After hearing that the home contractors had encountered an issue while working on the sliding door, a woman pulled up the Ring camera footage to see and what she found left viewers in stitches.
Owner Laura told Newsweek that she recently created an Instagram account (@tankieshellraiser) for her 8-year-old tortoise, Tankie. She’s collected videos over the years, and with encouragement from family, she finally decided to show off his hilarious character. Her October 29 video, a throwback from January, instantly became a hit, bringing in over 858,000 views on Instagram as of Monday.
Laura left her house to get out of the contractors’ way as they worked on fixing and replacing the sliding door screen. But during her absence, Tankie awoke from his dormant slumber.
Laura said during the colder months, usually starting at the end of November, Tankie will go to his outdoor heated home. As a sulcata tortoise, Tankie does not hibernate, according to an article from MedVet. Instead, these specific reptiles enter a period of dormancy, where they become less active and eat less. She said Tankie will be in this state through January.
However, Tankie decided the perfect time to wake up was while the contractors were at Laura’s home. She looked at the Ring camera and found the moment the contractor spotted Tankie, which she sent to him, and they all got a kick out of it.
In the video, the contractor stopped in his tracks, confused about the giant tortoise slowly inching its way inside. With the sliding door left open, he tried to shoo Tankie back outside before calling for backup. The other worker didn’t think Tankie was real at first. The two eventually pushed Tankie back outside.
They told Laura when she returned about the incident, and it dawned on her: she forgot to mention Tankie.
“I did forget they were going to replace the sliding glass door screen, and Tankie had woken up that day,” she said. “I didn’t even think to tell them about a sleeping tortoise.”
She suspects that the sunny day might have helped Tankie wake up. While they did most of the work indoors, Laura said it could also have been a drill or other noise that caused him to stir. But she applauds the workers for how well they handled the situation.
Viewer Reactions
Instagram users flooded the video with hysterics over the unusual pet these workers found, and as of Tuesday, the clip reached over 82,000 likes and nearly 430 comments.
“Tankie!!! Who needs a guard dog when you have a guard tortoise?” joked one viewer.
Another added: “Poor turtle is like, ‘Sir, I live here, what are YOU doing in my house?'”
A third person pointed out: “They were so gentle with him.”
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