daily Paws