Sadly I agree with all of this thread. The best way to approach this is to decide which species you have a personal interest in, and the ability to care for. I have watched many "common" species become "rare" and other "rare" species become "common." I think that ALL turtle and tortoise species can use our help. That being said pick the ones that work for you and your environment. There are many that I wish to work with in the future; that I do not believe would do well for me in South Florida, so I do not currently work with them. I will leave that for someone else. I think that it helps to think in 6 to 12 year cycles; if you can't imagine investing 6 to 12 years on a turtle or tortoise project, it may not pan out as you would hope. I moved my collection less than 3 miles years ago and it all but shut down production for 2 years. In 2005 I was hit by Hurricane Katrina and Wilma which took out a few trees on the property which changed everything for the tortoises and they needed a year to adapt to the changes, even though their pens never moved. This probably does not help at all just a personal observation. Best wishes Douglas Beard / Flora & Fauna

[ Show Entire Thread ]