...of Long Island Herpetological Society president Vin Russo and got myself a couple of Russian Tortoises. I had been thinking of getting at least a pair of them for over a year now but as usual I was The Great Procrastinator. Then Vin mentioned them either during a talk or just in passing at an LIHS meeting and happened to say that he thought they might soon wind up on a protected species list and become difficult to obtain. He certainly knows the reptile trade so I guess that was all it took to convince me that the best time to get them was now (relatively speaking).
A couple of months ago, at the Long Island Reptile Expo, I picked up a male. Then just a couple of weeks ago, at the NY Metro Reptile Expo in White Plains, I was lucky enough to find a nice looking female and I bought her too.
Both of them appear to have been wild caught. I am guessing the male may have been a recent import because he was a little on the light weight side and had recent abrasions to his carapace as from shipping in a crowded shipping box. The female, on the other hand, was said to have been a long term captive. Maybe she was just that and I say so because her shell was in better condition and her weight was quite a bit better than that of the male when I first got him. She was not quite up to what his weight was by the time I bought her but she
was pretty close, meaning her weight at time of purchase was better than was his when I bought him. So, I figured, she was in good shape and I paid a bit more than I had wanted to for her. Not much more, I figure $85 was a good buy but also felt that the dealer could have come down somewhat more in price. Not complaining though, she is a nice tortoise.
I am hopeful that next spring, she an the male will have been conditioned well enough by my care for them to breed. This is a species that is still imported in high numbers as wild caught adults but has only a small base of breeders willing to give them the attention they need in captive bred breeding programs. It is about time that we, as the herp community, establish a good captive bred population of them to help assure they are not wiped out in their natural habitat! I do not in any way oppose well regulated (not over regulated) wild caught collecting - in fact I support it but I certainly also support captive breeding programs to make sure we prevent over collection of species from the wild. This is a species that needs serious consideration among herpers as to captive bred breeding programs. I plan to give them good care and just that type of consideration.
All the best,
Glenn B
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| The male. |
Both of them appear to have been wild caught. I am guessing the male may have been a recent import because he was a little on the light weight side and had recent abrasions to his carapace as from shipping in a crowded shipping box. The female, on the other hand, was said to have been a long term captive. Maybe she was just that and I say so because her shell was in better condition and her weight was quite a bit better than that of the male when I first got him. She was not quite up to what his weight was by the time I bought her but she
was pretty close, meaning her weight at time of purchase was better than was his when I bought him. So, I figured, she was in good shape and I paid a bit more than I had wanted to for her. Not much more, I figure $85 was a good buy but also felt that the dealer could have come down somewhat more in price. Not complaining though, she is a nice tortoise.
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| The female. |
All the best,
Glenn B
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