Chas Hobbs, the content creator behind @dear.fig, talks about shifting her platform from travel to pets and what life looks like with a tortoise in the house.
What made you shift your social media presence from content about traveling to focusing more on your pets?
When I started in the travel world, we had just one cat, whom my parents adopted when I was in high school. He moved to college with me, and even moved to Australia with me. After he passed away, I didn’t have any pets, so I just traveled the world. After not having a home base for a while, I wanted to settle down and move into a house. Being home and animals being my first passion, I started getting more and more pets, and they became my whole life!
Fig is quite the unconventional pet. What made you want to get a tortoise?
Ever since I was little, I’ve had such an affinity for little creatures. In fifth grade, I had a pet tarantula, and in college, I had a pet chameleon. I knew I wanted another reptile, but not one that required me to keep bugs for food in my house all the time. Tortoises eat mainly salad, and something I think is pretty special is that they’re a pet you can spend the rest of your life with. It’s crazy to think Fig is literally going to be with us when we’re 80 years old!
What are some of the biggest challenges you face having so many pets in your house?
Having nine pets is not something you can just throw together and think that everything’s going to work out without doing any research, proper introductions, or training. Making sure everyone lives together harmoniously is a lot of work, but it’s been completely worth it. At the end of the day, I lean toward things that show them love and kindness and make sure I’m not putting them in any situations that are going to make them uncomfortable.
As such an avid traveler, how do you keep your pets’ environment stable and consistent?
We’ve found a house sitter whom we know we can trust. She stays at our house with the pets so that they all can keep their regular routine. To help her out, I made a huge eight-page booklet on everyone’s care, and tips and tricks on each of their little quirks. Having that transparency gives a really good understanding of how the entire house functions.
What advice do you have for someone considering introducing a new pet into their home?
My best advice is to take it slow. If you’re not sure how the new pet is going to react to the pets already there, they probably shouldn’t meet right away. Make the new pet a comfortable, secluded spot in your home so it can get comfortable in its new environment. Don’t be afraid to give them (and yourself) a lot of grace as everybody gets used to each other.
