Breeders...

[KarenSoCal]

@Tom @Will
and anyone else who breeds torts...
Most of us members, I think, generally have just 1 or 2 torts that we love, consider pets, lavish attention on, and mostly do our best to make sure said torts live lives of luxury.
Those of you who breed torts, whether vocation or avocation...do you have favorites? Ones you consider pets? Have named? Are really fond of?
I didn't include @ALDABRAMAN in this because I already know his answer! He names them all and loves them all! [emoji2][emoji173]

 

[TechnoCheese]

@Tom @Will
and anyone else who breeds torts...
Most of us members, I think, generally have just 1 or 2 torts that we love, consider pets, lavish attention on, and mostly do our best to make sure said torts live lives of luxury.
Those of you who breed torts, whether vocation or avocation...do you have favorites? Ones you consider pets? Have named? Are really fond of?
I didn't include @ALDABRAMAN in this because I already know his answer! He names them all and loves them all! [emoji2][emoji173]

I’ve had this question too!

 

[wellington]

I'm going to make a guess. Tom and Yvonne's are all named and they have favorites. Except maybe the ones Yvonne has up for adoption, I'm guessing they keep the names they came with.
I think Will has some named but also uses numbers. Doesn't have a favorite, but they all have a favorite species. I agree with you on Greg.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

I’ve had my torts for better then 18 yrs .I have Leopards , Marginals,Russians , Greeks , Egyptians, Pancakes, Herman’s ,Az Desert Torts , and Boxturtles ! Some have names . And I love them all ! I can sit and watch them for hours . And I hope your not trieing to say I don’t care about them . And I don’t sell them to people cause they are like my kids ! I wouldn’t want mine to go to people that would say they love them and then try to kill them or hurt them by having a dog with them or run around the house . Or feed them watermelon or other fruits . Yes they are all outside to get fresh air and all separate enclosures ! So please don’t imply cause I have baby’s I don’t care about or don’t love my torts !

 

[Tom]

Mine all have names. All are like pets to me. I know all their habits and personalities and quirks. With the exception of my sulcata, Goldie, and my friend's adult radiata that live with me, I raised them all from hatchlings. If anything were to happen to any of them I would feel utterly devastated. I can't say I have favorites, but I do have favorite moments. Like every time I dig up a giant clutch of 30+ perfectly formed large eggs after Daisy makes a nest, or when I go to lock up the door on a warm summer night, and discover V-neck is not in the box because she's out digging another nest, or when Mr. Blue or Mr. Green come charging at me on sight when I have the audacity to invade their territory… again, or when I discover Tuck following me around hoping for a handout, or when you catch a moment like this:



We've talked about the evolution of the hobbyist, and I've read about it from Philippe De Vosjoli too. Many start out with just one, and learn the ropes while loving their pet. Some like it so much that they get additional animals and maintain a small assorted menagerie. A few enjoy their menagerie so much, and become well versed and skilled in husbandry of their chosen species, and want to take things further. Large naturalistic enclosures and either breeding groups, or breeding programs for species like chameleons that can't or shouldn't live in groups. They spend their waking (and sometimes dreaming hours too…) obsessing over every detail of care, feeding, and housing with the unattainable goal of reaching perfection. This is me. Words cannot describe the sense of satisfaction and elation I feel on big tortoise days where every enclosure has a clean night box, clean water, a big pile of homegrown food, and a bunch of "happy" tortoises walking around doing their thing while I watch. It is a daily challenge managing all the details, fighting off the wildlife in the area, tending to all the tortoise crops, keeping the enclosures maintained, solving problems, fixing hinges, making sure hay and supplies are ordered, and generally staying not only on top of things, but ahead of the game. And I'm only talking about managing the adult herds here.

Managing all the babies is a whole 'nother ballgame. Daily soaks and sunning, cleaning up leftover food, cleaning and refilling all the waters, keeping track of weights and growth, managing temps and humidity in each enclosure, selling them when the time comes… That is a job in itself. I love it all.

This is why I literally laugh out loud when some ignoramus makes the statement that breeders are money oriented and only in it for profit because they are greedy and don't care about the animals. That statement is not only false, it is stupid. Nobody would do all the things that have to be done and make their entire life revolve around these animals if they didn't love the animals and love what they are doing. The whole notion is absurd. It takes a tremendous amount of drive and passion to function at that level.

I would still do this, and enjoy the heck out of it, if I was all alone. That is exactly what I did before there were forums, and before there was an internet. But having a community of like minded people and friends to share this with and learn from, people to share tragedy and triumph with, well.. that makes it even more enjoyable for me. Every time I read a post from Will explaining some aspect of nutrition or the scientific aspects, or Mark talking about lighting or enclosure construction or pyramiding, or Iochroma IDing plants, or Mr. Zovickian sharing his decades of knowledge with us, or our members from other countries sharing their native tortoises, or another noob who is right on the verge of discovering just how awesome these animals and this hobby really is… Man, all of it is just fantastic.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Those of you who breed torts, whether vocation or avocation...do you have favorites? // I didn't include @ALDABRAMAN in this because I already know his answer! He names them all and loves them all!

~ All except the hatchlings.

 

[KarenSoCal]

I’ve had my torts for better then 18 yrs .I have Leopards , Marginals,Russians , Greeks , Egyptians, Pancakes, Herman’s ,Az Desert Torts , and Boxturtles ! Some have names . And I love them all ! I can sit and watch them for hours . And I hope your not trieing to say I don’t care about them . And I don’t sell them to people cause they are like my kids ! I wouldn’t want mine to go to people that would say they love them and then try to kill them or hurt them by having a dog with them or run around the house . Or feed them watermelon or other fruits . Yes they are all outside to get fresh air and all separate enclosures ! So please don’t imply cause I have baby’s I don’t care about or don’t love my torts !

@Grandpa Turtle 144
Oh my goodness! I am so sorry my post seems to have been written in a way you found to be negative or accusing.
I read all your posts, and know that you love your torts, and care for them very well. I certainly did not mean to imply anything to the contrary, to you or anyone else.
I have a community tropical aquarium...some fish are named, and some are not, but they are all cared for.
I merely wondered if folks with many torts name them all.
If I offended you, I apologize.

 

[KarenSoCal]

Mine all have names. All are like pets to me. I know all their habits and personalities and quirks.// how awesome these animals and this hobby really is… Man, all of it is just fantastic.

Tom, thank you for this inspiring response!
It should be stickied to the breeding section of the forum for anyone who thinks breeding anything responsibly is easy.
I loved hearing the names of your herd, especially V-neck!
Again, thanks for an awesome post!

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

@Grandpa Turtle 144
Oh my goodness! I am so sorry my post seems to have been written in a way you found to be negative or accusing.
I read all your posts, and know that you love your torts, and care for them very well. I certainly did not mean to imply anything to the contrary, to you or anyone else.
I have a community tropical aquarium...some fish are named, and some are not, but they are all cared for.
I merely wondered if folks with many torts name them all.
If I offended you, I apologize.

Thank you for your concern, I was offended but I didn’t think you rote it to offend me . But I didn’t want anyone to think we tort lovers are just money hungry . We do love our torts and work real hard to keep them happy . And spend a lot careing for them . And again thank you for your concern. [emoji217]

 

[KarenSoCal]

~ All except the hatchlings.

Yes, once something is named, it's yours.