Well, it will be ten years this summer.
Tortoises like Moe are the reason I enjoy keeping these animals. Although I have had many, many tortoises over the years Moe is a standout. Not because of his color, which is average...
...but rather because of his outrageous (for a tortoise) behavior. He is the closest thing to a Galapagos tortoise that I have seen in a small size in that he will confront and 'challenge' me when his females are around...
Moe will literally rise up as high as he can and get right in my face if he thinks I need to be put in my place. You can forget about other male cherryheads being around him during the breeding season as he will attack them after his ritualized intimidation routine. This includes the aforementioned raising up off the ground and extending his neck as high as he can as well as him trying to stare down the other male. He does this to me too but he has never tried to bite me---he knows I would bite him back I think. He got some scars on his face from fighting with other males before I figured out that he won't tolerate them around.
Moe came to me after it became clear that the three juveniles I had been raising since the mid 90s were all females. The couple I got him from had kept him for a number of years prior and I am fairly certain that Moe was a member of the original Pet Farm shipment of cherryheads from the early 80s.
He was just 7.5 inches when I got him and now he is only 9.25 inches so I doubt he will ever get that big. What he lacks in size he makes up for with chutzpah---and good breeding. He has sired over 200 hatchlings in the eight years he has been involved in breeding here.
While his color isn't as great as some cherryheads...
....many of his young turn out to be really nice....
Moe is a great tortoise, easily the coolest I've ever had.
If I could only keep one turtle of any kind it would be Moe.
Tortoises like Moe are the reason I enjoy keeping these animals. Although I have had many, many tortoises over the years Moe is a standout. Not because of his color, which is average...
...but rather because of his outrageous (for a tortoise) behavior. He is the closest thing to a Galapagos tortoise that I have seen in a small size in that he will confront and 'challenge' me when his females are around...
Moe will literally rise up as high as he can and get right in my face if he thinks I need to be put in my place. You can forget about other male cherryheads being around him during the breeding season as he will attack them after his ritualized intimidation routine. This includes the aforementioned raising up off the ground and extending his neck as high as he can as well as him trying to stare down the other male. He does this to me too but he has never tried to bite me---he knows I would bite him back I think. He got some scars on his face from fighting with other males before I figured out that he won't tolerate them around.
Moe came to me after it became clear that the three juveniles I had been raising since the mid 90s were all females. The couple I got him from had kept him for a number of years prior and I am fairly certain that Moe was a member of the original Pet Farm shipment of cherryheads from the early 80s.
He was just 7.5 inches when I got him and now he is only 9.25 inches so I doubt he will ever get that big. What he lacks in size he makes up for with chutzpah---and good breeding. He has sired over 200 hatchlings in the eight years he has been involved in breeding here.
While his color isn't as great as some cherryheads...
....many of his young turn out to be really nice....
Moe is a great tortoise, easily the coolest I've ever had.
If I could only keep one turtle of any kind it would be Moe.