Recent content by ben awes

  1. ben awes

    SoCal Aldabra breeders?

    I'm all for local, and, with an animal like an Aldabra, personally, I'd much rather trust the source. If that means shipping, then I'd ship.
  2. ben awes

    Aldabras and hay

    I am no expert but I have a number of years of experience. I have been raising my Aldabras for 7 years, and I raised Leopard Tortoises for 10 years before that. They ALL have been raised on hay from the day I got them. With my Aldabras, that's approx. 6 months and 1 pound. My adult leopards I...
  3. ben awes

    Cloths Dryer Repurposing.

    Hey all, since dandelion season is about to kick into gear, I’m wondering about gathering a bunch and drying them for storage. Obviously folks will have opinions about that but my real question is if you think you could use a cloths dryer to do this? (Not the one I dry my own cloths in, but a...
  4. ben awes

    Can’t upload video

    I don’t really care the reason, it’s stupid that we cannot upload videos directly to Tortoise Forum. And if we can, and I don’t understand how, then it’s stupid that it’s not clear how to do it. I just was in my own thread about my Aldabra Uncle Bri, and I went to “attach files” and videos are...
  5. ben awes

    Juvenile Shyness

    Got my first aldabra in Sept of 2013. So, not that long, but raised and bred PP Leopards the 10 years before that.
  6. ben awes

    Juvenile Shyness

    I've had leopards and now aldabras and leopards are much more shy from my experience. they have natural predators, aldabras do not. My 7 year old is pretty outgoing, my 4 year olds are still pretty shy
  7. ben awes

    ALDABRA TORTOISE BREEDER

    @ALDABRAMAN , i intrigued by the zoning problems you are having, can you share more about the ordinance? I am an architect and deal with zoning issues everyday and having to find architectural and functional solutions that meet zoning are often very interesting. You mentioned the fence issue. Is...
  8. ben awes

    Sexing by number of tail scales

    and thanks for sharing the links - very interesting and must reads for us Aldabra owners. btw, the paper you linked that was supposed to reference scale counting did not mention scale counting that I could find, but the first link did talk about it. Great post!
  9. ben awes

    Sexing by number of tail scales

    time to start counting scales everyone! Seems an easily tested theory. I;ve got three, ages 4,4, and 7. I don't know their sex yet, but I suspect my oldest is female.
  10. ben awes

    Albabra Poop

    Thanks Jamie! very helpful! And thanks Blackdog1714! I do have a local very large garden club/group that I drive past every day on my way to work. I'll stop and see if they are interested.
  11. ben awes

    Albabra Poop

    Thanks Yvonne, unfortunately I don't have enough room to do that. I am in the city and i've given all the available space to the tortoise yard. I can keep piling it up next to the driveway, and it does seem to decompose fairly well and does not smell too bad, but I imagine that I might get...
  12. ben awes

    Albabra Poop

    Uncle Bri and his two smaller friends are producing a remarkable volume of poop! What do you folks with large aldabras do with it all? Do you compost it somehow? Sell it at the local farmers market? Bag it and throw it away? Wasn’t a problem until this year. Would love to hear how folks...
  13. ben awes

    Uncle Bri Update

    Never leave the gate open! Ha! At least Uncle Bri cleaned up most of the weeds!
  14. ben awes

    Uncle Bri Update

    It's been almost a year since I posted - hopefully no one missed me too much ;). Uncle Bri and friends are doing great, growing well. I've got three Aldabras. Uncle Bri was my first. He (she probably) arrived in September of 2013. I was told he was about a year old, but at 5" and 1lb, I suspect...
  15. ben awes

    Aldabras

    Great looking torts! I also raise aldabras in a cold climate. My oldest was hatched probably early 2013. It would be great to know the length and weight of yours. Clearly you are raising them well.
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