First Tortoise

[Tom]

Got my first box turtle 31 years ago. Tommy Turtle. Then the vet said it was Thomasena. Then later, after it had an erection, we knew for sure if was Tommy turtle. Started working with tortoises 7 years later at the age of 14, in 1986. Got my first sulcata in 1991. Been in love with them ever since...

 

[jackrat]

I had box turtles at different times during my childhood,starting at about 9 years old. In 1983,when I was 18,I got an antique wild caught male redfoot we named speedy.

 

[Yvonne G]

i am 15 years old almost 16 yay
and i have 2 greeks that i got at a CA herp show for 120 (both)

Hi TLL:

Welcome to the forum!! Marty333 is a youngster too. Please take a few moments to go to the "introduction" forum and tell us about you and your tortoise. (and your name )

 

[Marty333]

i am 15 years old almost 16 yay
and i have 2 greeks that i got at a CA herp show for 120 (both)

Hi TLL:

Welcome to the forum!! Marty333 is a youngster too. Please take a few moments to go to the "introduction" forum and tell us about you and your tortoise. (and your name )

Yvonne you can call me Marta (since you like to know peoples name) and its nice to have someone my exact age

 

[Yvonne G]

Yvonne you can call me Marta (since you like to know peoples name) and its nice to have someone my exact age

Hi Marta:

(Of course I know your name!!! I have an EXCEL spreadsheet with all user names/real names on it!. I'm just a little bit OCD)


I used your Username so TLL would know who I was talking about.

 

[Marty333]

Yvonne you can call me Marta (since you like to know peoples name) and its nice to have someone my exact age

Hi Marta:

(Of course I know your name!!! I have an EXCEL spreadsheet with all user names/real names on it!. I'm just a little bit OCD)


I used your Username so TLL would know who I was talking about.

Lol oh I get it now I was wondering why you werent using my name because you usually use peoples names but I get it now! Dumb blonde moment

 

[Neal]

3-toed box turtle when I was 12ish. I had an adult pair actually and kept them in a 10 gallon aquarium and fed them a diet of tomatoes and hard boiled eggs. They would get sun every morning in a 10" by 10" rubbermaid tub, and that was it. Boy have I evolved since then. I wised up over the years and managed to keep them alive, then sold them 5 years ago when I got married and used the cash to buy my first Babcocki. 11 babcocki's and 3 indian stars later here I am!

 

[DeanS]

My brother and I were in grade school. Not sure on the year, maybe 20-22 years ago ( I am 29 now). A desert tortoise wandered into our yard and we kept him. He was with us until 2002 when his burrow collapsed while hibernating

My story is similar (but with a happier ending...I think)! I was 20 when a 15-20 pound CDT found its way into my yard! It was the end of fall! I remember this because we hung out for about 2 weeks...he ate a ton of grass and roses then he made his way under the house (elevated floorplan with those screened crawlspaces throughout). I kept waiting for him to come out but he didn't. I'd shine a flashlight under the house and I could see him in the back corner...everyday I checked when I got home from school...and he'd be there. Then came that day in March when I didn't see him under the house or anywhere in the yard...it was a little heartbreaking, but I was glad he chose my place to hibernate!

 

[Laura]

I had a turtle when i was about 10.. it died not too long after.. Timothy.. Buried him under a tree in the yard.. Then had a Feed Store and sold a few boxies.. when it closed, I took them home.. That was about 15 years ago... they are both gone now.. Then worked at a Vet and was given a Hingeback someone no longer wanted.. I gave her away about 3 years ago to someone who could care for her better.. that was when I found the forum...learned I wasnt doing so well caring for her.. while searching for info on her type and care I found Sulcatas.. Fell in love and started building.. now have four. All rescues. All male. Oh, and I also have a russian that at first I thought was a desert tort.. but soon learned about them too! Thank goodness for internet and this FORUM!

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

i am 15 years old almost 16 yay
and i have 2 greeks that i got at a CA herp show for 120 (both)

Hi TLL:

Welcome to the forum!! Marty333 is a youngster too. Please take a few moments to go to the "introduction" forum and tell us about you and your tortoise. (and your name )

Yvonne you can call me Marta (since you like to know peoples name) and its nice to have someone my exact age

We were all once your age, Marta!

Of course, in a few cases, mine included, dinosaurs still ruled the earth...

 

[laura808]

i am 15 years old almost 16 yay
and i have 2 greeks that i got at a CA herp show for 120 (both)

Hi TLL:

Welcome to the forum!! Marty333 is a youngster too. Please take a few moments to go to the "introduction" forum and tell us about you and your tortoise. (and your name )

Yes!!! Im so happy that theres people almost the same age as me here. What did your parents say about getting your tortoises? I had to beg my mom and dad but now they love him.

 

[Balboa]

Most of you probably already read the story,

I think I must have been 7 or 8 when I had first Timmy, then Bettina, Ornate Box Turtles .. (thanks Dan )

Now I'm 37, so 30 years later to try again, except this time with Torts. Had I known how much I enjoy them it would have likely come sooner, but I was scared to take the plunge. It took someone handing me one in need for me to do it.

 

[lwrr]

i was 16 when i went to get a Russian tortoise. when we got to the pet store my father decided she was going to be lonely so we got a male and a female. i am now 28 and i still have the male{ Walter} unfortunately my girl {Aurora} passed last April while i was on vacation. my bro was watching her and she got impacted with an egg. then about a month later i got a call from a friend while i was at work. she works at the library. she asked me if i would want a Russian tortoise. of course i said yes. the story was that her friend was going to take a hike in the woods. same place i walk my dogs every day. and when she pulled in to the parking lot she saw something walking up the path. she got out to see what it was, and it was a tortoise. she brought it to the DCR {Department of Conservation and Recreation} to see what it was. she did not know. they told her it was a Russian tortoise and that is did not belong in the woods. so she brought it to the library to do some research on her and that's when my friend told her i had some, and might take her. so i now have 2 again i miss Aurora very much but at least Walter has a friend again. he was very lonely. we call her Aurora 2. i am glad she found her because where she was a lot of people walk there dogs. i walk my 4 there. and i live a few miles north of Boston to cold during the winter.

 

[Marty333]

i am 15 years old almost 16 yay
and i have 2 greeks that i got at a CA herp show for 120 (both)

Hi TLL:

Welcome to the forum!! Marty333 is a youngster too. Please take a few moments to go to the "introduction" forum and tell us about you and your tortoise. (and your name )

Yes!!! Im so happy that theres people almost the same age as me here. What did your parents say about getting your tortoises? I had to beg my mom and dad but now they love him.

I had to do no begging. me and my dad went to a reptile show and got him ( he kept on saying he wasn't going to get me a tortoise but he then fell in love) of course my mom didnt know of our little plans and was a little upset when she saw that I brought home an animal because she hates reptiles but I already got her to admit he is cute

 

[laura808]

Oh wow! your dad is so cool lol. I cant even have a dog, due to no fence.!

 

[Badgemash]

We got the first pair (the babcocki) when I was 26 and the hubby was 27 (only earlier this year, he's still 27). I'd had reptiles for years but these are my first torts. I have to admit they're way cooler than any other non-mammal I've ever had (can't say anything bad against the horses, even when they dump me on the ground). They just have the coolest little personalities! I've loved having the opportunity to watch them grow and learn and be ridiculously adorable.

-Devon

 

[laura808]

yes! i cant wait till i get more torts!

 

[travisgn]

Great thread.

I just got my pair of russians in June of this year. I wanted some kind of pet but I'm not really crazy about mammals. Not as pets, anyway, they are fascinating in the wild, though.

My family had a box turtle for 15 years when I was a kid. It died when I was about 16 (25 now).

 

[chairman]

My first tortoise was a Home's Hingeback that I got while I was a sophomore in college. It was in the neighborhood of 2002, which would have put me at about 19.