Hi Everyone!

[Yvonne G]

I'll be honest and admit I know nothing about fish of any kind. I'm here to help with the spam deletions and approval or rejection of new members.

Hopefully I'll get all the spam off the forum in a timely manner, and look at each new member to make sure they really are 'new members' and not spammers.

I'm an old lady with lots of time on her hands. My specialty is turtles and tortoises, and I belong to Tortoise Forum. org. I've been getting rid of spam on that forum for quite a while now, and Josh asked if I would help over here on your forum too.

I'll check your forum several times during the day, and there won't be any need for any of you to 'report' the spam. I will see it and zap it off into the ether. But if you ever do need to contact me, my email address is emys emys @ pac bell . net (with no spaces).

 

[gerald]

Welcome and THANK YOU Yvonne; I'm sure your services are in high demand! Many of us here love turtles and tortoises too. I keep eastern box; my oldest female has been with me for 30 yrs.

 

[Linus_Cello]

Welcome aboard Yvonne! The spam seems to be quiet for the past couple of weeks. Maybe you've already been working on it?

 

[aarhud]

Thank you! We appreciate your time and effort.

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome aboard Yvonne! The spam seems to be quiet for the past couple of weeks. Maybe you've already been working on it?

No, it was pretty much under control when I popped on the scene. But I will be banning IPs, so even though they can come up with new IPs, this does seem to slow them down.

 

[Yvonne G]

Thank you! We appreciate your time and effort.

You're welcome, and maybe I'll learn a bit about dwarf cichlids in my time spent here!

 

[Linus_Cello]

Thank you again. What turtle and tortoises do you have?

 

[Yvonne G]

Thank you again. What turtle and tortoises do you have?

p

I have over 100 individual animals and about 15 different species. Plus I operate a turtle and tortoise rescue. "Rescue" means I rehab them then find good homes for them.

I guess if I had to pick, the Manouria would be my favorite.

 

[gerald]

Got any that are older than YOU?

 

[Yvonne G]

My very first tortoise, Mi-Shell, is a desert tortoise and I've had her for over 30 years. When I got her she was already full grown, so I'm guessing about 30. That would make her about 60. Since I'm 79, she falls short!

But I have TWO that WEIGH more than me. Do they count?

BO and SO (the Bigger One and the Smaller One) are Aldabran tortoises hatched in 2000 and weigh over 200lbs each.

 

[gerald]

Here's my "old lady" - she's grown very little in the 30 years she's lived with me, so i'm guessing she was full-grown (at least 8 yrs old) when I found her. Note the odd "split" vertebral scutes: 7 scutes in a staggered row, rather than the usual 5 in a straight row. None of her surviving offspring had this. (i found a half-eaten hatchling once with 6 scutes). Shrews, ants, or other predators get a lot of them.

 

[aarhud]

Great pictures. Do those 200 pounders eat you out of house and home?!

Gerald,
your "old lady" is stunning.

Are tortoises a demanding interest? I have always loved box turtles. I don't see as many as I used too.

 

[Yvonne G]

They mainly graze on the grass and weeds in their yard, but I do also give them greens and vegetables.

I spend about an hour in the morning feeding, watering and picking up after them. Then another half hour or so in the evening making sure everyone has gone into their sheds or shelters. But that's because I have so many. If there were only one or two, it would be a piece of cake.

 

[Linus_Cello]

Guessing you live in CA or some place that's warm year round. Looks Like you have a dog too.

Does anyone have aquatic turtles. Would love to try a hognose with fish.

 

[Yvonne G]

Guessing you live in CA or some place that's warm year round. Looks Like you have a dog too.

Does anyone have aquatic turtles. Would love to try a hognose with fish.

The winters are cold, but basically good weather for tortoises.

 

[gerald]

That's no dog; it's a stump-tailed giraffe-tortoise. They shed their shell in summer and grow a new one in the fall.