ALDABRA TORTOISE BREEDER

[wellington]

I wonder if it was the lack of human attention, with the way they seem to love interacting with you two. Space, or being with only other males? Hmmm
Without any more details from the vet, the zoo sure couldn't do much to help the poor thing, if he was depressed.
Have you been back there since you got him to notice any difference in the two left?
What is the kid thing? Letting them into let them or did they let them ride them?
Glad he's doing great with you. Lucky one.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Have you been back there since you got him to notice any difference in the two left?

~ We have not. I have often contemplated calling to see if he would sell a second or a third, however based on his strong "no" last time i just feel like it would be of no use.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

What is the kid thing? Letting them into let them or did they let them ride them?

~ We were told that they had large parties wit them, letting many kids interact with them, ride them, etc.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Glad he's doing great with you.

~ He is doing fantastic!

 

[wellington]

Yeah, I would imagine though if they wanted to sell they would contact you first, knowing you wanted all of them.
I can't imagine having a bunch of kids around them at once. Kids can't move slow or be careful enough. I can imagine all the times the torts were probably jerking their heads and/or legs in from being startled.
Hopefully they don't have memories like elephants.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Kids can't move slow or be careful enough.

~ We have found that young kids simply don't listen these days and when they visit our program we constantly micro manage them, some times we actually will not let them inside with our adult population.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

did they let them ride them?

 

[wellington]

See, I'm not about that. A little kid maybe. An adult I don't think so. But, I don't know what they can do.
What do you think? Do you think they are fine with being ridden and that they are built good enough for it?

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

What do you think? Do you think they are fine with being ridden and that they are built good enough for it?

~ My thoughts and opinions have changed over the years, our current thoughts are that it is bad for them, they were not designed to be ridden.

 

[BevSmith]

Such a beautiful sanctuary for these sweet creatures. Absolutely breathtaking. Can’t wait to see it when it’s complete.

 

[JustClick]

View attachment 230873

I’ve interacted with the large aldabra at Gatorland and their setup is similar. It would be nice if they would section off parts of the enclosure to allow atleast some vegetation to grow. Seems like a simple fix to get some natural foraging behavior.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Such a beautiful sanctuary for these sweet creatures. Absolutely breathtaking. Can’t wait to see it when it’s complete.

~ Thank you, you are welcome anytime!

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

I’ve interacted with the large aldabra at Gatorland and their setup is similar. It would be nice if they would section off parts of the enclosure to allow atleast some vegetation to grow. Seems like a simple fix to get some natural foraging behavior.

~ Right, many zoos simply limit space for the tortoise pens.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

02-20-2018
​

 

[Oxalis]

~ Yes, he was labelled clinically depressed by the zoo veterinarian.

View attachment 230790 View attachment 230791

That breaks my heart! I can relate with depression, unfortunately. I'm sending a virtual hug to him! I'm betting that just seeing more space cheers him up a lot. You can spend more time monitoring his interactions with humans too.

I’ve interacted with the large aldabra at Gatorland and their setup is similar. It would be nice if they would section off parts of the enclosure to allow atleast some vegetation to grow. Seems like a simple fix to get some natural foraging behavior.

I totally agree! Why not try to make it look for more natural for goodness sake?! Silly humans...

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Cowboy

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

 

[Oxalis]

Cowboy
View attachment 231363

I could definitely cuddle dinosaurs for a living.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

I could definitely cuddle dinosaurs for a living.

~ Dreams can come true, hard work and determination!