Dylan DeMascio
New Member
Hello, my name is Dylan DeMascio. I guess everything starts with the fact that I became interested in reptiles in general when I was a little kid and rather accidentally read a book on snakes. I became fascinated with snakes first, then all reptiles. Now, my goal is to work with reptiles in the veterinary field.
I have been a sulcata tortoise owner for about 9 years. I got my first guy as an early Christmas present from my brother. He was just a hatchling and the cutest little thing. I spent lots of time taking him for walks around my yard hand-feeding him and such. I was a little kid, so I had the time to do so. I called him Geo at the time. At the time, I was learning about how to determine a sulcata's sex. I got mixed up and started thinking he was a female, so I changed his name to Terra (Italian for Earth). Then I corrected my self and decided he was a male (especially after he hit puberty...). However, I kept the name Terra regardless of the fact that it sounds feminine (don't judge). He has become like a son to me over the years: he'll follow me around sometimes, he used to crawl into my lap, and he is just such a great tortoise. But, he is over 60lbs now, so lap-time is no longer allowed.
Hǎo-Hǎo is a tortoise that I took in from my neighbor. She didn't quite know how to take care of him, and she saw how well mine was doing. So, she asked me to take him. At the time, he had soft-shell, was underweight, and had pyramiding (which he somewhat still has, of course). I starting feeding him right and giving him the sunlight and exercise he needed, and he quickly began to look better. My neighbor says that he is about the same age as mine, but he is about half the size. So, I think his growth was stunted from being stuck in a cage for the first year or so of his life with poor nutrition. Now, he is about 40-50lbs of Napoleon complex. He unfortunately developed an aggression problem and will attack anything that even resembles another tortoise. He's only upity with people if he feels stressed. But, he'll try to push over Terra with no luck since Terra is almost twice his size. Terra only wants to be friends, but unfortunately he has picked up some bad habits from Hǎo-Hǎo after having to defend himself on too many occasions. I try to keep them separated, but they keep finding ways to break down portions of the barricade.
Ginger is a juvenile sulcata that I adopted from the animal shelter where I used to volunteer. He began with all the same problems mentioned above for Hǎo-Hǎo; however, he started off much younger and with more pronounced pyramiding. Also, he has a little under-bite, which is either congenital or due to the calcium deficiency he had. I did the same with him and he was been growing and looking better. Unfortunately, I have not had very much time to spend with him lately as I did when Terra was little, so he is still a little shy. But, I can see him having a great personality if given time.
I am currently trying to find new homes for both Hǎo-Hǎo and Ginger. I am at a point in my life where school and work are taking up so much of my time that I am hardly even able to take care of my self. I do not want this to become reflected in the care of my pets, so I cannot be selfish and fool my self into thinking that I can carry on this way. If I downsize to just Terra, I am quite sure that I can handle it. Plus, I have plenty of space for one tortoise, maybe some space for two, but three will certainly be cramped when Ginger gets bigger. So, that would be poor planning on my part. I know that there are a lot of problems in the world of sulcata pets right now, and I hate feeling like I am now just a part of that huge statistic regarding passed-around tortoises. But, right now I want to find a good, permanent home or homes for both Hǎo-Hǎo and Ginger.
I have been a sulcata tortoise owner for about 9 years. I got my first guy as an early Christmas present from my brother. He was just a hatchling and the cutest little thing. I spent lots of time taking him for walks around my yard hand-feeding him and such. I was a little kid, so I had the time to do so. I called him Geo at the time. At the time, I was learning about how to determine a sulcata's sex. I got mixed up and started thinking he was a female, so I changed his name to Terra (Italian for Earth). Then I corrected my self and decided he was a male (especially after he hit puberty...). However, I kept the name Terra regardless of the fact that it sounds feminine (don't judge). He has become like a son to me over the years: he'll follow me around sometimes, he used to crawl into my lap, and he is just such a great tortoise. But, he is over 60lbs now, so lap-time is no longer allowed.
Hǎo-Hǎo is a tortoise that I took in from my neighbor. She didn't quite know how to take care of him, and she saw how well mine was doing. So, she asked me to take him. At the time, he had soft-shell, was underweight, and had pyramiding (which he somewhat still has, of course). I starting feeding him right and giving him the sunlight and exercise he needed, and he quickly began to look better. My neighbor says that he is about the same age as mine, but he is about half the size. So, I think his growth was stunted from being stuck in a cage for the first year or so of his life with poor nutrition. Now, he is about 40-50lbs of Napoleon complex. He unfortunately developed an aggression problem and will attack anything that even resembles another tortoise. He's only upity with people if he feels stressed. But, he'll try to push over Terra with no luck since Terra is almost twice his size. Terra only wants to be friends, but unfortunately he has picked up some bad habits from Hǎo-Hǎo after having to defend himself on too many occasions. I try to keep them separated, but they keep finding ways to break down portions of the barricade.
Ginger is a juvenile sulcata that I adopted from the animal shelter where I used to volunteer. He began with all the same problems mentioned above for Hǎo-Hǎo; however, he started off much younger and with more pronounced pyramiding. Also, he has a little under-bite, which is either congenital or due to the calcium deficiency he had. I did the same with him and he was been growing and looking better. Unfortunately, I have not had very much time to spend with him lately as I did when Terra was little, so he is still a little shy. But, I can see him having a great personality if given time.
I am currently trying to find new homes for both Hǎo-Hǎo and Ginger. I am at a point in my life where school and work are taking up so much of my time that I am hardly even able to take care of my self. I do not want this to become reflected in the care of my pets, so I cannot be selfish and fool my self into thinking that I can carry on this way. If I downsize to just Terra, I am quite sure that I can handle it. Plus, I have plenty of space for one tortoise, maybe some space for two, but three will certainly be cramped when Ginger gets bigger. So, that would be poor planning on my part. I know that there are a lot of problems in the world of sulcata pets right now, and I hate feeling like I am now just a part of that huge statistic regarding passed-around tortoises. But, right now I want to find a good, permanent home or homes for both Hǎo-Hǎo and Ginger.
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