Margie Pictures

tglazie

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Hi guys,

Some pictures of my margies. Big Gino is the one eating in front of his house, Little Gino is the guy I've got in my hand in extreme closeup, Lady Gino is the one laying the eggs, and the others are of various babies hatched this year and last. Oh yeah, and there's a picture of me wielding a chainsaw.

T.G.

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wellington

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All very nice looking torts. How great you still have the oldest one, that's too cool.
The chain saw pic. Little scary. Practicing for something:eek::p:D
 

Tidgy's Dad

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Thanks for posting.
Lovely torts.
But I too am a little concerned about the chainsaw pic. ;)
 

surfergirl

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beautiful! all of them. cannot wait til my Margie grows up. she is so cool now as a babe but love it when their personalities are in full bloom and they are bigger and bolder
 

Yvonne G

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Wow! Great looking group of tortoises. You do not look like how I've been picturing you. I love putting the face to the name.
 

Tom

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What is that coming from the bottom of your chainsaw? Is that an electric cord? That ain't no chainsaw!!! Chainsaws have engines! Not electric motors! :p

Your tortoises are gorgeous. Seriously. And those babies are second to none. :)

Since you've had other tortoises and have a good basis for comparison, can you describe for us what their personalities are like? Are they more like a greek, or more like an eastern hermanni? Or something else?
 

tglazie

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Thanks ya'll for the kind sentiments. Tom, I may sound like an expert level country boy, but you must understand, I've lived on bases, in cities, and in suburbs most of my life, so when it came time to get a chainsaw, I went for an option that didn't invite the possibility of taking a loin chop out of my thigh. I mean, it may not be a real chainsaw, but I managed to fell a thirty five foot tall live oak that was tearing up the shingles on the northern end of my house, so it works, at least. I also don't have a cordless drill. It is attached to a plug. Yes, shameful, I know.

As far as their personalities go, I would characterize the species, as a whole, as more reserved than Hermanns, Greeks, and Russians. I can't speak for Moroccan or other North African Graeca, but I've kept a whole host of Levantine and Turkish Ibera in my once obsessive pursuit of finding the big mean Graecus a mate, and of them, I can say that though some may have been shy for a time, most of them inevitably came out of their shells (a cliched way to put it, certainly) and eventually proved themselves to be quite aggressive. I've always found that Greeks tend to range from aggressive to berserk, with Graecus falling on the upper edge of that. I can't remember who the member was who said that his Greek tortoise had to receive chemical treatment to reduce testosterone levels, given that he would endlessly attack and patrol and never eat. I can relate to this trouble with Graecus. There are days that he won't graze, where he is utterly consumed by a rage to find and beat up on opponents. On days like this, I usually throw something that resembles a tortoise into his enclosure, and he goes nuts.

Hermanns tortoises always seem to have this boundless energy, with this endless curiosity that brings them to climb everything in their enclosure. Russians exhibit a similar characteristic. And both species, I've noticed, tend to charge at me, like miniature sulcatas, anytime I'm near them. Margies aren't like this, at least not with that sort of intensity. Margies like to watch, wary of your movements. I've noticed that the wilder the margie is, the more wary they are, which only seems natural, of course. For instance, Marge, who isn't pictured here, but I've gotta snap some, so, in due time... but yes, Marge wasn't raised by me. She was raised by this one fella who basically kept her free range on his property south of San Antonio. So yeah, she basically had a very grass and roughage heavy diet, so she grew very slowly. Her shell is incongrously pyramided, given some of the dry spells to which she was exposed as a kiddo, combined with periods of soil drenching rain. Now, Marge had very limited human contact, given that she essentially free ranged on close to an acre of property with a dozen other margies. She's taken on what the harsh South Texas scrub land has delivered and made a life for herself. So despite the fact that now she's under my care, with the broadleaf weeds growing in her enclosure and the regular meals of diced cactus and various tree and shrub leaves and flowers, she's still incredibly shy and wary. Where I will set food down in front of Gino or Joey or Lady Gino only to watch them start eating before I make my way to the next paddock, Marge tends to run back to her shelter and remain inside until she's sure I'm gone. Once she's sure of that, she will slowly creep out of her shelter, watching the fence line on alert for my possible return, and she will eat a few small bites, here and there, and she will either walk about the enclosure or return to her shelter. Regardless, she will always return to the pile of food, multiple times, until it is gone.

Little Gino is somewhat better about the shyness. He was raised indoors for the first year of life on rabbit pellets by the person from whom I purchased him, so when I got him, he was rather badly pyramided. He's gotten much better with age, to the point that he's my most solid breeding male, but I feel those early years of insecurity may have played some role in his occasional tendency toward asocial behavior, but perhaps I'm seeing patterns that aren't there. All I know is that if Little Gino decides he doesn't want to deal with you, he will run to his shelter and stay there. Food can't convince him otherwise.

Now, Big Gino and Lady Gino, both from the same breeder, brother and sister, are both exceptional examples of the species. I've had these since they were three weeks old, so I'm their human, Both of them are outgoing and eager to consume anything I put in front of them, they are both insatiably curious, and both are the big bullies of their respective peer groups. If I put the boys together, Big Gino always comes out on top, and the same can be said of Lady Gino. They are both completely intolerant of other tortoises, so in this regard, they are very much like other Testudo. However, as I've said earlier, they tend not to be as antsy as, say, a Hermanns or Russian. They will wait for the food to be placed before them, unlike Hermanns, whom I've found will often miss the food in their eagerness to get at it, and Graecus does behave this way. But Margies, they always seem so above it all, just too cool for school. I mean, their moods change, sure, and there are days when I wonder if there's a more excitable tortoise lurking beneath that cool, calm exterior. And some days you see it. For instance, last year, I poured out a bucket of rain water onto some ground near where Big Gino had been pacing, and when I did this, he hissed very loudly and charged up to me with this intensity that I don't see from him unless he's engaged in combat with Little Gino. I look at him, intrigued as to why he reacted this way, at which point he turns around and resumes his regular patrol. These guys, they're just on such an even keel that when they do break that stoic visage, it's very interesting indeed.

I hope I've explained what I perceive as behavioral differences in my tortoises and how I believe it reflects the species as a whole. I don't know. It's pretty late, and I probably should be sleeping, but what else is new?

T.G.
 

tglazie

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More pictures. First is of Joey, a "female" I got from Chris who turned out to be a truly majestic male; chickory time. Second picture is of Marge, angry that I lifted the roof on her insulated shelter to take this pic. Third is a picture of Graecus from a few years ago. The fourth and fifth picture are of Biggins (guess how big he is compared to Whitey) and Whitey (who was much lighter when she/he was smaller), two kiddos I acquired from Gary back in 2014 when he was still producing margies. Last picture is of Lady Gino tearing up some chickory.

T.G.
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surfergirl

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beautiful group! had to look at them again! thanks for sharing all the insight on their personalities. I have Hermann and Russians so I can relate to how different my Margie has been. She (maybe be a he when old enough to know) is so layed back just like you described.

I hope my girl/guy turns out as good looking as yours.
 
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