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Posted by WL on April 11, 2001 at 17:46:21:

Just an opinion from someone who has been keeping torts for forty five plus years, writes for herp mags and journals, and has books published by Green Nature (and accepted for publication by TFH).

There is nothing wrong with any source of information as long as you consider the source, get as much information as possible on a species "before" you obtain it, and then use your "common sense" to make a rational, final decision on which tortoise species to obtain (and how you will properly care for it).

The problems usually occur when "keepers" are not willing to spend the time (or money) to offer their torts the best possible existence. There is also a difference between acceptable and optimal housing and maintenance of specimens. And though torts can get by with certain minimal reguirements, the closer you can come to optimal conditions - the better it will be for your animals.

However, to be fair to everyone - we have learned much over the past couple decades through scientists, breeders, and even hobbyists. Lives of torts in captivity are somewhat different than in the wild, and captive-bred offspring are not always genetically the same as their wild counterparts. Furthermore, one of the problems with torts is that we have not raised many generations in captivity, studied them extensively in the wild, nor have all the answers to all the questions.

Rather than debating the best sources of information, maybe it would be wiser to select species that one wishes to house and then do "research, research, and more research." Join herp societies, visit zoos, buy videos, read books, go on forums and speak to others. There is no so thing as too much knowledge. Granted there will be poor information out there, and some will offer incorrect data. But, as in any research, selectively choosing information that is most widely accepted as truth is the best idea.

Of course, if you or anyone else thinks they have discovered something "new" or has an opinion that might be of value - state it!!! Get it published!!! All of us can learn more. Even if I do not eventually agree with someone else's idea or opinion, I would still respect their ideas - but follow my own decisions based on the using logical thinking (the old "scientific method" that many of us were taught in school).

State your problem
Gather data
Form a hypotheses
Test the hypotheses
If it works - test again and again until you are satisfied, if it doesn't work (tortoises do poorly) then gather more data and start over.

When we house these animals for hundreds and hundreds of years, we will likely know enough to think of ourselves as experts. Until then, even the most experienced of us are but amateur researchers trying to help each other maintain these chelonians.

For those of you who have read this far - thank you and I hope this makes some sense. And, as with everything else I have ever said, or written, it is only my advice based upon my ideas and studies. Hopefully, we have enough tort lovers out there that combining all our thoughts will make the future better.

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Re: Books - articles - monographs - videos - forums Terry 04/11/01 (2)
- Re: Books - articles - monographs - videos - forums WL 04/11/01 (1)
  - Re: Books - articles - monographs - videos - forums Terry 04/11/01 (0)

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: Just an opinion from someone who has been keeping torts for forty five plus years, writes for herp mags and journals, and has books published by Green Nature (and accepted for publication by TFH). : There is nothing wrong with any source of information as long as you consider the source, get as much information as possible on a species "before" you obtain it, and then use your "common sense" to make a rational, final decision on which tortoise species to obtain (and how you will properly care for it). : The problems usually occur when "keepers" are not willing to spend the time (or money) to offer their torts the best possible existence. There is also a difference between acceptable and optimal housing and maintenance of specimens. And though torts can get by with certain minimal reguirements, the closer you can come to optimal conditions - the better it will be for your animals. : However, to be fair to everyone - we have learned much over the past couple decades through scientists, breeders, and even hobbyists. Lives of torts in captivity are somewhat different than in the wild, and captive-bred offspring are not always genetically the same as their wild counterparts. Furthermore, one of the problems with torts is that we have not raised many generations in captivity, studied them extensively in the wild, nor have all the answers to all the questions. : Rather than debating the best sources of information, maybe it would be wiser to select species that one wishes to house and then do "research, research, and more research." Join herp societies, visit zoos, buy videos, read books, go on forums and speak to others. There is no so thing as too much knowledge. Granted there will be poor information out there, and some will offer incorrect data. But, as in any research, selectively choosing information that is most widely accepted as truth is the best idea. : Of course, if you or anyone else thinks they have discovered something "new" or has an opinion that might be of value - state it!!! Get it published!!! All of us can learn more. Even if I do not eventually agree with someone else's idea or opinion, I would still respect their ideas - but follow my own decisions based on the using logical thinking (the old "scientific method" that many of us were taught in school). : State your problem : Gather data : Form a hypotheses : Test the hypotheses : If it works - test again and again until you are satisfied, if it doesn't work (tortoises do poorly) then gather more data and start over. : When we house these animals for hundreds and hundreds of years, we will likely know enough to think of ourselves as experts. Until then, even the most experienced of us are but amateur researchers trying to help each other maintain these chelonians. : For those of you who have read this far - thank you and I hope this makes some sense. And, as with everything else I have ever said, or written, it is only my advice based upon my ideas and studies. Hopefully, we have enough tort lovers out there that combining all our thoughts will make the future better.

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