OT: Turtles

I just put the photobucket link up to the kids on my page.  :)  If you'd like to take a peek, have at it.  :)

Enjoy :)

Me thinks your turtles are GREAT!!! I thought you could not have those kinds of turtles any longer? They are just so cool! I had a tortise growing up and when my oldest son was a baby and I was moving....I left the gate open and was gone just long enough for him to make a bee line to who knows where...never found Horatio....I was truly bummed and hoped whoever found him took good care of him! Thanks for sharing!

 
Aww I'm sorry about Horatio, that is heartbreaking.  :(

What turtles is it that you think I cannot have?

each state has their own laws on what can be sold/bought or taken over state lines.. heck, some, if you even TOUCH them you can be in serious trouble.

Mine are all legal in CA.  :)

Thanks :)

I was not trying to imply anything at all...I just thought we couldn't have those little turtles it seems....I love them...I think they are such cutie pie turtles. Horatio was a land tortise. My mother use to work at the Oakland SPCA and someone brought Horatio in there when we were little little kids. He had been passed down through some family and they could no longer have him. Well mom took him up to the university because no one knew how to care for him and all that stuff (long before the days of the internet!). Well at that time the people up there told my mom that he was approximately 150 years old at the time...a vegetarian and only saw the colors in the red, yellow specturm. He got me in trouble more than once...he would eat my mom's flowers and she would think I picked them...one day we found the evidence all around his mouth.

I thought about adopting a desert turtle since Ilived here, but I cannot because I have the yard exterminated and I need not to have vineragoons and scorpions and spiders, crickets and you name it in my house!

Swear Turtle girl....I surely didn't mean to imply anything...as I just have not seen those little baby turtles around in many years....the are sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cool!!!!

Glad you are doing good~!!!!  

No no Janine don't worry at all!  :)

I think what you are talking about are babies under 4", which if they are smaller than that can only be sold for "education" purposes.  So people get around it that way.

I get all mine through reputable breeders.  :)

Thanks for sharing. Like I said on the other post they are really beautiful.
My oldest son lives in Henderson NV and they had tons of turtles coming through their back yard one summer, due to construction. It left them all "homeless". :-( It is illegal from what I understand in NV to keep them if you find them in the desert.

HUGS
JOY

 
Yes, this is happening a LOT across the country with the gopher tortoises.  It's very sad.  These guys have lived there their enitre lives and us stupid humans want to incroach on their land.  But at least they have groups to try and locate them, and relocate them somewhere else.  It's a very hard process as tortoises have ranges and it's engrained in their brains that territory.  To remove them, is heartbreaking and very hard to do.

Then there is the problem of people having "pet" turtles/tortoise that don't want them anymore and then they release them into the wild or in the desert which is a deathwish for both animals.  People introduce diseases and parasites into unknown territory and those animals don't know how to fend it off.  And most likely the released animal will pass because it doesn't know how to care for itself in the wild.  It's very sad.  

People think they are so cute as hatchlings and buy them but don't realize that some can get up to 12"(or more!) and you need at least 10 gallons per inch of shell, so that alone is a 120 gallon tank/pond for ONE turtle!

Sorry I'm going off.  But it's one of my passions and I want to do what I can for the babies.  :)

If anyone has ANY questions on raising, getting or giving up a turtle/tortoise please contact me.  I can most likely put you in touch with someone that can help you.  Please don't ever release a domesticated animal into the wild.

I'm off my soapbox for now :)

Honey , Can stand on that soap box as long as necessary! I am on your side 100%.

HUGS
JOY

 I just deleted my wole post, darn it.

I'll try to type more tomorrow.  :)

I cannot WAIT until next week, it's so hard waiting for the DHL truck to arrive with your babies!!!!

This has been fun, thanks for letting me go on.  There is never anyone in the "reptile" section here, so you lucky folks get to read this :)

Hey Turtle Girl,
I have a Red Ear Slider that I rescued from my friend who had no idea how to take care of it and was feeding it TORTILLAS. Have you EVER seen a turtle eat a tortilla? Ugh! Stupid girl....

Anyway-

I researched them and never in a million years thought this turtle would make it past 6 months old. He's now 6 YEARS old and went from a 5 gallon tank to a 60 gallon tank (it's a mansion in his eyes). Abraham is ONE spoiled turtle and my dogs love to watch him swim around in the tank and he likes to TORTURE them big time!

I can't stand when people buy something because it's cute and then don't take the time to care for the animal. Example: My friend's son didn't notice the turtle was gone for about 2 weeks after I took it. I guess he just didn't care...