Having a tortoise as a pet is not like having a dog or a cat

Cha Cha the leopard tortoise plows forward while out for a walk in Seattle's South Lake Union as people gather to check out the unusual pet.

“Very few people have interacted intimately with a tortoise,” says Jim Ferron. By that, he means having one as a long-term pet.

His tortoise is Cha Cha. Like turtles, they are reptiles from the order Testudines. But tortoises are land-based while turtles live in or around water. Cha Cha is a 13-year-old leopard tortoise – a strict vegetarian.