He doesn't like being called a Turtle

[dannomite]

lol boredom

 

[Scooter]

Very cute! This seems a hard concept for some to understand though lol

 

[Stephanie Logan]

Say that again, up close!

Scary prospect.

Hahaha! Cute.

 

[Tom]

That's hilarious. I want a big version to hang in my reptile room.

Is that Nova? Very nice looking sulcata.

 

[dannomite]

Hey thanks! Yep thats Nova from 3 or 4 months ago so she's a bit bigger now

 

[Isa]

LOL very funny Thanks for sharing!

 

[Yvonne G]

Wow! Your turtle is so smooth!

 

[Cameron]

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!! i don't know how many times a week i have to say "it's a tortoise, not a turtle!". my 6 year old son even says it.

in fact, we were at the OKC zoo last night doing a "behind the scenes" tour of the herpetarium and we came across across a display with a fly river turtle in it. my son, Damon said "now THAT'S a turtle, mommy!". i love that boy.....

 

[Tom]

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!! i don't know how many times a week i have to say "it's a tortoise, not a turtle!". my 6 year old son even says it.

in fact, we were at the OKC zoo last night doing a "behind the scenes" tour of the herpetarium and we came across across a display with a fly river turtle in it. my son, Damon said "now THAT'S a turtle, mommy!". i love that boy.....

Awwwe. What a good boy. My three year old, Ava, needs to find a guy like that... in about another 32 years, when I let her start dating.

Ask her what her favorite cockroach species is and you'll get a very enthusiastic, " BLAPTICA DUBIA!"

 

[Madkins007]

Great photo! The caption is inaccurate, but funny!

If I hear another person insist that a tortoise is not a turtle, I am going to scream. Of course a tortoise is a turtle.

You CANNOT define a tortoise without using the word 'turtle'- "FreeDictionary.com: Tortoise. Any of various terrestrial turtles, especially one of the family Testudinidae, characteristically having thick clublike hind limbs and a high, rounded carapace."

Our beloved tortoises are a CATEGORY of turtle, not an animal apart from other turtles.

If you REALLY want to get me going, insist that dangerous snakes are venomous, not poisonous.

 

[Candy]

I love that! I also want a copy of it. Very creative of you.

 

[Redfoot NERD]

Great photo! The caption is inaccurate, but funny!

If I hear another person insist that a tortoise is not a turtle, I am going to scream. Of course a tortoise is a turtle.

You CANNOT define a tortoise without using the word 'turtle'- "FreeDictionary.com: Tortoise. Any of various terrestrial turtles, especially one of the family Testudinidae, characteristically having thick clublike hind limbs and a high, rounded carapace."

Our beloved tortoises are a CATEGORY of turtle, not an animal apart from other turtles.

If you REALLY want to get me going, insist that dangerous snakes are venomous, not poisonous.

Mark you have became a Herpetological Theologian..............

Terry K

 

[Tom]

You CANNOT define a tortoise without using the word 'turtle'- "FreeDictionary.com: Tortoise. Any of various terrestrial turtles, especially one of the family Testudinidae, characteristically having thick clublike hind limbs and a high, rounded carapace."

Yes you can. Example: A tortoise is a land dwelling, four legged, reptile, with no teeth and a protective shell defined by a carapace on top and a plastron on bottom.

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Our beloved tortoises are a CATEGORY of turtle, not an animal apart from other turtles.

This is very arguable in taxonomic terms and I don't agree. That's like saying a cat is a type of dog. They both have fangs and claws. They are both carnivores, both in name and diet.

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If you REALLY want to get me going, insist that dangerous snakes are venomous, not poisonous.

Did you get this one backwards? There are no poisonous snakes in the world to my knowledge. All of them can be eaten without harm to the eater. There are most certainly a lot of venomous snakes around the globe, however. Of course there are also "dangerous" snakes that aren't poisonous or venomous.

 

[BuffsTorts]

Calling a Tortoise a turtle is like calling me a chimpanzee!
I get it to often, "how are your turtles", I reply "underfed, but my TORTOISES are happy!"

 

[Cameron]

Great photo! The caption is inaccurate, but funny!

If I hear another person insist that a tortoise is not a turtle, I am going to scream. Of course a tortoise is a turtle.

You CANNOT define a tortoise without using the word 'turtle'- "FreeDictionary.com: Tortoise. Any of various terrestrial turtles, especially one of the family Testudinidae, characteristically having thick clublike hind limbs and a high, rounded carapace."

Our beloved tortoises are a CATEGORY of turtle, not an animal apart from other turtles.

If you REALLY want to get me going, insist that dangerous snakes are venomous, not poisonous.

a tortoise is a kind of a turtle, but not all turtles are tortoises. they are both chelonians. most turtles have webbed back feet for swimming and live in the water. tortoises have stubby feet with claws. turtles are adapted to live in water, tortoises to land. it is really semantics, but it really bugs me when someone calls a sulcata, leopard or other tortoise a "turtle". one of my things i guess...

snakes are indeed venomous, not poisonous. i have been around and owned many "dangerous" snakes that were not venomous....an 18 foot retic can be pretty dangerous!

 

[Madkins007]

You CANNOT define a tortoise without using the word 'turtle'- "FreeDictionary.com: Tortoise. Any of various terrestrial turtles, especially one of the family Testudinidae, characteristically having thick clublike hind limbs and a high, rounded carapace."

Yes you can. Example: A tortoise is a land dwelling, four legged, reptile, with no teeth and a protective shell defined by a carapace on top and a plastron on bottom.

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Take out the word 'land' and you have defined a turtle. What makes a tortoise not a turtle?

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Our beloved tortoises are a CATEGORY of turtle, not an animal apart from other turtles.

This is very arguable in taxonomic terms and I don't agree. That's like saying a cat is a type of dog. They both have fangs and claws. They are both carnivores, both in name and diet.

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All shelled reptiles are members of the Order Testudines. Tortoises are a Family within the Order called Testudinidea. I do not see how you can argue what has been an accepted placement for hundreds of years.

A cat is not a type of dog, but both are members of the Order Carnivora- in part because they both have claws and fangs and eat meat. Cats are felids- they have retractable claws and rarely hunt in groups (but there are exceptions.) Dogs are canids and almost always work in packs.

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Did you get this one backwards? There are no poisonous snakes in the world to my knowledge. All of them can be eaten without harm to the eater. There are most certainly a lot of venomous snakes around the globe, however. Of course there are also "dangerous" snakes that aren't poisonous or venomous.

Nope. Venoms and toxins are TYPES of poisons. EVERYTHING that is venomous is also poisonous. While a venom is a poison that is administered in a way other than orally, it is nonetheless a poison.

From Wikipedia: "In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms,[1] usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism. Legally and in hazardous chemical labeling, poisons are especially toxic substances; less toxic substances are labeled "harmful", "irritant", or not labeled at all.

"In medicine (particularly veterinary) and in zoology, a poison is often distinguished from a toxin and a venom. Toxins are poisons produced via some biological function in nature, and venoms are usually defined as biological toxins that are injected by a bite or sting to cause their effect, while other poisons are generally defined as substances which are absorbed through epithelial linings such as the skin or gut."

In other words, 'toxin' and 'venom' are just ways to more exactly describe kinds of poisons. Even by the strictest possible definition in Zoology- a spitting cobra is POISONOUS, and not automatically VENOMOUS since the toxin is absorbed through the skin of the eye, nose, and mouth.

Thus- calling it a VENOMOUS snake is MORE accurate, but calling it POISONOUS is ALSO correct.

Categories and subcategories. Anything in a subcategory automatically belongs to the bigger category as well. Venoms are poisons and tortoises are turtles.

 

[drgnfly2265]

Wow, I really love that picture! A guy at my work kept talking about a picture that I have at work of my sulcata tortoise (yes, there is a pic of my tort at work on my locker, lol). Every time he would say something about him being a turtle I would always correct him telling him that he is a tortoise. One day, after I once again corrected him, he turned around looked at me and said "oh it doesn't matter, they are the same thing anyways". I got so fustrated. I didn't know what to say.

___________________________________________________________

Jamie

1 Sulcata (Bowser)
1 Bearded Dragon (Dante)
1 Shih-tzu/Llasa apso (Suki)

 

[Madkins007]

Calling a Tortoise a turtle is like calling me a chimpanzee!
I get it to often, "how are your turtles", I reply "underfed, but my TORTOISES are happy!"

Cute and emotional, but also completely inaccurate. You and chimpanzees are two species of primates. Calling a tortoise a turtle is like calling you a primate.

Calling you a chimpanzee would be like calling a Sulcata Tortoise a Red-foot- calling it the wrong species in the same category.

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a tortoise is a kind of a turtle, but not all turtles are tortoises. they are both chelonians. most turtles have webbed back feet for swimming and live in the water. tortoises have stubby feet with claws. turtles are adapted to live in water, tortoises to land. it is really semantics, but it really bugs me when someone calls a sulcata, leopard or other tortoise a "turtle". one of my things i guess...

snakes are indeed venomous, not poisonous. i have been around and owned many "dangerous" snakes that were not venomous....an 18 foot retic can be pretty dangerous!

I never said nor implied that all turtles were tortoises. I am very well versed in the differences between tortoises, land turtles, basking or pond turtles, freshwater turtles, marsh turtles, and sea turtles, and know what 'turtle', 'terrapin', 'tortoise' means in American, European, and Australian usage.

I can understand feeling that calling our beloved animals 'turtles' hurts- but it is rather like a pedigree poodle breeder getting upset when someone calls their animals 'dogs'. It is actually a bit silly and confusing to the poor non-herp person who was just trying to be polite.

Snakes- I know snakes can be dangerous without being venomous, but that was the best term I could think of spur of the moment. Otherwise, since all venoms are poisons, I remain firm in my statements.

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Wow, I really love that picture! A guy at my work kept talking about a picture that I have at work of my sulcata tortoise (yes, there is a pic of my tort at work on my locker, lol). Every time he would say something about him being a turtle I would always correct him telling him that he is a tortoise. One day, after I once again corrected him, he turned around looked at me and said "oh it doesn't matter, they are the same thing anyways". I got so fustrated. I didn't know what to say.

___________________________________________________________

Jamie

1 Sulcata (Bowser)
1 Bearded Dragon (Dante)
1 Shih-tzu/Llasa apso (Suki)

EXACTLY! Insisting on a terminology only WE understand is confusing to the layperson who barely understands that some turtles do not need to live in water.

To him, he was trying to be nice and interested and you rebuffed him without being to help him understand the issue. Is he now a tortoise supporter or does he now think that reptile people are a bit screwed up?

And those who insist that tortoises are not turtles- what do you say to our Boxie-loving friends here? Are you telling them that our dry-landers are in no way related to their turtles? Are they 'wannabes' for hanging out here?

I showed some of my torts at work and quickly gathered a crowd who wanted to see the 'turtles'. I COULD have said something like 'they are not turtles, they are tortoises", but instead, I used it as a teachable moment and said something like "they are tortoises, a group of turtles that live completely out of the water. They are related to the giant tortoises you have seen in the zoo." I discussed some of the things that made them different from the turtles they had as pets or saw at the zoo.

When I was done (and it was not a big speech or anything, just talking to them), they were charmed by the baby and bigger 'torts' (and I had them using that term by then) AND had secured my reputation as the go-to guy for animal things. Even now, a couple weeks later, they ask how the 'torts' are.



Please understand- us joking around and throwing attitude that our shelled wonders are superior in every way to their lesser wet cousins is fine and fun, and I will join in. Willfully ignoring real science, taxonomy, terminology, etc., however, is kind of sad and depressing for a group of people like us.

Same with the snakes bit. I am not enough of an idiot to demand that 'poisonous' is the right term- 'venomous' is indeed more accurate- I am just tired of people insisting on a term they heard someone else claim is the 'only right term' when that claim was wrong to begin with. There are many biology texts and scholarly papers that discuss 'poisonous snakes' and there is no way *I* am going to declare those people wrong.



One last bit on this- all of you who insist you are right on the 'turtles are not tortoises' and 'snakes are venomous and not poisonous' bit- if you are going to be that way about it, no reptile 'hibernates'- they 'brumate'. Please stop using the wrong term.

 

[BuffsTorts]

Cute and emotional, but also completely inaccurate. You and chimpanzees are two species of primates. Calling a tortoise a turtle is like calling you a primate.

Ok, do we call our selves primates? or humans/homo sapiens?
If we have a more defined classification, reverting back to a parent species is redundant.
A tortoise is a tortoise, a turtle is a turtle, if a tortoise was still a turtle, it would still be classified as a turtle.
A tortoise is a NEW species, separate from turtles, they share a common ancestor.
Modern turtles are ancestors of the same species tortoises are, yet to go back to when they shared that ancestor, is equivalent to going back and classifying a human, as an monkey.
We still MAY be classified as an ape, yet it is not proper to refer to us as such. We are humans, a new species, we do not use the parent species name any longer, unless we are in a science book, in which case I agree, yes a tortoise is a type of turtle categorically.

Calling you a chimpanzee would be like calling a Sulcata Tortoise a Red-foot- calling it the wrong species in the same category.

Ok, so instead you want to call it the same species in a different category? To classify a tortoise, a separate species, as a turtle, you would be reverting further back in time, and further back generation wise then humans and chimps.
I do not disagree that scientifically speaking, as we are monkeys, a tortoise is a turtle.

AronRa - Humans are monkeys

 

[Redfoot NERD]

What's the difference between 'rebuking' someone that calls a tortoise a turtle.. and 'rebuking' someone who rebukes?

Apparently 'science/herp-theologian heads' enjoy depating? or trying to prove that they are right!?.. and the other guy is wrong? The Lord knows I've been guilty/accused of this enough in the past.. myself.

To show how 'out-of-hand' and ridiculous this can get -

.... no teeth?

Terry K