Central Texas Tortoise Rescuer: Krista McDermid

Krista McDermid and her husband Ryan or “Mr. Tortoise Rescue” as she likes to refer to him as own and operate the Central Texas Tortoise Rescue out of their family home in San Marcos, Texas. Krista is a kindhearted person who is just amazing to be around because her passion and energy are so infectious. Each time I have been able to interact with her I found myself wanting to learn everything she knew, which seems impossible once you start talking with her. Krista has a Master of Science in Wildlife Ecology from Texas State University and a Bachelor of Science in Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior from The University of Texas in Austin so she defiantly knows what she is talking about.

Even though they are called the Central Texas Tortoise Rescue, they take in turtles and tortoises. After talking with Krista and hearing her use both I asked her if there was a difference between the two or if turtle and tortoise are interchangeable and she said, “All tortoises are turtles, but not all turtles are tortoises. Just like girls are people, but not all people are girls.” The main distinction between a turtle and a tortoise is that a turtle spends most of its life in the water, and a tortoise lives on land. However, they are both reptiles, and they both come from the same family.

They started rescuing tortoises and turtles on accident back in 2012, according to Krista and began building enclosures on their property by themselves. From then on, they continued to house and rehabilitate these animals to the best of their ability until the operation grew larger than they could handle on their own. Then in 2015, they became a non-profit organization. Since they became a non-profit, they have been able to accumulate a staggering number of supporters and they now have a network of volunteers to help with anything from executing events to building higher quality enclosures for the animals. They only hold about one to two events a year, because of Krista’s busy schedule, to get the public involved in a very hands-on way. Krista manages all Central Texas Tortoise Rescue social media platforms. She repurposes her follower’s event pictures and posts a lot of her own content as well.

Just from photographing the turtles and tortoises I noticed that they have very large personalities. Some are shy, some are fast, some like the water, and some are just mean. The more you have together at one time, the more you are able to observe these behaviors. If you grew up never really being around turtles or tortoises one wouldn’t generally expect them to be able to move the way they do, to have these big personalities, or to produce some of the sounds that they make. For example, I was just starting to take pictures of the box turtles all together when one of them began head butting the other turtles and biting at their legs.

At any given time, they have roughly around 30 tortoises on site and that number is a mixture of permanent residence and animals that are being adopted out. Each year they have the ability to rescue around 100 tortoises. These animals live a long time, anywhere from 20 to 150 years so rehabilitation and long-term care for these animals can be expensive. Therefore, donations are instrumental in supporting these animals. Donations go toward veterinary care, feeding, enclosure enhancement, and the occasional odd supply that Krista may need to keep everything running smoothly. Krista homes a good number of box turtles and many of them are available for adoption. However, the adoption process is critical because many people don’t understand that taking care of one of these animals is not an easy feat. It’s a true labor of love. One must be willing to put in the time effort and money required to build an adequate enclosure and have the knowledge to properly care for the animal.

Krista homes a good number of box turtles and many of them are available for adoption. However, the adoption process is critical because many people don’t understand that taking care of one of these animals is not an easy feat. It’s a true labor of love. One must be willing to put in the time effort and money required to build an adequate enclosure and have the knowledge to properly care for the animal.

Adoptions require the submission of an online form, photos of the provided outdoor enclosure, and references. There is also a fee for adoption. This fee, like donations, helps the Rescue keep its doors open and continue to care for these animals. This process ensures that applicants are sincere and genuine in their inquiry. Krista is extremely cautious when considering applicants because they are high maintenance animals, her philosophy is

“If we can’t do something to improve the situation of the animal, then we won’t change the situation of the animal.”

That is why Krista won’t even open an adoption application that doesn’t include photos of the enclosure. Whereas Krista is extremely passionate about the Central Texas Tortoise Rescue and dedicates a lot of her time toward the preservation of these animals, it’s not her day job. She works full time as an Environmental Consultant for a consulting firm based out of Austin, Texas. Although, she feels that both her day job and the Tortoise Rescue are

“All in the same vein, it’s all for the love of the animals.”

Whereas Krista is extremely passionate about the Central Texas Tortoise Rescue and dedicates a lot of her time toward the preservation of these animals, it’s not her day job. She works full time as an Environmental Consultant for a consulting firm based out of Austin, Texas. Although, she feels that both her day job and the Tortoise Rescue are, “In the same vein, it’s all for the love of the animals.” Because it’s only Krista and Mr. Tortoise Rescue running the operation, in order to get a tour or to adopt or surrender an animal you must schedule a time and date for an appointment via Calendly.com. Krista has teens who are involved in sports, a full-time job with a long commute, and the occasional obligation. Therefore, she schedules all her free time onto that calendar for appointments. Every moment she has that she could be using relaxing, she is using to run the Central Texas Tortoise Rescue. Her love for animals is very apparent in everything she does.