- Joined
- Aug 10, 2012
- Messages
- 76
Hello there, my name is Kelly. I have spent the last few weeks researching tortoise care, and this site has been invaluable! You guys are fantastic, honest, real owner experiences and advice! So far I don't think I have posed a single question in the forum box and not gotten a clear, consise, sensible answer. So a big thank you one and all!
A bit about us;
My husband and I are horse trainers, we work exclusively with an international equine athlete training his horses from babies to full grown equine superstars. It is not a job it's a way of life. The job takes up almost all our time and keeps us far from our family's for months and sometimes years at a time. What it gives us back is where the real worth of our lives lie.
Horses just like us enjoy beautiful warm sunny days and as a result we spend most of every year living in the south of Florida. The rest of the year is spent in southern California. Home for my husbands family is Goshen, Kentucky. Home for my family is Bristol England. Excluding England, which I cannot imagine returning to live! We never see a cold day! The grazing in Kentucky is like no where else and the warmth of a Florida winter is luxury at its finest!
We may seem as though we travel too much to be tortoise owners and I will take very seriously any advise against ownership of these wonderful creatures. However when we travel we take 14 horses and all the equipment needed for these individuals, four dogs ( of the very worldly wise unflapable varieity ) one python, one semi, one pick up, one car and three humans. It is quite a feat, the important thing to remember is that this is what we do. I am a English trained veterinary nurse, equine and small animal and have a lifetime commitment to every animal in my care. We do not have children or outside commitments are animals are our lives.
Why a tortoise?
When I was born my dads tortoise " Sunshine" was already on his second generation owner! He had been passed onto him by his grandfather! " Sunshine" was a very old man when he passed, I was a very young girl, and I determined I would share my life again with another ray of " Sunshine" one day. I am blessed with a wonderful family, both my own and my husbands family, are outdoor animal lovers, frequent visitors and animal sitters! However there are many times I wish they were closer, many times a wish I could pick up home and take it with me, perhaps this more than anything is driving me to become a tortoise owner.
My husband Joe, has that enviable quiet in his soul that all animals respond to. He is patiently listening to every new tortoise fact I glean from this insightful forum!
So in a tortoise shell ( hee hee) I am a totally devotee of all animals and will fully commit to the needs and care of any animal in my care. Out of necessity for the 14 horses we always have plenty of space! The grazing is excellent, live our job so there is no away at the office hours, we are surrounded by our animals day and night. The climate is fantastic, our dogs are grown up, exposed to many animals and I don't imagine them to be a problem. We are vegitarian with large vegetable and herb gardens noo children and lots of love.
I would really prefere one tort if possible, perhaps a breed that prefers to live alone? Also I would love to adopt ( will pay fee, it's not about the money) I can see why these bigger guys get to be too much for the average pet owner, but maybe I could offer an unwanted adult tortoise a place.
Thank you sorry it's so long can't wait to hear what you think!
Yours gratefully Kelly
As I have already mentioned
A bit about us;
My husband and I are horse trainers, we work exclusively with an international equine athlete training his horses from babies to full grown equine superstars. It is not a job it's a way of life. The job takes up almost all our time and keeps us far from our family's for months and sometimes years at a time. What it gives us back is where the real worth of our lives lie.
Horses just like us enjoy beautiful warm sunny days and as a result we spend most of every year living in the south of Florida. The rest of the year is spent in southern California. Home for my husbands family is Goshen, Kentucky. Home for my family is Bristol England. Excluding England, which I cannot imagine returning to live! We never see a cold day! The grazing in Kentucky is like no where else and the warmth of a Florida winter is luxury at its finest!
We may seem as though we travel too much to be tortoise owners and I will take very seriously any advise against ownership of these wonderful creatures. However when we travel we take 14 horses and all the equipment needed for these individuals, four dogs ( of the very worldly wise unflapable varieity ) one python, one semi, one pick up, one car and three humans. It is quite a feat, the important thing to remember is that this is what we do. I am a English trained veterinary nurse, equine and small animal and have a lifetime commitment to every animal in my care. We do not have children or outside commitments are animals are our lives.
Why a tortoise?
When I was born my dads tortoise " Sunshine" was already on his second generation owner! He had been passed onto him by his grandfather! " Sunshine" was a very old man when he passed, I was a very young girl, and I determined I would share my life again with another ray of " Sunshine" one day. I am blessed with a wonderful family, both my own and my husbands family, are outdoor animal lovers, frequent visitors and animal sitters! However there are many times I wish they were closer, many times a wish I could pick up home and take it with me, perhaps this more than anything is driving me to become a tortoise owner.
My husband Joe, has that enviable quiet in his soul that all animals respond to. He is patiently listening to every new tortoise fact I glean from this insightful forum!
So in a tortoise shell ( hee hee) I am a totally devotee of all animals and will fully commit to the needs and care of any animal in my care. Out of necessity for the 14 horses we always have plenty of space! The grazing is excellent, live our job so there is no away at the office hours, we are surrounded by our animals day and night. The climate is fantastic, our dogs are grown up, exposed to many animals and I don't imagine them to be a problem. We are vegitarian with large vegetable and herb gardens noo children and lots of love.
I would really prefere one tort if possible, perhaps a breed that prefers to live alone? Also I would love to adopt ( will pay fee, it's not about the money) I can see why these bigger guys get to be too much for the average pet owner, but maybe I could offer an unwanted adult tortoise a place.
Thank you sorry it's so long can't wait to hear what you think!
Yours gratefully Kelly
As I have already mentioned
