and start posting . I've been visiting for ages -- especially, of course, ogling and taking screenshots of habitats. Do we ever stop building habitats? Don't answer that. -- and I was surprised when I realized that I hadn't ever created a login name.
I'm clare, I'm in northern NJ, and although I adore tortoises, I didn't know much about them when I was starting out, so I veered toward boxies. I bought my first turtle "Molly" in NYC when I was young and knew nothing -- they said it was an "Asian box turtle," easy to care for, and in my price range ~$35. I got home and realized this thing couldn't even close up, so ... definitely not a box turtle. Also, webbed feet. Hmmm ...
Mind you, this was 1995, pre-Internet. I had to buy a BOOK -- the first of many. The green Carl Ernst book led me to discover that I had a Mauremys (then Annamemys) annamensis (Vietnamese pond turtle). So...20 years later: Molly was renamed Simon when he "exposed" himself the first time he submerged fully -- yikes! -- and he's still going strong.
He was followed by a pair of African sidenecks (three babies), a pair of Chinese boxies (five babies), a female Mississippi River cooter, and a male three toed box (Samson - my profile pic). A female three-toed was brought to me as an adoption/rescue request, and a female Eastern was brought to me for rehab/rescue. Samson mates with both of these females now, and there are three babies -- I think from Martha, the Eastern.
Final count: 20 turts.
I'm clare, I'm in northern NJ, and although I adore tortoises, I didn't know much about them when I was starting out, so I veered toward boxies. I bought my first turtle "Molly" in NYC when I was young and knew nothing -- they said it was an "Asian box turtle," easy to care for, and in my price range ~$35. I got home and realized this thing couldn't even close up, so ... definitely not a box turtle. Also, webbed feet. Hmmm ...
Mind you, this was 1995, pre-Internet. I had to buy a BOOK -- the first of many. The green Carl Ernst book led me to discover that I had a Mauremys (then Annamemys) annamensis (Vietnamese pond turtle). So...20 years later: Molly was renamed Simon when he "exposed" himself the first time he submerged fully -- yikes! -- and he's still going strong.
He was followed by a pair of African sidenecks (three babies), a pair of Chinese boxies (five babies), a female Mississippi River cooter, and a male three toed box (Samson - my profile pic). A female three-toed was brought to me as an adoption/rescue request, and a female Eastern was brought to me for rehab/rescue. Samson mates with both of these females now, and there are three babies -- I think from Martha, the Eastern.
Final count: 20 turts.