If you Lo-o-o-ove your tortoise:

S2G

Active Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2021
Messages
98
Location (City and/or State)
AL
Basically treat a tortoise like a tortoise, care for it like a tortoise. It's not your child & you're not a tortoise parent. You're an exotic pet owner responsible for proper care of an animal. Give it the proper space & environment to thrive as a tortoise. Some people have this need to project human emotions onto to animals & can care so much they're blind to the damage they're causing. Then the animal usually passes or they dump they're problem on someone else.

The info readily available really is terrible on these animals though to be fair.

Idk I come from the dart frog & saltwater world. You either do your research & provide a stable environment or your expensive "babies" perish at a blink of an eye. Fortunately but unfortunately most of the readily available tortoises can take an extreme amount of abuse. It's a vicious cycle really.
 

MsParedes

Member
Tortoise Club
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jul 23, 2020
Messages
53
Location (City and/or State)
Atwater CA
However, before this forum or the internet, people didn't have the resources to tell them the right way. Even vets don't know. Before I joined this forum, I thought tortoises were suppose to be "bumpy" as those are the majority of pics that come up.
Even today, people are still giving and getting wrong info until they find tfo.
So the looooved torts owner may have done all the research they possibly could, thought they were doing everything right and the result was everything wrong.
The above 1st sentence was my exact thought. I got my male sulcata days after hatching, in 1994. The information I received as a "care sheet" came from the breeder. (I wish I still had it)
Looking back now, I wonder how he made it.
With the misinformation that has been passed around for decades, I think the instinct to survive is an amazing thing.
 

Krista S

Well-Known Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Aug 4, 2019
Messages
1,364
Location (City and/or State)
Saskatchewan
Basically treat a tortoise like a tortoise, care for it like a tortoise. It's not your child & you're not a tortoise parent. You're an exotic pet owner responsible for proper care of an animal. Give it the proper space & environment to thrive as a tortoise. Some people have this need to project human emotions onto to animals & can care so much they're blind to the damage they're causing. Then the animal usually passes or they dump they're problem on someone else.

The info readily available really is terrible on these animals though to be fair.

Idk I come from the dart frog & saltwater world. You either do your research & provide a stable environment or your expensive "babies" perish at a blink of an eye. Fortunately but unfortunately most of the readily available tortoises can take an extreme amount of abuse. It's a vicious cycle really.
I treat my tortoise like a tortoise and care for him how he should be cared for. He has the proper space and environment to thrive in. I don’t think it’s wrong for me to think of him as my child/tortoise baby. I am 100% a tortoise mom…proudly. Having these thoughts does not mean I am blindly causing damage to my tortoise or his well-being. It is literally impossible for me to love a living/breathing being more than I love my tortoise, but I promise you, I am not loving him to death.

I see the point that some are trying to make in this thread, but I don't think it’s a topic that a blanket statement can be applied to.
 

S2G

Active Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2021
Messages
98
Location (City and/or State)
AL
I treat my tortoise like a tortoise and care for him how he should be cared for. He has the proper space and environment to thrive in. I don’t think it’s wrong for me to think of him as my child/tortoise baby. I am 100% a tortoise mom…proudly. Having these thoughts does not mean I am blindly causing damage to my tortoise or his well-being. It is literally impossible for me to love a living/breathing being more than I love my tortoise, but I promise you, I am not loving him to death.

I see the point that some are trying to make in this thread, but I don't think it’s a topic that a blanket statement can be applied to.

As a true parent I find it odd, but that's just my opinion which doesn't matter nor worth really discussing.

If you treat your tortoise like a tortoise then even though you consider yourself a mom deep down you recognize that your animal doesn't view you as its mom. You use it to figuratively describe your special relationship with your pet. I'm talking about the people that blindly ignore info & truly believe their pet reciprocates their feelings toward it. Literally loving it death. You see this all over the facebook groups.

For example I know a lady with no children. She has this "furbaby"which she feeds people food to & it's like 20lbs over weight with hip issues. This thing is on prozac & wears a diaper everywhere which she changes. The vet keeps telling her she's killing her dog yet she continues on...
 

Krista S

Well-Known Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Aug 4, 2019
Messages
1,364
Location (City and/or State)
Saskatchewan
As a true parent I find it odd, but that's just my opinion which doesn't matter nor worth really discussing.

If you treat your tortoise like a tortoise then even though you consider yourself a mom deep down you recognize that your animal doesn't view you as its mom. You use it to figuratively describe your special relationship with your pet. I'm talking about the people that blindly ignore info & truly believe their pet reciprocates their feelings toward it. Literally loving it death. You see this all over the facebook groups.

For example I know a lady with no children. She has this "furbaby"which she feeds people food to & it's like 20lbs over weight with hip issues. This thing is on prozac & wears a diaper everywhere which she changes. The vet keeps telling her she's killing her dog yet she continues on...
I know the type you speak of. I have a coworker who has a complete high end wardrobe for her dogs and car seats, strollers, furniture, etc, etc.

In regards to my situation, I feel like I do have a special one sided bond with my tortoise. To me it doesn‘t feel odd, but I’ll accept your judgemental opinion. Unfortunately I am unable to become a “true” parent as you call it, so this is as good as it gets for me.
 

S2G

Active Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2021
Messages
98
Location (City and/or State)
AL
I know the type you speak of. I have a coworker who has a complete high end wardrobe for her dogs and car seats, strollers, furniture, etc, etc.

In regards to my situation, I feel like I do have a special one sided bond with my tortoise. To me it doesn‘t feel odd, but I’ll accept your judgemental opinion. Unfortunately I am unable to become a “true” parent as you call it, so this is as good as it gets for me.

I think we're getting into the emotional weeds too much. No judgement at all & I'm not out to strike a nerve. I can hang out or have a civil discussion with someone that has a different opinion than my own.

You also don't have to be blood to be a parent. My wife's adopted and raised by caring non blood relation parents....I just think its grabbing straws when describing a reptile that views us as a food source is all. I'm raising these chill'ren to be functional independent adults to go out into this collapsing society. I'm just keeping a captive bred exotic pet until I die & hopefully one of those chill'ren will continue caring for it like I showed them how to.
 

Krista S

Well-Known Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Aug 4, 2019
Messages
1,364
Location (City and/or State)
Saskatchewan
I think we're getting into the emotional weeds too much. No judgement at all & I'm not out to strike a nerve. I can hang out or have a civil discussion with someone that has a different opinion than my own.

You also don't have to be blood to be a parent. My wife's adopted and raised by caring non blood relation parents....I just think its grabbing straws when describing a reptile that views us as a food source is all. I'm raising these chill'ren to be functional independent adults to go out into this collapsing society. I'm just keeping a captive bred exotic pet until I die & hopefully one of those chill'ren will continue caring for it like I showed them how to.
We are completely on the same page with being able to have a civil discussion with someone who has a different opinion. You felt the need to tell me that the feelings I wrote about are odd, so I felt the need to address it. All good though, you may have noticed I even liked a comment of yours on another thread since typing that reply to you. No hatred here, I promise. I have an adopted brother so I’m familiar with that whole thing. For reasons I won’t get into on here, I’ll just need you to trust that it’s not a possibility for me, especially this late in life, and I’m 100% ok with that. I’m more than good with my tortoise baby…sorry, I had to word it that way lol. But yes, I know he doesn’t see me as his mom and I don’t treat him as anything but a tortoise. He doesn’t sit on the couch and watch tv with me or anything like that. I also know he doesn’t love me. If he loved me, he wouldn’t constantly try to bite me and get me out of his territory the moment I walk into his room. ?
 

wellington

Well-Known Member
Moderator
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Joined
Sep 6, 2011
Messages
49,658
Location (City and/or State)
Chicago, Illinois, USA
I treat my tortoise like a tortoise and care for him how he should be cared for. He has the proper space and environment to thrive in. I don’t think it’s wrong for me to think of him as my child/tortoise baby. I am 100% a tortoise mom…proudly. Having these thoughts does not mean I am blindly causing damage to my tortoise or his well-being. It is literally impossible for me to love a living/breathing being more than I love my tortoise, but I promise you, I am not loving him to death.

I see the point that some are trying to make in this thread, but I don't think it’s a topic that a blanket statement can be applied to.
Totally agree. I am a mom to my son, a tortoise mom, dog mom, chicken mom, lizard mom and fish mom. I love them all or I wouldn't have them. Different levels of love of course but the care is the best I can do too keep them happy, healthy and thriving.
 

New Posts

Top