3 Galapagos at London zoo today

TortyDxb

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Popped in to see the Galapagos and their set up. Slight pyramiding and not vast amounts of space but looked healthy, and space may be due to winter.

I’d say they have around 300 ft2. Maybe 400ft2.
Internal. They are big and beautiful why do I love tortoises??? It’s not normal.
 

CarolM

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Popped in to see the Galapagos and their set up. Slight pyramiding and not vast amounts of space but looked healthy, and space may be due to winter.

I’d say they have around 300 ft2. Maybe 400ft2.
Internal. They are big and beautiful why do I love tortoises??? It’s not normal.
Aaaahhhh no pics.[emoji22]
 

TortyDxb

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You see that one of the galaps is blocking an entrance/exit, I wondered if that was on purpose as @ALDABRAMAN says that aldabras do it, and to have a second entry/exit point to accomodate the fact.

Also apologies for image quality, pulled them from video on phone.

You can keep galaps in cold climates is the point of this exercise, it was absolutely baltic today in London.
 

CarolM

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You see that one of the galaps is blocking an entrance/exit, I wondered if that was on purpose as @ALDABRAMAN says that aldabras do it, and to have a second entry/exit point to accomodate the fact.

Also apologies for image quality, pulled them from video on phone.

You can keep galaps in cold climates is the point of this exercise, it was absolutely baltic today in London.
Why do they deliberately block an entrance/exit?
 

ALDABRAMAN

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You see that one of the galaps is blocking an entrance/exit, I wondered if that was on purpose as @ALDABRAMAN says that aldabras do it, and to have a second entry/exit point to accomodate the fact.

~ We see that, usually it is simply because that is where the warmer spot is or some other reason they just stopped at that spot. I do not think it is intentional as far as to block the others.
 

ALDABRAMAN

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@ALDABRAMAN to have a second entry/exit point to accomodate the fact.

~ Yes, we have experienced issues regarding this. We have many changes on our new buildings at our new location and this is one. This is video from this morning, you can see several sorta struggling to get out at the same time.
 

ALDABRAMAN

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@ALDABRAMAN

You can keep galaps in cold climates

~ I do not know the temperatures in that small space, however the pen looks like more of a concrete water pond with little actual walking space that is behind a large piece of glass. That pathetic if that is the case!
 

ALDABRAMAN

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Why do they deliberately block an entrance/exit?

~ Based on our experiences with giant aldabra tortoises, they probably do not intentionally block the entry/exit, they just simply prefer that space for some reason. What i notice is that ours seem to realize that once they cross thru to either get into the shade or the sun they just stop because they have accomplished the desired result.
 

TortyDxb

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~ I do not know the temperatures in that small space, however the pen looks like more of a concrete water pond with little actual walking space that is behind a large piece of glass. That pathetic if that is the case!

I didn’t investigate behind it; so maybe some more space beyond. I hope so too. Seemed a bit snug
 

OMary

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~ Yes, we have experienced issues regarding this. We have many changes on our new buildings at our new location and this is one. This is video from this morning, you can see several sorta struggling to get out at the same time.

Are those all galaps? The large one on the right has the really high shell near the neck to reach branches. He looks like Lonesome George! Is he a different locale than the others, or does this happen with maturity?
 

JoesMum

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I have been on a behind the scenes tour there. They have a pretty enormous amount of space. As with so many creatures in zoos now, the care is about keeping stress levels down so they don't feel they're constantly being watched by people... which means the general public cannot see the entire enclosure indoors or out
 

TortyDxb

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I have been on a behind the scenes tour there. They have a pretty enormous amount of space. As with so many creatures in zoos now, the care is about keeping stress levels down so they don't feel they're constantly being watched by people... which means the general public cannot see the entire enclosure indoors or out

That's good to know, I was pretty sure London Zoo would do it right tbh.
 

William Lee Kohler

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Are those all galaps? The large one on the right has the really high shell near the neck to reach branches. He looks like Lonesome George! Is he a different locale than the others, or does this happen with maturity?

?????? None of the ones pictured looks anything like Lonesome George. They are all dome shelled.:<3:.
 
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