Some of the aquatics

tortadise

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The tanks are blooming and establishing nicely.

The unifilis
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They take basking seriously.
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The large Mata Mata loves his palm coverage. Pulled this guy off the palm where the Owls nest. You can hear the little owlings. It's about 80' tall. As you can see this palm leaf is quite large to fill a 350 gallon tank. Need another one though. It's starting to wilt.
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tortadise

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Set up some bigger but smaller tanks for the Chinese strip necks, smaller reeves, and smaller Mata matas too.
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Kapidolo Farms

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Great stuff Kelly. I too find the reevesi to be hilarious animals! A very, very underrated turtle for sure.
As a young kid the Reeve's were the alternate to the RES at the 5&dime. Very common in pet shops in the early 60's.

On the Matamata you can put cypress in the water, it will eventually get water logged and sink, then they hide in plain sight as the wood and the turtle shell look the same. The turtles know it and find security with that as a tank substrate. I saw this at the Buffalo Zoo many years ago. It works well. Floating hyacinth in their water also works and helps filter too. I see it in some of your other images.
 

tortadise

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As a young kid the Reeve's were the alternate to the RES at the 5&dime. Very common in pet shops in the early 60's.

On the Matamata you can put cypress in the water, it will eventually get water logged and sink, then they hide in plain sight as the wood and the turtle shell look the same. The turtles know it and find security with that as a tank substrate. I saw this at the Buffalo Zoo many years ago. It works well. Floating hyacinth in their water also works and helps filter too. I see it in some of your other images.

Yes indeed. I'm currently rinsing some large logs. Also hyacinths I have them in a cracked stock tank outside and rinse/change the water every day for a week then place them in the tanks. Can't be too certain what they have on them from the native canals. I expedited the ones that were ready into the unifilis as they're main diet currently is the hyacinth.
 

tortadise

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Reeve's are surely more rare in the wild than unifilis. The non-native species on the ESA were put their in its inception, and many of those species make no sense. There are so many species whom are more rare than species like unifilis, Pangshura tecta, and Geoclemys hamiltonii. And I am talking about in the wild, not in captivity. Doesn't make any sense at all. At least CBW permits for non-natives are easy to get.

Cool to see you over here talking aquatics, Kelly. I just got a group of japonica, too. I am working with nigricans, annamensis and japonica in that genus now. Really grateful to have that opportunity :)
I completely agree 100%. A lot does mirror from international issues that were sparked in the 79s-80s unifilis are still heavily harvested for meat. But luckily they lay large numbers of eggs and grow quite quickly to sexual maturity. Reeves are very cool too. I'm primarily focusing on species that are endangered and or critical for future need of conservation. Japonica are cool. I have no interest in them. Most of the rarity for that species comes from lack of export and nation treasure of that species in Japan. Many contacts I have in Japan see pleatheras of them in the wild. They do see alotnof habitat loss though.

Another prime example of a species that gets very little attention in the trade and conservation are sidenecks. They're such a very unique species that requires a specific eco system in the dryer parts of Argentina that is rapidly declining due to africultural expansion and cattle destroying the shallows reeds of the ponds in which they live. It's much like the African frogs in which they lay eggs and the ponds dry up and the frog has to dig a canal for the tadpoles to make it down streem at the beginning of the dry seasons in central and Eastern Africa. Sidenecks under go a very similar climactic reliance on dry and dormant seasons to aestivat in the shallow mud reeds in which are destroyed. But yah know the market and hobby always depicts and displays what's "rare".
 

Anthony P

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I was referring to Mauremys japonica. To my knowledge, it was only Geoemyda japonica that was listed as a national treasure. I think you've gotten the two mixed up. I keep both, with Geoemyda japonica being one of my favorite species. I agree though, they cannot be considered a conservation project given their situation and history. Anyone who says otherwise might be wearing hobbyist goggles that make them impervious to keeping a grip on reality.
 

enchilada

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As a young kid the Reeve's were the alternate to the RES at the 5&dime. Very common in pet shops in the early 60's.

On the Matamata you can put cypress in the water, it will eventually get water logged and sink, then they hide in plain sight as the wood and the turtle shell look the same. The turtles know it and find security with that as a tank substrate. I saw this at the Buffalo Zoo many years ago. It works well. Floating hyacinth in their water also works and helps filter too. I see it in some of your other images.
what happened after the 60s? why production of reeves dropped so much?
 

enchilada

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I was referring to Mauremys japonica. To my knowledge, it was only Geoemyda japonica that was listed as a national treasure. I think you've gotten the two mixed up. I keep both, with Geoemyda japonica being one of my favorite species. I agree though, they cannot be considered a conservation project given their situation and history. Anyone who says otherwise might be wearing hobbyist goggles that make them impervious to keeping a grip on reality.
the other national treasure is Cuora flavomarginata from Ryukyu Islands
cuora_flavomarginata_map.bmp
 

tortadise

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I was referring to Mauremys japonica. To my knowledge, it was only Geoemyda japonica that was listed as a national treasure. I think you've gotten the two mixed up. I keep both, with Geoemyda japonica being one of my favorite species. I agree though, they cannot be considered a conservation project given their situation and history. Anyone who says otherwise might be wearing hobbyist goggles that make them impervious to keeping a grip on reality.
I was thinking you were meaning that. It's just so easy as everyone always ooooohs and ahhhhhs over the black breasted. I do plan on obtaining some mauremys though. I'm working on adding more Asian species. Need to close out the south and Central American though. As that's the first exhibit to undergo construction. Any recommendations turtle wise? Maybe some sidenecks or different rhinos? Mawaii are obviously a no-go at this point at least,
 
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