Hello,
I'm Steve Ford from south central Pennsylvania.
I'm a newbie to this forum but not to tortises!
I got hooked as a 5 year old when my mother took me to Turtleback Zoo in Orange, NJ and I got to take a ride on the back of a Galapogos Tortise - that was it!
Soon I had the poor red eared sliders from Woolworths (and their ant egg food?!), box turtles, soft shell turtles, you name it.
That was 48 years ago and since then I've had quite a few tortises: Leopard, Red Foot, Yellow Foot, Sulcata and one Hingeback.
I had the misfortune of boarding my tortises at a reptile shelter a few years back and they housed them with sick box turtles which I wasn't aware of. Whatever it was they caught there ended up killing three of my Leopard Tortises which was heartbreaking. No matter what the vets tried it didn't work. Runny nose syndrome, I believe it's called.
I still have my buddy, Tromper, a great male Leopard who must be in his 30s by now. He's owned me for 20 years now.
I also have two really nutty Red Foots, Max and Amy, who can be even more personable than Tromper. I've had them since hatchlings and they're still young, maybe 8 or 9 years old.
Tromper appears to have avoided the horrible plague which killed off my other Leopards so this Spring I'll see if I can't find a good sized female to keep him company.
I also have quite a few boas, pythons and monitors which are all great but tortises are my first love.
At any rate, that's me.
I'm Steve Ford from south central Pennsylvania.
I'm a newbie to this forum but not to tortises!
I got hooked as a 5 year old when my mother took me to Turtleback Zoo in Orange, NJ and I got to take a ride on the back of a Galapogos Tortise - that was it!
Soon I had the poor red eared sliders from Woolworths (and their ant egg food?!), box turtles, soft shell turtles, you name it.
That was 48 years ago and since then I've had quite a few tortises: Leopard, Red Foot, Yellow Foot, Sulcata and one Hingeback.
I had the misfortune of boarding my tortises at a reptile shelter a few years back and they housed them with sick box turtles which I wasn't aware of. Whatever it was they caught there ended up killing three of my Leopard Tortises which was heartbreaking. No matter what the vets tried it didn't work. Runny nose syndrome, I believe it's called.
I still have my buddy, Tromper, a great male Leopard who must be in his 30s by now. He's owned me for 20 years now.
I also have two really nutty Red Foots, Max and Amy, who can be even more personable than Tromper. I've had them since hatchlings and they're still young, maybe 8 or 9 years old.
Tromper appears to have avoided the horrible plague which killed off my other Leopards so this Spring I'll see if I can't find a good sized female to keep him company.
I also have quite a few boas, pythons and monitors which are all great but tortises are my first love.
At any rate, that's me.
