I agree that I cannot force you into thinking a russian tortoise is beautiful. Let me tell you why I think my russian tortoise is beautiful. My tortoise is beautiful because of the twinkle in her eyes. How they gleamed through the dim light she was kept in. How the sparked as she reluctantly consumed dry pellets, the only source of nurishment. How they shimmer after everything she has been through. I believe that there is beauty in every ugly, and her eyes are the passage to her beauty.