My first reptile was a Mojave desert tortoise. (before they were listed as endangered and one could purchase from the pet section at Walgreen’s(?)) my dad drilled a hole in his shell and he was chained 
in my yard in the summer. At least he got grass and UVB, I was 6 and my parents didn’t have a clue.
Wow, that is definitely one of the wildest short stories I’ve came across so far. Obviously at your young age there was nothing you would have known wrong about it. This guy got caught doing the same thing.
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Yeah, that was 50 years ago. Spot was fine, he lived in our yard for 4 or 5 years before his shell grew out and he broke the chain off and got away.
Years later as an adult, I lived in the Mojave desert, I had a large tortoise enclosure that included a pre-made burrow. I got the tortoises from BLM, they were displaced and BLM would license them to locals. I couldn’t bring them when I moved down south and they were removed.
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