Re: Egyptian Tortoises

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Posted by Doug on May 12, 2002 at 23:28:14:

In Reply to: Egyptian Tortoises posted by Frank on May 12, 2002 at 13:26:11:

My little guy is one of those who, fortunately for us both, is pretty bulletproof. By way of example: I got him when my neighbor's dog picked him up in their backyard and carried him over in her mouth. My neighbor knew I was a reptile keeper, so he gave him to me. To this day I have no idea where he came from (certainly not indigenous.) He appeared to have been actually living on his own in the wild.

It took me a while to even identify his species, as Egyptians are pretty uncommon and no one I spoke to could help (didn't know about this forum at the time.) So I began his care on a generic-tortoise track, until I finally identified him (via a wave file online.) Only then, after a few months, did I find out that kleinmanni are considered rather delicate. Which brings me to a theory.

I've heard it postulated that certain individuals are just better able to survive, regardless of conditions, than others. I believe it.

You know the type of stats, "8 out of 10 widgets die within X months" or whatever. Well it's my belief that those 2 that make it have a little something special. You may have heard the wacky tales like an Eastern Box celebrating 50 years of eating pizza and ice cream in captivity, and the like. Meanwhile, many keepers bend over backward to establish perfect conditions for their charges and lose them anyway.

Now I'm not suggesting proper care doesn't matter, not at all. I just expect that it goes something like: most animals will do okay if given their basic requirements, some will die regardless, and others just seem to survive, sometimes in spite of their surroundings. My Egyptian seems to be of the latter, most forgiving ilk, and though I always do my best for him, I'm quite glad for it.

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: My little guy is one of those who, fortunately for us both, is pretty bulletproof. By way of example: I got him when my neighbor's dog picked him up in their backyard and carried him over in her mouth. My neighbor knew I was a reptile keeper, so he gave him to me. To this day I have no idea where he came from (certainly not indigenous.) He appeared to have been actually living on his own in the wild. : It took me a while to even identify his species, as Egyptians are pretty uncommon and no one I spoke to could help (didn't know about this forum at the time.) So I began his care on a generic-tortoise track, until I finally identified him (via a wave file online.) Only then, after a few months, did I find out that kleinmanni are considered rather delicate. Which brings me to a theory. : I've heard it postulated that certain individuals are just better able to survive, regardless of conditions, than others. I believe it. : You know the type of stats, "8 out of 10 widgets die within X months" or whatever. Well it's my belief that those 2 that make it have a little something special. You may have heard the wacky tales like an Eastern Box celebrating 50 years of eating pizza and ice cream in captivity, and the like. Meanwhile, many keepers bend over backward to establish perfect conditions for their charges and lose them anyway. : Now I'm not suggesting proper care doesn't matter, not at all. I just expect that it goes something like: most animals will do okay if given their basic requirements, some will die regardless, and others just seem to survive, sometimes in spite of their surroundings. My Egyptian seems to be of the latter, most forgiving ilk, and though I always do my best for him, I'm quite glad for it.

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