Meet Cardiff’s instafamous Tortoise

Many notable people were born in Cardiff – Gareth Bale, Roald Dahl and Charlotte Church to name a few.  But there’s one rising star that’s a little different from the rest.

Meet Sheldon, the Horsfield tortoise born and raised in the Welsh capital.

Coffee anyone?

One year old Sheldon has his own Instagram page and has gained over 14,000 followers in just four months.  At the moment, he is gaining an average of 100 followers a day, with daily posts getting more than 900 likes.

He is even followed by David Beckham’s puppy Olive, but boasts more followers than him, as well as more than beauty pageant star Miss Cardiff.

He has more followers than you’ll ever have

Owner Stephanie said she received Sheldon as a Christmas present from her boyfriend last year, and aptly named him after The Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon Cooper. She decided to set up Sheldon’s own Instagram account after pictures of him were taking up valuable space on her own account.

Blue steel

One day, Sheldon hopes to become as big as Grumpy Cat and make it onto the Ellen Show.

And it does seem as if he’s on way.  Having already been featured in the John Lewis magazine, he is also currently in talks with Soda about a potential club appearance.

At the moment, Sheldon is smaller than the palm of a hand, but he’s expected to grow much bigger, with some Horsfield tortoises growing up to 25cm long.

He’s also expected to live for around 60 years.

He so tiny

The fame hasn’t quite got to him but he does like to live a sophisticated lifestyle.  He knows exactly when a camera is around and enjoys a varied diet of rocket leaves and cabbage.

Nom nom nom

According to Stephanie, he’s very easy to look after, although does require a daily bath.  House pet anyone?

Sheldon can be found on Instagram, @sheldon_the_tort and Facebook, Sheldon the Tort.