Taking care of #Eddiethetortoise - a thread:

Desert Tortoises are amazing, and while I often showcase life with Eddie & Bob with humor, I also try to be accurate about their natural history and answer questions as often as possible. I do love sharing Eddie with you.

But--

--I wish Eddie didn't live with me. I wish he lived in the wild.

But he never will. Someone picked him up in the desert (tortoises are very unskilled at fleeing) decades ago, and once in captivity, it's illegal here to put Desert Torts back, due to possible disease spread and--

--other reasons. Tortoises in general are not good pets. Yes, with the proper environment and nutrition, they can thrive. But as Dr. David Steen ( @Alongsidewild) notes here, the unfortunately-common "pet" Sulcata Tortoises have become-- https://twitter.com/AlongsideWild/status/1290393458062942208

--a huge (literally) problem. Babies are adorable ping-pong balls, but how many homes can accommodate an adult male that may reach 150-200 lbs? And since they (and other sp.) can live up to, or more than, a century, what happens to them once they almost certainly outlive you?

More than half of turtle & tortoise sp. are endangered or threatened. Many wild populations have been decimated by collecting for the pet trade (legal and illegal), collecting for human food, and of course the ubiquitous problems of pollution & habitat loss.

Which I think--

--most people really do care about. People love turtles and tortoises. Of all reptiles, they're the least likely to be feared. I mean, there's no plague of tortoises in the Bible:

"And the Lord visited upon Egypt a multitude of tortoises, and the Egyptians were all like... 'Aww, turtles!' And the Lord grew angry and said, 'No, they're tortoises! Okay, tortoises are technically turtles, but... never mind. I'm doing lice next, let's see you "aww" at that.'"

Torts have indiv personalities, good memories, and are more intelligent than they often get credit for. In studies, some have learned to use touch screens, demonstrated social learning, and shown radial-maze solving abilities akin to mammals & birds. And-- http://www.animalcognition.org/2015/04/03/tortoises-can-master-mazes/

--of course, their hard shells, long lives and slow & steadiness make them excellent for metaphors.

But their perceived toughness belies the fact that they have highly specific (and often not well known) dietary and--

--environmental needs. And sadly, some can live a long time while suffering, but because they don't display symptoms of distress that we can read as easily as, say, on a dog or cat, their suffering may go unnoticed. That was true of Eddie before we got him.

All of this is to--

--say, if you want a turtle or tortoise... please resist the urge. Educate yourself to see if you're not just willing, but able to provide for the animal's needs, for as long as it needs. Then still don't buy one. Look up your local reptile and/or turtle & tortoise rescue for--

--information, and if you really think you can give one a proper home, think of adopting. Here, the CTTC - California Turtle and Tortoise Club - is great: https://tortoise.org/ 

And if you inherited a tortoise, via happenstance like me or passed down within the family--

--remember that they may well outlive you, and have a plan. In Eddie & Bob's case, they're legal captives registered with the CA Dept of Fish & Game, and if/when we are no longer able to care for them, we (and our kids) know to contact the CTTC so they can be re-adopted--

--responsibly. And don't stop learning. I know a fair amount about Desert Torts, but this weekend I'm taking a class from my local native plant society ( @TheodorePayne) on Gardening For Desert Tortoises, to see if I can do more to adjust my plantings.

Finally--

--here are links to previous threads of mine that will give you more of our tortoises' backstories, and more Desert Tortoise natural history.

Start with the pinned tweet on my profile, then read this thread to learn more about Eddie's previous owner: https://twitter.com/tjalamont/status/1189638012323282946

Here's how Bob came into our lives: https://twitter.com/tjalamont/status/1194067101830402048

And here's a thread about Eddie's kids and Mo, his former bae, with info on why re-wilding and captive breeding are not allowed: https://twitter.com/tjalamont/status/1186720008597987328

And really finally this time--

--thanks for following the exploits of Eddie et al. It's been fun for me to share them with everyone. They're remarkable animals, and I try to give them not just the attention but the respect they deserve.