I just introduced myself , but then.....

[Alaskamike]

#4. People ask me how my tortoise was " Started".
I know , this probably seems an odd question. You got your baby from a breeder , or a pet store , or off Craigs list. How would you know? It was an egg , then it hatched , then someone sold it to you. Isn't that how they all start ?
Well , yes and no. The experienced breeders here ( and there are many) have discovered that the first few months of a baby torts life are critical to its survivability and long term health. They ask that question for several reasons
- to learn themselves about what kinds of conditions might cause certain problems
- to know how to advise you from this point forward.
Babies that are started too dry often have problems. And not all breeders know this ( yet). It's getting better all the time.
They may also ask you where you got the tortoise - not to criticize you but to learn themselves. Don't be offended.

 

[Lexiii]

Even the admins (who said they have bachelors in biology and animal sciences and the one is a vet tech *eye roll*) are giving out bad info. The one just commented on a post saying the compact bulbs were fine and that I was wrong.

There is a whole lot of stupidity over on Facebook.

 

[Angel Carrion]

There is a whole lot of stupidity over on Facebook.

Soooooooo much agreeeeeeee

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

There is a whole lot of stupidity over on Facebook.

What is “The FaceBook" you post of?

 

[Angel Carrion]

What is “The FaceBook" you post of?

A place where stupid people think they know everything and don't listen to the people that actually do know what they're talking about more so than them.

 

[Lexiii]

A place where stupid people think they know everything and don't listen to the people that actually do know what they're talking about more so than them.

That about sums it up.

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

What is “The FaceBook" you post of?

Shhh... It knows when someone's easy prey.

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

I never thought about it this way. Thank you for the new perspective

 

[dmmj]

There is a whole lot of stupidity over on Facebook.

just Facebook? don't you mean the Internet in general?

 

[ZEROPILOT]

There is another newby leaving us as we speak (from the U.K.)
I just sent her a P.M. to try to get her to stay. I believe she found some of the help she received to be hostile.
Shame, really, because she can use our help.

 

[dmmj]

Hostel? or blunt?

 

[Angel Carrion]

It's the lady with the thread "Tortoise and dog??"

 

[CourtneyG]

#5
Tortoises in the wild mostly live alone and normally only come together when mating. Groups can be kept together, but they require large spaces to roam around and not feel like they are bing crowded by each other, which can lead to fighting. But large spaces for most people is not practical for them to do, so they have small enclosures which would suite one tortoise fine, but two tortoises over time would start to fight with each other.
We humans are social creatures and it is easy for us to view that all creatures are social too, and we want our pets to have friends to keep them company and not feel lonely, which is great for a dog, but with reptiles it is not so great. They are perfectly happy being alone.

#6
Tortoises are great at hiding, and in a house that can mean a dangerouse thing. Many pet tortoises and other small pets can easily disappear in the house and never be found till they start to stink. Also things are on the floor they might eat or come in contact with that can be dangerouse to their health. Being vigilant is great, bit all it takes is one quick glance away for them to disappear. Getting yelled at by other members is not them yelling at you, despite how the text might be perceived, but warning to not do that and prevent a sad tragedy.

#7
Your pet can be the most amazingly well trained being on the world, but unfortunatly they are an animal that still let's many of their instincts dictate their life, not saying humans do that to, but for them a small animal like a young tortoise is food or something to be played with. There are some strange cases where tortoises and other animals get along, but those cases are extremly rare. It is easier to not try mixing with other animals at all and prevent a death. Babies don't have the dexterity to handle things gently, a small tortoise can be easily damaged by an excited baby throwing him. Also a baby can be damaged by a large tortoise ramming them, again this is a wild animal, they have behaviors we don't fully understand.

#8
This is to prevent disease issues and unwanted Hybridization. Tortoise that come from different stores, land, breeders, etc have a great chance of of carrying something that works fine with them, but can kill others who are not used to or never been exposed to that disease. Like west nile virus, I am from Africa and the virus does not bother me at all, but Amerikans who catch it get very sick and some die. The immune system and disease can live together in harmony, but that takes generation to achieve, introduce it to a new host, it goes nuts by not knowing what to do.
Hybridization on the other hand is unwanted for the most part since it destroys breed lines and in some cases is not natural.

#9
Don't feel like a bad parent, the information out there is outdated and a lot of people believed and some do still belive that humidity is bad for a hatchlings health. Many of the members here on the forum who have had torts for a long time also have some that are pyrimided, and that's because they did not know better. We make mistakes, but as long as we learn from and correct those mistakes it shows we care about our tortoise and want the best for them.
Never feel bad about posting picks of your scaley baby, if you want to you can easily post that you are aware of the pyramiding and working on correcting it.

#10
The question for all those things being asked for is because you might have caused the illness unintentionally.
The questions for all the temps is to make sure that they are within the healthy safe range for the species. To high or to low can cause all sorts of wrong things for your baby.
Humidity can be a finicky thing, too high or too low is bad for your tort, hatchlings all need humidity, but only to certain percent, too high can cause a respritory infection, especially if it is coupled with a too cold enclosure.
Your torts environment can explain a lot, so it's important we get all the info we can to help you.

Sometimes advice can sound hostile or criticizing over the internet, but the people do have the best interest in mind for your scaley baby, I also know exactly how you and other newbies might feel after I joined another website for leopard geckos.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Hostel? or blunt?

Blunt. Not mean spirited.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

It's the lady with the thread "Tortoise and dog??"

Yes.

 

[Yvonne G]

There is another newby leaving us as we speak (from the U.K.)
I just sent her a P.M. to try to get her to stay. I believe she found some of the help she received to be hostile.
Shame, really, because she can use our help.

I'm afraid I might be the guilty party here. She just kept going on and on about the same problem, getting more and more help, but not seeming to take any of it to heart. She just sounded like a troll to me. If I was wrong, I'll apologise, but so far she hasn't posted any pictures of her habitat. Just makes me wonder.

 

[wellington]

There is another newby leaving us as we speak (from the U.K.)
I just sent her a P.M. to try to get her to stay. I believe she found some of the help she received to be hostile.
Shame, really, because she can use our help.

I have pm'd her the other day. Trying to convince her to stay. I also tried to explain how some come across a little hard, but only because there is so much passion for torts, and a newbie coming on with a dog story, well that gets to a lot of people. I think she is not understanding the forum language too much right now. When you can't hear the tone in a voice or the facial expressions, it's easy to think people are being rude. I think she will stay to read the info, she just may not post anymore. I have read the posts, and except being a little hard on her grandmother, I don't see where anyone was harsh, just to the point, after the posts of trying to be fair to grandma didn't work. Some members might just be a little too sensitive to understand the passion of some people and the concern they have for all involved in a situation.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

I'm afraid I might be the guilty party here. She just kept going on and on about the same problem, getting more and more help, but not seeming to take any of it to heart. She just sounded like a troll to me. If I was wrong, I'll apologise, but so far she hasn't posted any pictures of her habitat. Just makes me wonder.

Cheer up we try to help but some want us to blame the torts !

 

[Angel Carrion]

I have pm'd her the other day. Trying to convince her to stay. I also tried to explain how some come across a little hard, but only because there is so much passion for torts, and a newbie coming on with a dog story, well that gets to a lot of people. I think she is not understanding the forum language too much right now. When you can't hear the tone in a voice or the facial expressions, it's easy to think people are being rude. I think she will stay to read the info, she just may not post anymore. I have read the posts, and except being a little hard on her grandmother, I don't see where anyone was harsh, just to the point, after the posts of trying to be fair to grandma didn't work. Some members might just be a little too sensitive to understand the passion of some people and the concern they have for all involved in a situation.

I think it was because of the people saying her grandmother was crazy and such. While she hates that her grandmother wouldn't listen and kept putting the dog with her tortoise and allowing the scratches on the shell, she still loves her grandmother and felt like an attack on her was an attack on herself maybe. I can understand that. My mother is a complete control freak that flips out on me often over little or non-existent things and when really pissed tells me either the animals have to be gone by the end of the week or I'm kicked out (I can't afford my own place so I'm renting her house since she's living with her boyfriend in his apartment. Kind of a win-win because I take care of her dog since her boyfriend doesn't like him). Even though I realize and acknowledge her controlling behaviors (calls me at least daily to know where I am, what I'm doing, who am I with, why aren't I home yet, etc) and such, I still get defensive and upset if someone else (especially my fathers side of the family-like any of them have room to talk! He abused me in different ways and his mother has said it was my fault and is so very manipulative and loves doing guilt trips and screwing with your emotions etc) starts saying she's nuts and I need to get away from her etc. I mean, I realize and acknowledge the fact that this situation isn't exactly healthy for me, but I also realize her threats are bluffs and her anger will blow over eventually. I just need to wait it out. Plus, I do rescue work for wildlife and some for pets. She has a house with a yard. So much easier to do what I need for the animals when I don't have to worry about a lease and a landlord with a limit on 'pets'. Especially with my very tight finances. But even with all that, she's still my mother. She tries. She doesn't often succeed, but she tries. That's a lot more than anyone else in my family has ever done. So when someone starts saying how she's crazy and what have you, I get upset and often can't hear the concern for me in what they're saying (if there is any concern). All I hear is them attacking the woman that raised me and my brother as best she could with what little we had and no help from her ex-husband or anyone else. It immediately makes me jump to her defense, even if just a minute ago I was griping about having just gotten off the phone with her yelling at me because I went to my friends house for a little even though I rarely leave the house for anything other than necessity.
So I understand her anger.
Do I make sense?

 

[Angel Carrion]

View attachment 145360
Cheer up we try to help but some want us to blame the torts !

She wasn't wanting people to blame the torts, and she wasn't blaming her tort either. She was completely blaming her grandmother and the dog. The reason she got upset was because of people bad-mouthing her grandmother and implying she was abused by the grandmother.
I did it too when my emotions over her grandmothers actions got the better of me, so I'm just as much to blame as everyone else. But she didn't start getting upset until after people started going off on the grandmother. Maybe all of us should take this as a learning experience and try to better control how our emotions affect what we say. The points made were good, but the way they were worded could have been better. I've had this lesson slapped in my face a couple times this week, although the other time I don't feel bad about anymore because it turns out the person was a troll.