Hey guys,
Here is the craigslist find of the century. She is a 2317 gram, 9.5 inch female Indotestudo forstenii that has lived in CT for over 15 years, since being imported in the late 90s. She was presumed to be a male until now. She was kept by a woman for over 10 years who thought she was a Russian Agrionemys horsfiledii. She was then sold to a man who knew "he" wasn't a Russian, but couldn't quite figure out what she was.
This new owner posted "him" for rehoming on craigslist and someone on another forum saw the ad and reposted it. At that time, someone who really knows their forstenii ;-) sent me a text and told me to act fast. I called the man that morning and made it happen When I got there, he puled her out from her hide, that was on the cool side for this species, and she could barley open her eyes yet, but she was eating from his finger.
I have her now, set up in a large tub and she seems to be doing well. She is eating and drinking, and feels nice and heavy. She will be moved to a Dr in June, at which point she will go through a rigorous quarantine period, and given various tests, before being moved to one of the most important breeding groups for the species.
She is a huge girl. In addition to her impressive size, she also has a nuchal scute, which is almost always present on smaller specimens. She is a special animal on many levels, and a special story. As much as hate craigslist 95% of the time I look there, this experience has got me wanting to look there more.
I'll be making a youtube video about her story in the coming weeks.
Thanks for looking!
Here is the craigslist find of the century. She is a 2317 gram, 9.5 inch female Indotestudo forstenii that has lived in CT for over 15 years, since being imported in the late 90s. She was presumed to be a male until now. She was kept by a woman for over 10 years who thought she was a Russian Agrionemys horsfiledii. She was then sold to a man who knew "he" wasn't a Russian, but couldn't quite figure out what she was.
This new owner posted "him" for rehoming on craigslist and someone on another forum saw the ad and reposted it. At that time, someone who really knows their forstenii ;-) sent me a text and told me to act fast. I called the man that morning and made it happen When I got there, he puled her out from her hide, that was on the cool side for this species, and she could barley open her eyes yet, but she was eating from his finger.
I have her now, set up in a large tub and she seems to be doing well. She is eating and drinking, and feels nice and heavy. She will be moved to a Dr in June, at which point she will go through a rigorous quarantine period, and given various tests, before being moved to one of the most important breeding groups for the species.
She is a huge girl. In addition to her impressive size, she also has a nuchal scute, which is almost always present on smaller specimens. She is a special animal on many levels, and a special story. As much as hate craigslist 95% of the time I look there, this experience has got me wanting to look there more.
I'll be making a youtube video about her story in the coming weeks.
Thanks for looking!