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Tortoises!

So, I couldn't actually find a thread about tortoises so thought I'd make one. Does anyone else love/own tortoises? I do. I've had a Hermann's tortoise for, well, forever. His name is Chloe as my parents were told he was female when they bought him. By the time they found out he wasn't the name had stuck :lol:

I've recently bought a female Horsefield tortoise too, aptly called Tortina.

Anyway this is Tortina awkwardly crawling over her food:

image (24).jpeg

She loves getting stuck in awkward places...

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I decided to make it more difficult for her, and turned the slippers around, it didn't stop her...

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ANYWAYS. Does anyone else adore these creatures as much as me?! Or am I just a freak of nature? More likely the second option...

UPDATE:

In a bizarre turn of events, I began to have suspicions that Tortina was in fact...a male. Yes, my parents bought Chloe thinking he was female, and he turned out to be male, and Tortina turned out to be male too! I was not happy with the seller. However, things turned out rather well. We were having trouble finding a male tortoise of breeding age, but there was a pet shop not too far selling 2 females of perfect breeding age! We took Tortina (now called Reptar) to the vets, and they were indecisive about gender as he is so young. Well, we bought the 2 females home and it soon became clear that 'Tortina' was indeed male...

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He would not leave them alone!

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He is one damn horny tortoise anyway I tell ya that.

The females are named 'Patches' due to her patchy and dented shell and 'Ethel' - my dad calls her 'Ethel the escape artist' as she's constantly trying to escape from her crib and viv :holmes:

Here they are in their vivarium:

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(edited 10 years ago)

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

The Angry Stoic

I love turtles!

I read all tortoises are actually turtles so its ok to say that. At least in the categorisation system I read. I prefer the word turtle.

I like it when they do stuff :turtle:

Reply 2

The Angry Stoic

Original post by eliza.anne

I've recently bought a female Horsefield tortoise too, aptly called Tortina. Getting a male Horsefield soon too. I hope to begin mating them soon :love:

Anyway this is Tortina awkwardly crawling over her food:

image (24).jpeg

She loves getting stuck in awkward places...

Spoiler

I decided to make it more difficult for her, and turned the slippers around, it didn't stop her...

Spoiler

ANYWAYS. Does anyone else adore these creatures as much as me?! Or am I just a freak of nature? More likely the second option...

Do you mind if I ask how much Tortina costed?

Reply 3

Vionar

I love the picture of Tortina in slippers! :awesome:

I don't have tortoises, but I'd love to have them. And is it just me, or does everyone have a tortoise with an inappropriate name in relation to its gender...?

Reply 4

natninja

A friend of mine used to own a tortoise named Albert - he could never go on holiday because Albert would manage to flip himself onto his back and couldn't get up...

Reply 5

Truflais

Original post by The Angry Stoic

I love turtles!

I read all tortoises are actually turtles so its ok to say that. At least in the categorisation system I read. I prefer the word turtle.

I like it when they do stuff :turtle:

They are not turtles :unimpressed:

Original post by Vionar

I love the picture of Tortina in slippers! :awesome:

I don't have tortoises, but I'd love to have them. And is it just me, or does everyone have a tortoise with an inappropriate name in relation to its gender...?

She's hilarious. She doesn't usually bite my feet, Chloe does a LOT. But I was wearing TMNT socks the other day and she was all over me...

Original post by The Angry Stoic

Do you mind if I ask how much Tortina costed?

The place near me sells Horsefield tortoises for £145 usually. However, the guy who owns the shop was nice enough to sell us Tortina and the vivarium (including heatlamp, food bowls, food and everything she needed really!) for £245 in total.

Reply 6

Truflais

Original post by natninja

A friend of mine used to own a tortoise named Albert - he could never go on holiday because Albert would manage to flip himself onto his back and couldn't get up...

Haha awe. My tortoises rarely end up on their backs! Chloe has always lived in the garden, but the trouble is we get a lot of cats and foxes etc in our garden so if he ever is on his back, it's usually because they've caused it.

Reply 7

The Angry Stoic

Original post by eliza.anne

They are not turtles :unimpressed:

She's hilarious. She doesn't usually bite my feet, Chloe does a LOT. But I was wearing TMNT socks the other day and she was all over me...

The place near me sells Horsefield tortoises for £145 usually. However, the guy who owns the shop was nice enough to sell us Tortina and the vivarium (including heatlamp, food bowls, food and everything she needed really!) for £245 in total.

I want to get one when I leave uni. I want one that will grow really big so I can ride it and frolock in the fields with it.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtle

Read it! Turtle can refer to the whole order!

Reply 8

Truflais

Original post by The Angry Stoic

You can buy one from me :yep:

Horsefields don't get that big though...I might move onto the bigger breeds in a few years.

I suppose so...still I consider them both as being different :lol:

Reply 9

Truflais

Original post by Plantagenet Crown

Tortoises are laid back bosses, might get one some day.

I would probably advise getting a female. Male tortoises like to bite your feet and ankles. It's a bit sick but they do it because they think your feet are female tortoises and want to slow you down and take advantage :rofl:

My female hasn't done this...yet...think it's a male thing.

Reply 10

Truflais

Original post by Plantagenet Crown

Cheers for the advice! Yeah we got a female cocker spaniel to avoid the whole humping thing, but she tries to hump a leg at any given opportunity so yeah!

rofl. At least I can run away from my tortoise, a dog would just chase you :lol:

Reply 11

ZRO

I want a turtle but no one will get me one :frown:

Turtles can swim but tortoises can't right?

Reply 12

Nvmthename

I like trains... Dammit

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Reply 13

Truflais

Original post by ZRO

I want a turtle but no one will get me one :frown:

Turtles can swim but tortoises can't right?

True! Most of them can't anyway. They like being bathed though :yep:

Reply 14

Cake Faced Kid.

My dad had a tortoise called Robert Smith, it used to go missing all the time, he'd send my Gran out looking for him.

It used to crack me up, knocking on people's doors and my gran asking in the most bristolian accent ever 'Av you seen a turtiss?'

But alas, after many breaks for freedom, Robert Smith was not found. Sad really.

Reply 15

Truflais

Original post by Nvmthename

I like trains... Dammit

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I almost titled the thread 'I like tortoises' :lol:

Reply 16

username904959

I want a tortoise when I finish uni. My boyfriend has a Hermann's hatching (3 months?) called Freya and she's adorable .

Reply 17

Truflais

Original post by Cake Faced Kid.

Hahahaha. When my parents first got Chloe, lots of people in the area had tortoises. Anyway we live in a pretty dodgy area, and my Dad saw this guy jumping over this woman's fence with something under his arm. The woman came running out of her back door screaming 'Stop him! He's got me tortoise!' :rofl:

Reply 18

Truflais

Original post by Oli-Ol

I want a tortoise when I finish uni. My boyfriend has a Hermann's hatching (3 months?) called Freya and she's adorable .

Baby tortoises are so absolutely adorable! So small :ahee:

My parents have had Chloe for 30 years, I would guess he was a few years old when they got him too. Tortina is only 6 though :redface:

Reply 19

Exodus

My Dad has been breeding them for something like 35 years, he has about 55 of them now :tongue:

He used to sell them as well but now just keeps them, we've already had 15 eggs this year which is a lot more than usual, all though not all of them will hatch. Did you know you can control the sex the eggs will hatch as by what temperature you keep the incubator at? If you keep it 29 degrees they will be male and at 31 degrees female. I only found that out yesterday and thought it was pretty cool.

I do like them a lot but not sure what the point of having so many is, they are a lot of work to feed, especially is this heat when they eat a lot more. :smile: