# Reporting from Pakistan



## ARA (Mar 8, 2014)

Hi everyone,

Am not a regular forum member but I do check off and on to search for any queries regarding tortoise care. You guys have a great forum here and have been very helpful to me. Sometime back I got an adult Russian tortoise which the forum members were very kind enough to identify for me. She was also correctly identified as a female.

I am pleased to report that not only is she doing well but now has three other companions to keep company. All of these appear to be wild caught and are at least 8 inches and larger in size. Hope you enjoy the pics.


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## bouaboua (Mar 8, 2014)

Hello and Welcome. Good to have you here. You have some very nice tortoises there. And looks like you take a good care of them. Thank you for share those pictures.


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## wellington (Mar 8, 2014)

Hello and Welcome. I agree, nice torts.


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## TortsNTurtles (Mar 8, 2014)

Beautiful torts !


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## Ida (Mar 8, 2014)

Great looking pictures of your torts! Thanks for sharing..


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## ARA (Mar 8, 2014)

Thanks guys, appreciate the compliments. It's sad that unscrupulous people in our country catch them and kill them or sell them live to the Chinese traders for medicinal purposes. All of these we're rescued from weekend markets. Average cost for each one was around $15

I did give all of them a nice soak and scrubbing after taking the photographs but unfortunately forgot to take the after photos. Will try to post better pics. 

Two of the tortoises do have cracked shells but nothing to worry about. Seem completely normal and fine in behaviour. They have quite a large enclosure with plenty of plants to hide in or burrow. 


These are a pair of domestically bred Sulcata babies that I am taking care of


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## smudger67 (Mar 8, 2014)

Great pics


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## ARA (Aug 16, 2014)

Now raising six baby sulcatas 






Two of the larger ones are the babies who's pic I posted earlier. It's been a couple of months now and their growth is noticeable. I plan on shifting them to an outdoor enclosure covered with mesh wire.


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## Tom (Aug 16, 2014)

Cool. Looks like you've got it all under control.


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## ARA (Aug 16, 2014)

Thank you Tom. All credit to you and this forum for your tireless work to educate and guide ppl like me. Though I don't participate much in the forums, I do try to follow your tips and experienced advice.


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## ARA (Sep 14, 2014)

Nearly a month since the last photo posted


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## sissyofone (Sep 14, 2014)

They look great. Your doing an awesome job taking care of them.


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## Abdulla6169 (Sep 15, 2014)

Wow! Pakistan is a beautiful country, I'm reading a book that talks a lot about Pakistan. Nice tortoises you own there


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## kathyth (Sep 15, 2014)

Beautiful tortoise's!
They're very lucky!


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## ARA (Sep 16, 2014)

Thank you guys. Can't tell you how much your encouragement means to me. 

Pakistan is a beautiful country, unfortunately terrorism, poverty and lack of education has pushed our beautiful country into a downward spiral.


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## ARA (Sep 16, 2014)

Caught the Russians mating


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## ARA (Sep 16, 2014)

I have seen some tortoise babies with some breeders here who call them afghan tortoises. They are completely khaki in colour. Any idea guys what breed they might be, don't look like Russian tortoises cause I've seen Russian tortoise babies. I'll try to snap a picture next time I see them


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## Yvonne G (Sep 16, 2014)

Afghan tortoise is just another name for Russian or Horsefield's tortoise.


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## ARA (Sep 16, 2014)

Yes I am aware of that, but this guy had Russian babies as well and colour wise these were quite different

If I see them again I'll just buy them for further study


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## Abdulla6169 (Sep 16, 2014)

ARA said:


> Yes I am aware of that, but this guy had Russian babies as well and colour wise these were quite different
> 
> If I see them again I'll just buy them for further study


Different genetic lines maybe? For some tortoises darker coloring just means they live in higher altitudes, maybe thats true for Russians?


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## ARA (Sep 16, 2014)

Could be different colouring but the same species, just that why would the seller differentiate between the two. Even the price was same around 5 USD for each


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## Abdulla6169 (Sep 16, 2014)

ARA said:


> Could be different colouring but the same species, just that why would the seller differentiate between the two. Even the price was same around 5 USD for each


Cheap tortoises! I'd die for a price like that !


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## Yvonne G (Sep 16, 2014)

To be honest, YOUR Russians look a bit different to me too. It is probably just a difference in location where they're originally from.


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## Abdulla6169 (Sep 16, 2014)

Yvonne G said:


> To be honest, YOUR Russians look a bit different to me too. It is probably just a difference in location where they're originally from.


I thought about that too. Maybe its because they are caught at higher altitudes, because the Russians in lower altitudes are harder to find?


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## ARA (Sep 16, 2014)

Hmmm ok that does make some sense. Most plausible theory as well. 


The Russian babies were quite young, green in colour and seemed to be captivity bred. He had around 100 of them. The afghan babies also were quite young just that their colour was khaki and hardly any discernible pattern or design on the shell. Pretty plain looking.


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## Kapidolo Farms (Sep 16, 2014)

Please rock our world, and show us some Pakistani Star tortoises!
On the other hand, it's cool to see such large 'Russian" tortoises that look so great. I have some friends in Pakistan who are turtle conservationists. WWF in Pakistan is very successful at their work, despite all the not so happy stuff going on.


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## ARA (Sep 16, 2014)

Thank you for your kind words Will. Star tortoise are quite rare compared to the Russians. I've been trying to find them myself rest assured you guys will be the first ones to see them if and when I find them. 

WWF has indeed done a great job on the conservation of the giant marine green turtle. Every year these magnificent creatures pull themselves up on the beaches to lay their eggs which are diligently collected by WWF and wildlife personnel for hatching in their protection centres before being released back into the sea. 

There are other indigenous aquatic turtles which are also under extreme threat due to high demand by overseas traders. I can share their details if you guys are interested.

Another interesting phenomena that I've recently seen is the craze for collecting leopard geckos and giant black scorpions. God knows what it's all about but both are prized for their size and weight with demand prices by sellers easily going into hundreds of dollars.


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## ARA (Sep 30, 2014)

The Russians enjoying a group photo


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