Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just curious:

What are some of the popular or unique names everyone has given to their tortoises?

I wouldn't call my tortoise/turtle names popular but unique? Maybe, we named our sulcata Destiny because it felt like fate brought her to us.

We never planned to have a giant tortoise even though for years I'd wanted one because I knew we had room. I'd never mentioned it or gave it much thought because I didn't think my DH would want to hassle with all the building he'd have to do if we had one. So I blew it off & was content to keep my turtles.

Then when she got here by chance my plan was to find her home. After a week passed he is the one who said to me, "If we let her go to someone else she's doomed" at the time it was true because at the time we didn't know anyone who would know how to properly care for her.
The people who sent her to us were pet store workers who did not even know what she was!
It was fate that she came her so she became Destiny and although he seldom admits it, she is Daddy's baby.

So now that I answered you I wonder, what names have you chosen & why?
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PHRatz

I grew up with desert torts all my life. Now married with house and child on the way, a few months ago my wife asked for a tort for the back yard out of the blue? Remembering back to my childhood of the desert torts, I immediately jumped at the chance to have one in the yard again. So we aquired a 7" sulcata from a friend.

I find it so fascinating that torts become part of the family just like dogs and cats....and have bred/sold snakes for many, many years, never once considering any names for them.

We want to wait and let our baby name it, so we will have to see what kind of baby google name the tortoise gets...lol.

Until then "the turtle" will have to do.

>>I grew up with desert torts all my life. Now married with house and child on the way, a few months ago my wife asked for a tort for the back yard out of the blue?

Ok so since she asked out of the blue then how about the name Blue?
What is it about snake keepers? Every snake keeper I know never names them. lol

I name everything... I mean everything.
We have 2 hermit crabs because the first one was dumped on me, I named him Crusty because he's a crustacean. We bought another when I found out they're social like my rats are so we named him Cletus because DH chose it, he thought it went with Crusty.
We caught our lovebird in the backyard, we named her Brett because she was a Maverick.
My rats always have funny names, they are pets not feeders.
I name all of them after either a famous person or a famous character. That method can be used with tortoises.
I couldn't possibly post all the rat names we've used but I can share some of the most recognizable ones:
Rikki & Lucy Ratcardo, Mario Andrattie, Nicholas CagedRat, Tiger Woodsrat, Marilyn Monrat, Scarlett O'Rata, Gypsy Rat Lee, Sugar Rat Leonard, Mick Jaggerat, Keith Ratchards, and that's just the tip of the iceratberg.
That rat naming method all began because when I still had my very first rat Squeaky D. Rat, I knew someone who had adopted a turtle & named him Arnold Schwartzeturtle. That cracked me up & I thought how funny it would be if my future rats had names like that & so it happened.
If you liked the TV show Cheers Nick Tortelli would work for a tortoise. Once you start making up names based on famous people/characters, it's hard to stop so I write them all down in a notebook for future use.
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PHRatz

Congratulations on the soon coming baby!
Do you know yet if it's a boy or girl? When is it due?
I'll bet you are really excited!
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PHRatz

"It" is due spring...April. Still to small to know the sex, sooo............ We are very excited.

Those names are friggin hilarious! You must have a good time thinking them all up.

Smiles, Rich

>>"It" is due spring...April. Still to small to know the sex, sooo............ We are very excited.
>>
Awww you'll have to send everyone pictures when it's born. April is kind of far away but I'll bet you'll be surprised how fast that time flies.

>>Those names are friggin hilarious! You must have a good time thinking them all up.

Thank you! We do, we have a blast coming up with the names.
The funniest thing that ever happened because of those names was a couple of years ago when I had the entire Cartwright aka Cartrat clan. I had Ben, Adam, Hoss, Little Joe, & Hop Sing. They had to go to the vet & the receptionist there didn't get it! She even spelled Hoss's name Haas, that floored me because she's at least 50 years old, she had to have remembered Bonanza but she never understood that the names are a JOKE! LOL
That cracked me up...
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PHRatz

My tortoise is named Stanley, because I thought he looked like Stanley Roeper (the landlord from Three's Company played by Norman Fell).

Another good name I like is Dozer, since, like a bulldozer, they pretty moch roll over anything they want to...and dig too!

Along those same lines, my friend refers to Stanley as Gozer...as in Gozer The Destroyer (rent Ghostbusters if you do not get the reference).

>>My tortoise is named Stanley, because I thought he looked like Stanley Roeper (the landlord from Three's Company played by Norman Fell).

Interesting.. now that you mention it I can sort of see how they kind of look like him.
When you look at a sulcata's profile I think they sort of look like Dick Tracy, that square-ish jaw line lol.
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PHRatz

Mine are named Abner and Abney, Abner's name came from the little boy on the movie "Sweet November". Abney's name came from her brother's name, but come to find out.... two years later.... Abner is a girl and abney is a boy.