ALDABRA TORTOISE BREEDER

[ALDABRAMAN]

Those that follow our program know that we purchased a new piece property at the end of 2017 and have been working hard to get things ready for the construction phase. The property was a successful fruit tree farm for many decades back in the day. It is located on the Imperial River in Bonita Springs and have been told that they used the river as a means of transporting the fruit throughout the local area. The property was abandoned for decades leaving a house and several buildings on the property that was never maintained since the abandonment. I was told that in 2013 the city forced the previous owner (Inherited by trust) to have the house and buildings demolished. The property had not been maintained at all and the company that did the demolition did a pathetic job. The day of the closing, I repaired the gates and started forming a plan on how to start getting this property ready for the future.

 

[Taco*mom]

~ Just a little fun, last night Dan (@Kittivan) called and said he had booked a flight from Chicago to get a four year old we had that we raised from a hatchling (hatched the first week of 02 of 2014), He arrived arrived as scheduled and we thoroughly enjoyed what short time we spent with him. It is always fun and truly enjoyable to meet and interact with people that share our extreme passion, interest and enthusiasm regarding these magnificent gentle giant tortoises. We gave this little one a good soaking and a decent size container with fresh orchard grass hay and a few cactus pads for the journey to her new home.
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I am very jealous. What a beaut!!

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

I started to clear paths for the utility companies to have access to remove all of the existing utilities, what a nightmare that was. The property had two utility poles that held up telephone, cable and power lines that ran straight thru the center of the property. The were old and the poles were in very poor condition. The actual power line was fully charged and just hanging down from the pole. After several months all the lines were removed and both poles were removed.

 

[Oxalis]

Those that follow our program know that we purchased a new piece property at the end of 2017 and have been working hard to get things ready for the construction phase. The property was a successful fruit tree farm for many decades back in the day. It is located on the Imperial River in Bonita Springs and have been told that they used the river as a means of transporting the fruit throughout the local area. The property was abandoned for decades leaving a house and several buildings on the property that was never maintained since the abandonment. I was told that in 2013 the city forced the previous owner (Inherited by trust) to have the house and buildings demolished. The property had not been maintained at all and the company that did the demolition did a pathetic job. The day of the closing, I repaired the gates and started forming a plan on how to start getting this property ready for the future.

I started to clear paths for the utility companies to have access to remove all of the existing utilities, what a nightmare that was. The property had two utility poles that held up telephone, cable and power lines that ran straight thru the center of the property. The were old and the poles were in very poor condition. The actual power line was fully charged and just hanging down from the pole. After several months all the lines were removed and both poles were removed.

I'm super excited to hear more! I hope everything goes well for you guys!! Amazing you were able to clear up all those wires.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

It took about one year to clear the property, trim all the tress and remove all of the stumps. This was an enormous amount of work, however it is in good shape now. The entire property can be mowed with a push mower with no exotics. The natural grass, weeds and vegetation is incredibly healthy and abundant.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Due to the hurricane (Irma) event in September of 2017, we had decided to move forward and have all the large trees trimmed, etc. (They all needed attention, however the damage from the storm was extensive).

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

The next thing was to make the property level and add dirt where needed. After many loads of good healthy dirt, the property is ready for construction.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

What a beaut!!

~ Thank you

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

IAmazing you were able to clear up all those wires.

~ Yes, they were in horrible shape. All new/ future utility wires will be underground.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

I'm super excited to hear more! I hope everything goes well

~ Thank you, next process is getting a variance for the perimeter wall.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Good Video

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[ALDABRAMAN]

Nice Video

 

[Taco*mom]

~ Thank you, this was actually my first trying to film the entire event. She had a few difficulties with digging, she hit a lot of lime rock type soil and it took her several hours. I assisted with breaking it up as she lifted her hind leg out to empty. She never gave up and did a fantastic job. I usually catch all the eggs as they are dropped, however this was almost impossible this time because she was not positioned well and thought it was best to let her just go as natural as possible without any further interference. April is our smallest female. I try and take video these days, here is a short clip in red light that shows and clearly picked up the sound of her trying to break up the hard rock soil. The second is with dim lighting and might be able to see better.
~ On a side note, we have seen this before with the soil and rocks, our next location we will not have this issue. I am going to have tons of good quality filtered dirt hauled in in the fields.

Do you know April’s length?

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Do you know April’s length?

~ She is our smallest female breeder @ 145 pounds & near 26".

 

[Taco*mom]

She looks small but tough!

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

60f Today

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

She looks small but tough!

~ Yes she is!

 

[Alaskamike]

I’ve really been enjoying your short vids. Nice addition. CupCake looks like a miniature April with the same shell shape. ‘Course I know she will develop & change as she ages.

Been following your development of the new property. Maybe a park? But if private - perhaps even an old customer can visit when done

Sure will be glad when this cold ( for us ) winter lets go. I hate any restriction on CupCakes outdoor grazing time.

Keep the vids coming

 

[Yvonne G]

How big is the new property, and are you keeping the old property?

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

How big is the new property, and are you keeping the old property?

~ The new location is 3.5 acres and i will sell the current one after a full transition.