HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Thought I'd give @wodesorel a push in the Chelonian direction Here are pictures of my torts and their indoor enclosure:

Beautiful!

Wow! That habitat is gorgeous! What are the dimensions? What type of tortoise do you have? They're striking with those bright markings. How many do you have? I love tortoises and turtles and, like many kids, had two red-eared sliders when I was small -- one of them, a male named Myrtle, loved to be let out, indoors and out, and would come when called...of course, it took him a while to reach you but you'd see his head come up, turn towards the sound of your voice and then start on his clomping way.

Breathtaking

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Crabinski wrote:Wow! That habitat is gorgeous! What are the dimensions? What type of tortoise do you have? They're striking with those bright markings. How many do you have? I love tortoises and turtles and, like many kids, had two red-eared sliders when I was small -- one of them, a male named Myrtle, loved to be let out, indoors and out, and would come when called...of course, it took him a while to reach you but you'd see his head come up, turn towards the sound of your voice and then start on his clomping way.

Thanks! Dimensions are 6'x9'. They're redfoot tortoises (geochelone carbonaria). I have four that were hatched around February 2013. They're massive for their age despite being fed conservatively. And they've just now reached the age/size where they've stopped hiding and now harass me non-stop.

What ever happened to Myrtle?

Oh, and sorry. Pic #6 was an outdoor picture. False advertisement.. Ahhhh!

nepenthes wrote: Thanks! Dimensions are 6'x9'. They're redfoot tortoises (geochelone carbonaria). I have four that were hatched around February 2013. They're massive for their age despite being fed conservatively. And they've just now reached the age/size where they've stopped hiding and now harass me non-stop.

What ever happened to Myrtle?

He died after we had him for about 12 years, decades ago. The poor fellow had been blind for years and had a severe hernia plus other lesser ailments. He was such a sweet fella, loved chin rubs and was absolutely devoted to his lady friend, Tillie Chi-Chi, who wanted nothing to do with him...he'd start his front leg flutters to woo her and she'd turn away, the heartless wench! I grew up in uptown Manhattan -- our block was the highest point in the borough so we had an unobstructed view across the Hudson River to the New Jersey Palisades from our apartment windows -- so, in the summer, we'd place the turtles' pool on the fire-escape for a few hours for them to enjoy the sun and fresh air: one day, poor Tillie was snatched by a hawk! She was significantly larger than Myrtle and probably was deemed a better meal than he was. After the loss of Tillie, Myrtle became even more devoted to us. Boy, haven't thought about those turtles in ages.

I'm sorry for your losses. Your story was amazing, though. I feel for Tillie, knowing as much as I do about turtles/tortoises. Males are horrible, tireless stalkers when it comes to wooing ladies. Perhaps the hawk was in on it and saved Tillie from a worse fate?

That habitat is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! And those torties are so very beautiful. They just have these sweet, wise, serene eyes (I have no idea if torties generally are those things-but yours were wooing me through the camera)!

landlubber wrote:That habitat is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! And those torties are so very beautiful. They just have these sweet, wise, serene eyes (I have no idea if torties generally are those things-but yours were wooing me through the camera)!

They are pretty sweet.. and some are more rambunctious. As they grow up, they tend to get puppy-like tendencies like chasing you around the yard or sitting in your lap for head and neck rubs or begging for treats. Mine are almost at that point. One harasses me for food, another one just lays in my lap and the other two are still very much shy. You should check out Aldabra tortoises for impressively gentle giants. If only I lived in the right climate with acres of land..

I just asked my husband if I could get tortoises some day. He said no way am I getting more pets. He OKed a second crab tank and then changed his mind. Mean boy. Lol

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nepenthes wrote: You should check out Aldabra tortoises for impressively gentle giants. If only I lived in the right climate with acres of land..

Several years ago, I was a volunteer Trail Guide at the Phoenix Zoo and was lucky to make friends with a few of the folks caring for the Galapagos and Aldabra tortoises. On a few occasions, I was invited into the two tortoise enclosures to meet the giant sweeties. All of the tortoises (3 Galapagos and 3 Aldabra) were happy to receive hand-fed carrots and kale. The male Galapagos loved chin rubs and would start to lean in against you like a big dog but you had to be alert to avoid that bulk stepping on your foot! He was also a relentless wooer of his long-time female companion, any time of day -- one of the great Zoo stories was when a child, visiting with a school group, ran to find Zoo personnel because "the big tortoise was stuck on top of the smaller one"! When their female offspring came of age, she was moved in with the Aldabrans to avoid Dad's advances. The Aldabras accepted her as one of their group with no problems .

KellyCrabbieLove wrote:I just asked my husband if I could get tortoises some day. He said no way am I getting more pets. He OKed a second crab tank and then changed his mind. Mean boy. Lol

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If you want something bad enough, be persistent

Crabinski wrote:Several years ago, I was a volunteer Trail Guide at the Phoenix Zoo and was lucky to make friends with a few of the folks caring for the Galapagos and Aldabra tortoises. On a few occasions, I was invited into the two tortoise enclosures to meet the giant sweeties. All of the tortoises (3 Galapagos and 3 Aldabra) were happy to receive hand-fed carrots and kale. The male Galapagos loved chin rubs and would start to lean in against you like a big dog but you had to be alert to avoid that bulk stepping on your foot! He was also a relentless wooer of his long-time female companion, any time of day -- one of the great Zoo stories was when a child, visiting with a school group, ran to find Zoo personnel because "the big tortoise was stuck on top of the smaller one"! When their female offspring came of age, she was moved in with the Aldabrans to avoid Dad's advances. The Aldabras accepted her as one of their group with no problems .

Lucky you! There's an aldabran breeder down in Florida living it up. All of his pictures are amazing. So amazing that I stopped frequenting his thread. Sometimes living vicariously through pictures just isn't enough. I wish I had the chance to be up close and personal with them.. they just all look so sweet.

I love in a studio apartment. I already have 5 tanks. I live in a studio apartment. I already have 5 tanks....

I might need to avoid this thread.... I have wanted a tort for years.

Beautiful, just beautiful!!!


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That is hands down the BEST indoor enclosure I have ever seen!! That is insane! I LOVE IT! Its like a giant playhouse for adults and tortoises! And oh my gosh the plants - it's stunning. Absolutely stunning! I love that it doubles as a greenhouse!

Something like that must make it a lot easier to deal with winter. I'm one of those people who hates how dead everything is this time of year. I want lots of green to remind me spring is on the way.

(And I thought the enclosure on Elementary was nicely done, if small - wow was I mistaken. )

How long did it take you to put everything together and figure out what worked best? And how often to you have to replace plants that they destroy?


I hadn't really ever thought about a turtle until I met this guy at an adoption event from the local reptile rescue.

As you can see, he's got a severe beak deformity. Luckily he's since been adopted, but it got me seriously thinking about it. We had a baby water turtle for a little over a month this spring that we rescued from my MILs inground pool but there was a horrific accident involving a suction cup of all things and he didn't make it. (I was hysterical but everyone I talked to about said it was a freak accident that just shouldn't have happened and there was nothing we did wrong.) I couldn't talk about it for the longest time. (Still makes me sick to my stomach.) After that I've kind of been tempered and on the fence about trying again with land or with water species. But space and money is the main issue. Got to get back on our feet and take care of what we have before we can adopt anything more.