Previous Tortoise Lives

[Vishnu]

Sometimes, I wonder what my Russians lives were like previous to living with me. Did they sleep in a glass tank? Did they sleep in a tub or a tortoise table? Was the habitat bigger? Were they housed with other Russians? How old are they really? I often dream about their lives and how they lived. I know, I know obsessive but I truly love each and every one of them for different reasons. Do you ever wonder what kind of life your tortoise lived? Or do you know? If you sell your tortoise from a hatching do you follow up often?

 

[dmmj]

When I start selling my hatchlings, I would not follow up per se. I would of course like to know how they are dong and would tell the new owner to please keep me updated if they wish to do so, but I would not pester them to do so.

 

[ascott]

Yes, I have wondered this many times, especially of the CDTs here...of which I am sure were wild at one time. Then I stop myself because it saddens me. I believe by the physical condition of the RFs when they came to live with me that they were captive born....and no idea of how they were housed before me...but can only imagine..and the rufians (the RES turtles) were sold as twofers...so can only imagine their conditions before, the little girl that bought them and turned them over, they found their home with me....so I try not to imagine ...but it does happen from time to time..

 

[cemmons12]

Well I know my poor Russian Ophelia was not in the best of care before she came to be with me. She was in a small glass tank, never had a uvb light, no calcium stuff, and her diet was mainly romain. At least she did provide her a nice hide tho. Her beak was so over grown that she looked more like a bird in the face and she had parasites in her poo, and her skin was peeling everywhere! Now, with the help of the great people on this forum, she has/gets everything she needs! Love this forum and the people on here! Thanks to you all!
Cooper was only 2 months when I got him nd he was kept outside with his brothers and sisters. He was very well taken care of. Have a good night!

 

[Vishnu]

I wish happy Tortoise dreams tonight for everyone.

 

[lauren43201]

LOL, it's funny because i was just thinking this earlier today. I bought my tortoise from petco, and obviously he wasn't cared for as properly as he should of been. He was in a small tank (probably about 20 gallons) with 3 other tortoises. The light barely reached any of them, and who knows if it was a UVB and heat combined bulb. His water bowl was dried up, and once again who knows when it was last refilled. i just had to get him out of there! hahaha! But it just makes me wonder, how long he was there, and where he was before that. It's pretty sad how stores do that sort of thing just to get money. :\

 

[Yvonne G]

Chances are pretty good that a pet store Russian previous life was on the steppe of Afghanistan, living wild and free!

 

[Zamric]

Cathie has always wondered what happened to the breeder she got WalkingRock from 12 years ago. (Breeder in Southern California, in 2000 that had a sister and nephew in a Davis California Montessori School Child was 3-6 years old at the rtime)

And as for the other 2.... as long as I'm on this site, there breeders/keepers can always check up on them!

 

[Katherine]

Always! I know where many of them came from and raised alot of them from hatchling, but those that came in as rescues or "from someone who got them from some who was related to someone who's neighbor didn't want it anymore" I will never know and always wonder. Despite an effort to keep track of my hatchlings I usually loose touch with new owners after a few years... I always provide them ample ways to contact me but once the new tort is settled in I hate to 'badger' and people aren't always interested in being social.

 

[tortuga_please]

Somewhat unrelated, but whenever I'm in the pet store I always want to take the little ones they have and give them some proper space/lighting/climate/food.

 

[cherylim]

I do feel the same. I know how Emrys lived directly before me - he was pet-shop bought, and lived with three siblings in a small, dry glass tank with sand substrate and no water (the shop has since kitted out all been re-modelled so they now have larger vivs and soil). He was very lively and active in the shop, and had very little trouble adapting when I brought him home, but he does have some pre-existing pyramiding.

In particular, his shell goes through one stage that was clearly worse than the rest (approximately 3/4 of the way through), and I do wonder what his life was like when that bit grew! He's not too bad at all, but it's clear someone wasn't looking after him properly.