April 28, 2024 • 29 mins
Ever found yourself searching for that elusive sweet spot of stimulation on a seemingly endless drive? You're not alone. My own quest led me from head-bobbing music to gripping audiobooks, and now to the captivating world of podcasts. Among my latest finds is a gem about wildlife rehabilitation that's as informative as it is engaging. But it's the guilty pleasure of true crime shows that provides an unexpected source of comfort, much like the simple joy of choosing the perfect ice cream treat during a Dairy Queen run. Tune in for a delightful mix of talk about turtles, treats, and true crime in our latest episode.
Our special guests, a shelled sensations known by the names Thelama, Lord Voldetort, and Zoya, guide us through the intricacies of turtle care. From basking preferences to the impact of invasive species, we uncover the truths and misunderstandings surrounding these ancient creatures. We learn the importance of proper habitat, diet, and legal considerations in keeping turtles as pets, all while highlighting the conservation challenges they face. And did I mention how a turtle can actually feel a scratch on its shell? Prepare to have your perception of these reptiles transformed.
Bringing our episode to a close, we share a casual yet insightful conversation that roams from out-of-the-box date ideas to embracing the unexpected. Ever thought about bringing a therapy turtle to a cafe? Or what if a giant tortoise was your next-door neighbor? We ponder these amusing scenarios and more, expressing gratitude for the luxury of having a local exotic animal care expert right here in Richmond. What started as a simple discussion evolves into a pledge to spread the word of our guest's impactful work, proving that sometimes, the most enlightening moments come from the most unexpected topics.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Life Inscripted with Kevin Shook to enhance focus oh,
it's like a little supplementgummy.
Yeah, just one yeah, well,three is a serving three you can
see, it tells you oh no, maybeit does say proprietary blend
serving size three gummies.
Chew three gummies daily, wowding, ding, ding, ding, dong
you'd be like the turtle runningaround with the couch on your
(00:40):
back I'll start with one.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
I've been trying to be better, so I've been drinking
the little v8 energy drinks.
They're like little mini cans,um, and you can get carbonated
ones and you can get like hellaspiked caffeine or just like
moderate energy drink one.
So I usually drink the hellaspiked one when I'm driving.
Two really spiked like very,very caffeinated how long a
(01:05):
drive hour and a half how manydays a week?
Speaker 2 (01:08):
three hey horrible I mean I worked an hour a day so
do you work, do you listen topodcasts or what?
Speaker 1 (01:15):
I never used to.
I was always like a musicperson and then yeah, and then I
started on audiobooks and nowI'm on podcasts and like that
kind of drive.
You gotta gotta have somethingwhat's your favorite podcast?
This one obviously oh, we'rerecording.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Oh, no, what do you listen to?
Speaker 1 (01:31):
so I had one of my uh nurses at aca actually um got
me on one gonna be terrible.
Not remember what it'sofficially called, um, but it's
for wildlife rehabilitators.
So they do like how to releasebaby geese, like to get them to
go into the wild and have otherparents take them, um, or like
(01:52):
squirrel rehab 101 and that kindof thing, um, so I do do that
one a lot.
That's been really helpful andthen I kind of bounce around, um
, I don't really have any setones that I just like listen to
all the time.
It's usually just someone willrecommend this and I'll go try
that and listen to a couplethere and then go listen to a
couple on another one.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
That's wild and there's a podcast for like
everything.
Everything what scares me isokay, so maybe you're not the
average lady, but how many ofthem fall asleep?
They relax to true crime,murder stuff, podcast it's
fascinating.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Yeah, I don't know.
It's not the same as like ahorror movie, it's just like
informative but you're stillfollowing along.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Yeah, it's still a story that's in your mind and
now I'm gonna have nightmareslike I just ate ice cream.
You ever get nightmares whenyou do.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Actually, I also eat a lot of ice cream.
Okay, my favorite okay, kind ofdepends.
But if we're going for likestore-bought favorite, I I'm
always a vanilla chocolate chipkind of girl, but like, if I
want to go fancy, there's one,um, I think Grater's makes it
and caramel that's like blackraspberry with chocolate chunks
in it.
It's amazing.
My friend got it for me once,um.
(03:07):
But if I'm kind of splurging,dairy queen's chocolate brownie,
extreme blizzard I love me somediabetes.
I love all that I'm trying toorder mediums and smalls instead
of larges.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Now, yeah, you'd be like a turtle and just run
around everywhere.
I've gave it away so many timesof what animal we brought today
we brought a couple animals.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
Maybe it's one of the other turtles that's running
around.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
I'm excited we'll see you later um.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Shall we start we should, um, but do you ever go
for the halo top, uh, ice creamor any of that, the rebel?
It's like it's supposed to bethe healthier version, but I
never eat just a serving I'venever heard of it.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
I'm kind of the person where if I'm eating ice
cream, I'm eating ice cream andI should just enjoy it.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
I had that.
I had a same analogy the otherday.
I went to the bar and ordered asalad and an NA beverage, but
it was actually kind of coolbecause it was midday kind of in
Rushville Fishmoon Brewery, Ithink is what it's called.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
I've heard of that.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
But Rushville is like he's picking up all the plants
and furniture and stuff.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
There's no camera there.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
No, he's sweating it, but he has two children and
like two dogs, so he's runningaround picking up crazy.
Right, he just got to followthe turtle.
It's slow.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
He got some of the greens.
Now he's trying to beckon heraway from whatever she's getting
into trouble.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
He's sweating too.
Actually, there is that 360camera.
We'll see some of this action.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Just do the super speed up motion where they're
just like bouncing around hereeat the lettuce.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
This is epic.
Well, shall I get out our firstopinion?
Yeah, get out these new friends.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
All right, this can't be seen, so we'll start with
this lovely friend so what wehave here is a red-eared slider.
Um and this is a very commontype of turtle that you'll see
in indiana and really across thecountry and even across the
world, because while they'renative to indiana, I mean that
they belong here.
We're supposed to havered-eared sliders everywhere um,
(05:04):
they're actually very highlyinvasive in other parts of the
country and other parts of theworld.
One of the big troubles isespecially in the 70s not as
much nowadays, but you could buythem as pets at the Five and
Dime store.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Really.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
And you could buy them and they were about this
big.
And then the USDA and the FDAsaid wait a minute, all these
children are getting salmonellabecause the turtles are like
this big.
And what do kids do witheverything it goes in their
mouth?
Oh my gosh.
So turtles can carry salmonella.
All reptiles can.
It's normal for them.
So it's not like they're goingto get sick from salmonella,
just don't put them in yourmouth but don't stick the turtle
(05:42):
in your mouth.
Wash your hands after eatingthe turtle.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
Maybe don't eat some gummies right after handling
turtles, so people used to huntand eat turtles, right um, not
as much these guys.
People do still eat them um howdoes that just cook this
almanac out or something?
Speaker 1 (05:59):
yeah, it'll kill the bacteria that's what I'm like.
You can actually get toxins fromthe bacteria, not even just
from the bacteria growing itself, but nowadays the big problem
is eating sea turtles.
Actually, Every species of seaturtle that exists is endangered
primarily from overhunting andhabitat loss and a lot of other
(06:20):
issues.
These guys do not have thatproblem.
In fact, they have the oppositeproblem.
They're really good at adapting, so they can live pretty much
anywhere.
So these people were gettingthem as pets and then they got
bigger or the people got boredand they didn't realize that
this thing can easily live 50years.
So then they dumped them intheir nearby pond and because
they can kind of surviveanywhere, they thrived.
(06:41):
And now they're kind of surviveanywhere they thrived, and now
they're kind of taking over thecountry and even they're all
over the planet.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
So they're just everywhere.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
They're just everywhere, but they're supposed
to be here.
She's, of course, a shy one.
What's her name?
This is a pair of them.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
And I don't remember which one she is.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
I'd have to ask Joyce when she gets back.
I do wish she would come out,because it is really cute to
watch her eat worms maybe if youput the other one up there
they'll be like, oh hey no,they're not really friends oh
really but you can see um thislittle bit that I'm picking off
of her shell here, uh, so she'sshedding her scoots right now.
So just a piece like this um,and that's their equivalent, so
(07:22):
the shell itself.
Everyone thinks of turtles assimilar to um, like a hermit
crab, where there's a turtleinside a shell.
The turtle isn't inside theshell, the turtle is the shell.
So there are grooves kind ofgoing along here.
You can see actually this ridgewhen you hit the camera.
This ridge going down um showsyou where her spine is.
(07:42):
So her spinal column isembedded in her shell, um, and
then the spinal column isembedded in her shell, and then
the ribs are also embedded inthe shell.
So when she hides you can seeshe's not actually inside it.
All she's doing is tucking herface in so that if something
were to try and bite on her shecan hide.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
So she's not bothered though, right?
No?
Speaker 1 (07:59):
Just don't put your fingers too close.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Is that why your fingers are like back here?
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Yeah, back here.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
How far can she reach ?
Speaker 1 (08:05):
So for your typical sliders, like, most of what
you're going to see in a pond isnot a snapping turtle.
If you're holding them kind ofbehind the forelimbs, you're
fine, you're not going to getbitten.
Snapping turtles have evenlonger necks, right.
So if you hold a snappingturtle like this turtle, like
this, you're going to get bitten.
You actually have to hold themby the end of the shell like
this if it's a snapping turtle,this is the only way that
(08:25):
they're not going to be able toreach around and bite you,
because they can reach aroundall the way to the side of their
shell here, um.
So if you're helping one crossthe road, it's very awkward
because the balance isn't goodand she's trying to kick me
right now.
Um, but that's the safest wayto handle them, or just kind of
shoo them along with an object.
So she's.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
She's disgruntled and her worm is escaping.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
If we leave her here long enough, she'll probably
come out and go wandering.
Oh yes, this is a very common,common native.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
Well, she's nervous it's her first podcast.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
It is.
It's her very first podcastever.
If she sticks her head out, wecan see that she's called a
red-eared slider because she'sgot little red marks really
right by either ear so they live?
Speaker 2 (09:02):
how long?
Speaker 1 (09:04):
in the wild we're going to more commonly see like
20 to 40 in captivity.
They can easily live 50 or evenmore if they get proper care.
But the other problem isturtles even somebody little
like this red-eared slider hererequire very, very intricate
care and a lot of people don'tknow that.
They go to the store.
They see them in their littlepond, they think it's cute.
They bring it home for theirpet, require very, very
(09:24):
intricate care and a lot ofpeople don't know that.
They go to the store.
They see them in their littlepond, they think it's cute.
They bring it home for theirpet or for their children as a
pet.
But actually these guys havevery specific lighting
requirements, temperaturerequirements, diet requirements.
They are going to produce waymore waste than something like a
fish.
So typically they need a very,very large water source, at
(09:46):
least 10 gallons per inch.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
So she's the one that's inside the when you walk
into the ACA, she's in thosereally really big like full of
water.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
We had a stare down one day.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Yeah, yeah, because I was like, and she was literally
.
Well, when people walk up, tothe cage.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
they assume that you're going to feed them, so
they all will come and inquireat you.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
So it's a total letdown, Like come with food
next time.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
Exactly.
If you're going to comeinteract with me, you better
bring food.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
What do they eat?
Worms.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
They can't so in the wild.
These guys are going to eatmostly bugs, crustaceans and
maybe like small fish and thingsthat they can get a hold of.
They will eat some plantmaterial as well, but especially
when they're babies they reallyneed the protein to grow, so
they're going to focus on thatcomponent of their diet.
But one of the natures ofturtles is that they are
(10:34):
omnivores, meaning they eatplants and meat.
So she would eat pretty muchanything she could get a hold of
, but most of her preference aregoing to be insects and
crustaceans, gotcha muchanything she could get a hold of
, but most of her preference aregoing to be insects and
crustaceans, gotcha little fishand things.
I want you to see those prettyred ears.
Come on, they also do a reallysilly dance.
(10:54):
Um, so there's a coupledifferent ways to tell that
she's a girl.
One of the ways when she sticksher foot out she listens to
true crime podcast yeah, and shefalls asleep to them.
It's not just about listeningto them that's the worst part
but you'll see that her frontnails aren't super crazy.
They look pretty normal.
The boys have really reallylong nails.
(11:15):
Like, just got my nails didlike this long nails because
their preferred mating ritual ifthey want to show interest in a
female is, they swim up to thefemale and and they get right in
her face and they do this.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
I did that before and it was the last first date type
situation.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Well, they have to do it back to you.
That's how they show you that.
Oh, it's like a yeah yeah.
So they come up like right inthe female's face and do a
little wiggle finger dance.
So that's one way you can tellthem apart.
But it's also shell shape andplacement of the vent on the
tail and a couple of things likethat.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
But if she would come , out and say hi, she's getting
curious.
Speaker 1 (11:50):
She says excuse me, I wish you wouldn't poke my butt.
You might be able to see thered.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Yeah, I can see both of them, both sides, because
she's looking right at me.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
She's beautiful, the camera's silly she's beautiful
camera, silly, she's verycommonly mistaken for other
native species like paintedturtles, yellow-bellied sliders,
etc.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
But that's going to be the key marker she's a red
slider, red eared, red earedslider there you go.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
She says look at how pretty my red ears are.
Wow, they do come in a lot ofdifferent color patterns,
everything from kind of a solidblack to a lot more yellow, even
than she's showing.
Um, they look a lot prettierwhen they're wet, because you
don't see all the scoots oh,yeah, um they're all sleek and
shiny so she's a foreverresident she's a forever
resident, so she as I mentioned,people used to get them as pets
(12:36):
all the time and dump them intolakes and water rays, and
that's why they're now invasiveand taking over really
everywhere, I think, except, uh,antarctica, like one other
continent.
They're everywhere, um, butpeople get them as pets and
realize that they are reallyhard to care for.
And if they don't dump themwhich fortunately in this case,
(12:56):
um, her parents were splittingup and nobody could take her um,
so they brought her to us andso she and her sister sister are
permanent residents with us, umthe sister.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
She don't really like that.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
Well, she doesn't really like that although one of
them is laying eggs, sosomebody's happy do they uh live
in the same clothes?
Yeah, um, so we have a.
We have a separate big tankthat has a different one, just
for spacing, because you don'twant to cram too many in
together, but they are prettygregarious species.
They'll bask on a log all in apile, sometimes on top of each
(13:32):
other, because they all want toget the most sunshine, and they
do really well together.
The only trouble in captivityis that, as I mentioned, they
produce a lot of waste.
So you ideally want a filterfor the water that's rated for
three times the size of the tankyou have for one turtle.
So it takes a lot of filtrationto clear out the amount of
waste that they produce.
(13:52):
As much as we love them, theyare poop factories.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
That's wild.
Join the club, girl.
Look at that, she's cute.
Yeah, she's digging it.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
But yes, they do have sensation in their shell too,
so when I give her scratches shecan feel them, and most of the
time they learn to like it.
But she's definitely in a newplace, yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
A little wary Should we get out our next friend.
Yeah, let's see.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Our next friend is going to be a bit more social.
This is Lord Voldetort.
Lord what Lord Voldetort?
Speaker 2 (14:21):
Okay, lord, what lord voldetort.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
Okay, so he is an eastern box turtle.
He might eat a worm for usbecause they are his favorite
things.
Oh yeah, oh um.
He is an eastern box turtle.
They're also a native species umand he too, was a surrendered
pet, um, the person that ownedhim actually went to prison, um,
and he was kept by naturecenter for a while and then they
(14:42):
couldn't keep him anymore.
So now he's been with us forthe past five years.
So he is adult size.
He's about at least 10 yearsold, but no idea how long the
initial owner had had him.
There we go.
Good job, buddy.
So, as you can see, they alsowill eat worms.
They are a species of turtle aswell.
(15:03):
So, um, they're omnivores.
They're gonna eat worms andplants, and you'll even find
them scavenging on like a deercarcass they get protein where
they can take it um and anywhereand everywhere they can.
So they are really adapted tojust kind of get by with
everything and anything he cansit on there Can he.
He might go travel, that's allright.
(15:24):
He's used to programs.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
So he's not a nibbler , oh no.
He's not a nibbler, all right.
Oh my gosh, oh worm down hereyou get the worm and I'll make
sure he doesn't run off here.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Oh God, they're very slippery Okay.
Oh we're very excited.
We're very excited.
He doesn't have the best name,that's okay.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Oh.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
I'm sorry, buddy, my bad.
That was my bad, it was a badthrow, good catch.
So, yes, these guys are also anative species and they are a
species of concern in manystates, meaning their
populations are declining quiterapidly.
Unfortunately, most of theirproblem is habitat loss, but
also people taking them from thewild and selling them as pets,
(16:08):
either within the country oreven to other countries.
It is, in Indiana, illegal totake them out of the wild
because they are protected.
They're a species of concern,meaning their populations are
declining.
And he might not be much of adrinker either.
He usually drinks when we puthim in a bath.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
Oh, okay.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
All right, gets a little swim time.
But yes, these guys, as Imentioned, are called box
turtles because, unlike ourlittle red-eared slider friend,
if you pick him up and look onthe bottom, you'll see he's got
a seam, a hinge on his shell, um, and he's a really sweet soul.
So it's hard to make him upset.
(16:47):
But if, when you can upset him,he can actually I forgot to do
there no comment.
Uh, he can actually um,completely encompass himself in
his shell until he's like asealed little rock oh, really
like a roly-poly.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
Look at you, stretched out.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
He's got places to be .
He says I know where the wormsare.
This lady's been giving them tome.
Come on, buddy.
But they do have a greatpersonality.
They're really great with kids'programs too.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
Oh I bet.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
But just like our slider friend, they don't make
the best pets because they needeven more specific requirements.
Can I be?
Speaker 2 (17:23):
did he just make a noise?
Speaker 1 (17:24):
oh yeah, they hiss.
They hiss when they're mad, andI'm trying to show you that he
closes up in his shell, but hesays, no, I want to come out and
socialize.
So this is my first podcastyeah, see, well, I know the girl
over there was very scared andI thought you should know you
should hide.
He's like, excuse me, I justneed to go get the worms.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
He's wild.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
You can't go off the table, though We'll have to, so
do you get?
Speaker 2 (17:45):
many.
You got him.
Yeah, walk that way.
So do you get many people comein and seek care for the turtles
they have, do you?
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Not as many as you should, unfortunately, we do see
them pretty regularly.
Most of the time they're goingto have sliders or a variation.
It seems like they're a prettycommon pet they are a pretty
common pet and unfortunatelythey are very uncommonly taken
care of okay, so that's it um,and it's a lot of just lack of
knowledge, of eithermisinformation online or lack of
(18:19):
seeking information online.
Um, and you know, when you buythem from the pet store, often
they're just in a big tank withlike 10 other turtles.
So people think that that'swhat you do with them and they
really struggle in those kindsof situations.
And these guys, if you have oneas a pet that you acquired
legally from another state, youhave to have a permit even to
keep them Really Because theyare protected.
(18:40):
So these guys you can't reallyhave much as pets at all in this
state.
Other states are a bit more lax.
He wants to go take a tumble.
He's an adventure turtle.
He's got places to be.
We can also put him in turtleprison if we need to.
But yes, he is a native species.
So, unlike our red-eared sliderwho likes to live in waterways,
this guy is actually a landturtle.
(19:02):
So most of the time you'regoing to find these guys like in
the middle of the woods wherethere's leaf litter and a lot of
things like that around to hidein and burrow in and bugs to
eat.
Their mating strategy is kindof silly in that the only way
they can find another one toreproduce with is by physically
seeing it.
So imagine trying to find thislittle camouflaged thing in a
(19:23):
bunch of leaf litter, and thenyou have to find another one.
So their strategy is justpopulation density, is having as
many as they possibly can sothat you might happen to
encounter someone of theopposite sex that you can breed
with in the right season whichis also why pulling them out of
the wild is so detrimental.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
They need a turtle tender.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
They do.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
They need their own dating app.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
It would make their lives a lot.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
Wow, he's just chilling.
He's having a great time.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
He's actually very annoyed now that he can't
adventure.
So he is a turtle and that isalso a turtle.
Yeah, and our new friend isalso a turtle.
However, our new friend is atortoise.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
Tortoise, because it's like 400 pounds bigger.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
Not the size.
So all tortoises are turtles,but not all turtles are
tortoises.
So tell me the difference beforeI go getting so turtle is just
the um common name for chelonian, which are the things with
shells.
So anything that you would lookat and be like that looks
turtle, like they're cheloniansand that's called turtles.
(20:25):
However, more specifically,they're then broken down to
turtles below turtles andtortoises below turtles and
tortoises are going to bestrictly herbivores.
So these guys are going to eatbugs and plants and scavenge on
a carcass and eat a strawberry,happily.
Um, our extra friend, who's atortoise, only eats plant
(20:45):
material.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Oh cool, so she doesn't really care that's good,
because she could eat us if shereally wanted to.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
I mean if she took a chunk of your leg, it would be a
chunk.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:53):
They're also a bit different from their anatomy, so
think of a turtle being like asea turtle, with big fins and
flippers.
He had, or she had, webbed toesas well, because it meant more
for swimming the box turtles area little bit weird because they
want to pretend to be tortoises, but they're actually turtles.
But the tortoises truetortoises have like the big kind
(21:15):
of elephant feet because theywalk around all the time.
Um, they don't live in thewater at all.
They will drink water, take abath sometimes, um, but they're
strictly land animals andthey're also generally a lot
bigger.
So it's not a rule.
Um, but the largest things wehave are tortoises, not turtles
that's a wee bit bigger, just alittle bit I mean, you put them
side by side, you can't eventell
(21:36):
yes, go get it.
So this is zoya.
Zoya is an african spurredtortoise, or a sulcata tortoise,
or spurred thigh sometimes theycall it too um.
So she is obviously not anative species.
This is not something you'regoing to see in your backyard,
unless you have some strangepets.
But she, as you can see, isquite large.
(21:57):
She doesn't actually even fiton the camera screen, it looks
like, but she was dumped in apark.
Unfortunately, the person thatsaw her and found her realized
that this is not a normal turtleto find in Indiana and brought
her in, and ACA took her in fromthere.
So she is estimated to be atleast 20 years old.
(22:19):
She did grow since she's beenin ACA's care and these guys can
live with proper care well over100 years old.
They've been measured at 150even and potentially more, but
we don't have great records fromthat long ago.
She might even eat the peel.
You can offer it to her.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
Oh really.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
It's safe for her to eat it.
Does she eat the peel too?
We'll see what she likes.
She's interested, or maybeshe's just looking for more
banana.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
Oh yeah, there you go , so yes, these guys, she don't
waste.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
No, nothing Waste, not want, not.
As I mentioned, these guys aretortoises, so they eat only
plant material.
Fruit is a special treat.
This is not kind of an all thetime.
She eats only fruit.
Most of her diet is going to begreens, like grass and hay.
We had her out front.
She was devouring the clover.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
Oh yeah, she was taking care of it On the
sidewalk.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
She was devouring the clover and the little patches
on the sidewalk.
She does a great job at beingthe lawnmower.
However, as you can also see,she is very large and, as we
experienced and hopefully we canget a video of in the lobby
area.
They are very, very strong andhave very strong opinions about
what they want to do and wherethey want to go, and when they
(23:31):
decide they're going somewhere.
There's not a whole lot we cando to change their minds, even
if there are physical barriersin the way.
Like couches Like entire couches, bicycle stands, vehicles.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
I liked that Pizza King delivery guy.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
It was definitely a double take and he started to
walk away again and then he hadto stop, and then he had to walk
away again and come back again.
Double take and he started towalk away again and then he had
to stop, and then he had to walkaway again and come back again.
So, yeah, definitely notsomething you normally see
walking down the streets inindiana and banana peel hanging
out of her mouth, classy ladyright here um, I think she might
even actually be a boy why doyou say that?
uh, so the shell shape that wewere talking about, um, when you
(24:07):
pick her up she's got a veryconcave curvature to the bottom
of her shell.
It's called the plastron, andthat little curvature is the
same thing that Voldator herehad.
That's, we're talking aboutmating a lot, honestly, but
that's for mating as well, sothey can fit on top of each
other like little puzzle pieces.
And then the tuck of the tailas well, and then the two, the
(24:29):
gular scutesutes.
So this, the only plates in theshell that stick out underneath
her neck.
Those are used for flippingother tortoises.
So when they're havingcompetitions over mates they'll
go and flip each other upsidedown using that big piece that's
sticking out under her neck orhis.
But yeah, they are very, verypowerful and, as I mentioned,
(24:51):
with the ready-to-sliders,people buying them as little
tiny babies.
Obviously she's quite largeright now she's about 80 pounds.
She didn't start that way.
She started out as not muchbigger than a plum, and so the
trouble is people will go to thestore and see them as not much
bigger than a plum, thinkthey're going to turn into
something like Voldetort here.
You know, man, that's doable,handleable, and then they turn
(25:13):
into this.
So usually about.
You know, halfway to this theystart saying what did I get
myself into?
And you know I wasn't intendingto have a sentient bulldozer
running loose in my house.
And then they start to realizethat it's not actually the best
pet.
They can make good pets for theright people in the right
situations, but you have to havea huge fenced-in enclosure for
(25:33):
them.
That fence should be burieddeep in the ground, because they
burrow and they dig.
That's normal healthy turtletortoise behaviors for them and
they will destroy anything intheir path if they decide they
want to go somewhere and there'ssomething in the way.
The thing's not going to be inthe way very long and they also
have very strict temperature andhumidity requirements, diet
requirements to make sure theycan get to this size and be
healthy, and they really requirea lot of subtleties and care
(25:56):
and, as I mentioned, they canlive well over a hundred.
So if you are even consideringgetting a tortoise like this,
you have to ideally look forsomeone at least 20 years
younger than you and make surethey are fully willing to commit
to taking this turtle when youdie, because it is going to
outlive us probably everybody inthis room so how many years?
(26:16):
um in well captive 150 captivity.
That doesn't go so well, whichis what I see a lot in practice.
Maybe not even 10, because theyare so commonly kept in
improper husbandry setupsbecause people don't know.
So that's one of the mainreasons we recommend routine
wellness exams.
So even if they look healthy toyou, get them in.
(26:38):
Not only do we look at them andmake sure we don't see any
signs of illness that might notbe obvious to somebody else, but
one of our big jobs is to talkabout husbandry and talk about
how to care for them properly,to set them up for success long
term.
She's also scratching up yourtable here.
(26:58):
I hope that's okay.
Some worm goods, you know, somemashed strawberry and a little
tortoise scratches.
What do you think?
We got some greens here tooafter that.
Outside too, they do havesensation in their shell, um, so
they can feel.
Uh, it is a part of their body,so that is kind of their
backbone and ribs spread out,and then that surface layer,
like what the red-eared sliderwas shedding, is kind of like a
(27:19):
nail on top.
So it's keratin on top.
But they do have feelings.
So they do generally like shellrubs and shell scratches and
you know, when you're cleaningthem with a scrub brush they
feel that and they'll do thelittle butt wiggle that shows
that they're happy with it.
They like, usually, neckscratches as well.
She's just one track mind ofwhere did the strawberry come
(27:41):
from?
They are adorable and they havea great personality and they
quite frankly make very poorpets for the vast majority of
people.
So these are just a few of themany different kinds of animals
we see here at Animal CareAlliance.
We do treat cats and dogs andgeneral wildlife, but also pets
as well, and I'm Dr Matt.
I'm the main one seeing exoticsand I'm our full-time
(28:04):
veterinarian here at Animal CareAlliance and I'm happy to see
we saw birds last week reptilesthis week.
What Some more surprises?
Speaker 2 (28:11):
I know it's such a treat for you to come up here.
I mean, I love animals.
This is just wild, because I'venever experienced that before.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
Well, it's great enrichment for them too.
So you know, Voldatort's aneducation ambassador, that's his
role is to teach people aboutbox turtles.
And then Zoya obviously wasthrilled to go wander around the
streets in Richmond.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
No, she made all kinds of friends, yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
Some very confused transporters in the car too.
Poor pizza.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
It's like he wanted to take a picture and he's like
he just kept walking.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
Okay, no, I got to, and then like started to walk
away in the end and then justlike try to take a picture when
he thought we weren't looking,Because initially it was the.
Oh, there's a crowd of people.
What is that?
Speaker 2 (28:52):
I know I'm trying to think of like a funny place to
take her.
Yeah, and just like have coffeeon the patio somewhere, have
dinner.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
Well then the other guy that was like, is that
normal?
Does that live here Like dude?
I think you'd know if we had80-foot tortoises.
Speaker 2 (29:11):
I think we could totally.
We could take it down to likethe barbecue on the patio and
that's my therapy turtle.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
And no, especially like the ones that let dogs in.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:17):
You'd be like what do you mean?
You know?
Speaker 2 (29:19):
they wouldn't care.
Speaker 1 (29:20):
Spot.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
I need a really big salad Extra strawberries, she
told me.
Hold the blue cheese.
She doesn't like blue cheese.
Well, thanks for coming today.
This Hold the blue cheese.
She doesn't like blue cheese.
Well, thanks for coming today.
This is great.
I can't wait.
I mean, I didn't think it wouldget better than Ozzy, yeah, but
I'm really excited that you'rehere.
Richmond's lucky to have youhere, as being able to care for
(29:45):
these exotics, you know, becausefor the longest time they'd
have to go to Cincinnati or Indy.
So it's really cool you're hereand I'll keep spreading the
word.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
Well, thank you, and I mean nothing else.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
We're having a lot of fun.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
Life Inscripted with Kevin Shipp.
Life Inscripted with Kevin Shook to enhance focus oh,
it's like a little supplementgummy.
Yeah, just one yeah, well,three is a serving three you can
see, it tells you oh no, maybeit does say proprietary blend
serving size three gummies.
Chew three gummies daily, wowding, ding, ding, ding, dong
you'd be like the turtle runningaround with the couch on your
(00:40):
back I'll start with one.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
I've been trying to be better, so I've been drinking
the little v8 energy drinks.
They're like little mini cans,um, and you can get carbonated
ones and you can get like hellaspiked caffeine or just like
moderate energy drink one.
So I usually drink the hellaspiked one when I'm driving.
Two really spiked like very,very caffeinated how long a
(01:05):
drive hour and a half how manydays a week?
Speaker 2 (01:08):
three hey horrible I mean I worked an hour a day so
do you work, do you listen topodcasts or what?
Speaker 1 (01:15):
I never used to.
I was always like a musicperson and then yeah, and then I
started on audiobooks and nowI'm on podcasts and like that
kind of drive.
You gotta gotta have somethingwhat's your favorite podcast?
This one obviously oh, we'rerecording.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Oh, no, what do you listen to?
Speaker 1 (01:31):
so I had one of my uh nurses at aca actually um got
me on one gonna be terrible.
Not remember what it'sofficially called, um, but it's
for wildlife rehabilitators.
So they do like how to releasebaby geese, like to get them to
go into the wild and have otherparents take them, um, or like
(01:52):
squirrel rehab 101 and that kindof thing, um, so I do do that
one a lot.
That's been really helpful andthen I kind of bounce around, um
, I don't really have any setones that I just like listen to
all the time.
It's usually just someone willrecommend this and I'll go try
that and listen to a couplethere and then go listen to a
couple on another one.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
That's wild and there's a podcast for like
everything.
Everything what scares me isokay, so maybe you're not the
average lady, but how many ofthem fall asleep?
They relax to true crime,murder stuff, podcast it's
fascinating.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Yeah, I don't know.
It's not the same as like ahorror movie, it's just like
informative but you're stillfollowing along.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Yeah, it's still a story that's in your mind and
now I'm gonna have nightmareslike I just ate ice cream.
You ever get nightmares whenyou do.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Actually, I also eat a lot of ice cream.
Okay, my favorite okay, kind ofdepends.
But if we're going for likestore-bought favorite, I I'm
always a vanilla chocolate chipkind of girl, but like, if I
want to go fancy, there's one,um, I think Grater's makes it
and caramel that's like blackraspberry with chocolate chunks
in it.
It's amazing.
My friend got it for me once,um.
(03:07):
But if I'm kind of splurging,dairy queen's chocolate brownie,
extreme blizzard I love me somediabetes.
I love all that I'm trying toorder mediums and smalls instead
of larges.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Now, yeah, you'd be like a turtle and just run
around everywhere.
I've gave it away so many timesof what animal we brought today
we brought a couple animals.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
Maybe it's one of the other turtles that's running
around.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
I'm excited we'll see you later um.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Shall we start we should, um, but do you ever go
for the halo top, uh, ice creamor any of that, the rebel?
It's like it's supposed to bethe healthier version, but I
never eat just a serving I'venever heard of it.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
I'm kind of the person where if I'm eating ice
cream, I'm eating ice cream andI should just enjoy it.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
I had that.
I had a same analogy the otherday.
I went to the bar and ordered asalad and an NA beverage, but
it was actually kind of coolbecause it was midday kind of in
Rushville Fishmoon Brewery, Ithink is what it's called.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
I've heard of that.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
But Rushville is like he's picking up all the plants
and furniture and stuff.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
There's no camera there.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
No, he's sweating it, but he has two children and
like two dogs, so he's runningaround picking up crazy.
Right, he just got to followthe turtle.
It's slow.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
He got some of the greens.
Now he's trying to beckon heraway from whatever she's getting
into trouble.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
He's sweating too.
Actually, there is that 360camera.
We'll see some of this action.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Just do the super speed up motion where they're
just like bouncing around hereeat the lettuce.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
This is epic.
Well, shall I get out our firstopinion?
Yeah, get out these new friends.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
All right, this can't be seen, so we'll start with
this lovely friend so what wehave here is a red-eared slider.
Um and this is a very commontype of turtle that you'll see
in indiana and really across thecountry and even across the
world, because while they'renative to indiana, I mean that
they belong here.
We're supposed to havered-eared sliders everywhere um,
(05:04):
they're actually very highlyinvasive in other parts of the
country and other parts of theworld.
One of the big troubles isespecially in the 70s not as
much nowadays, but you could buythem as pets at the Five and
Dime store.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Really.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
And you could buy them and they were about this
big.
And then the USDA and the FDAsaid wait a minute, all these
children are getting salmonellabecause the turtles are like
this big.
And what do kids do witheverything it goes in their
mouth?
Oh my gosh.
So turtles can carry salmonella.
All reptiles can.
It's normal for them.
So it's not like they're goingto get sick from salmonella,
just don't put them in yourmouth but don't stick the turtle
(05:42):
in your mouth.
Wash your hands after eatingthe turtle.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
Maybe don't eat some gummies right after handling
turtles, so people used to huntand eat turtles, right um, not
as much these guys.
People do still eat them um howdoes that just cook this
almanac out or something?
Speaker 1 (05:59):
yeah, it'll kill the bacteria that's what I'm like.
You can actually get toxins fromthe bacteria, not even just
from the bacteria growing itself, but nowadays the big problem
is eating sea turtles.
Actually, Every species of seaturtle that exists is endangered
primarily from overhunting andhabitat loss and a lot of other
(06:20):
issues.
These guys do not have thatproblem.
In fact, they have the oppositeproblem.
They're really good at adapting, so they can live pretty much
anywhere.
So these people were gettingthem as pets and then they got
bigger or the people got boredand they didn't realize that
this thing can easily live 50years.
So then they dumped them intheir nearby pond and because
they can kind of surviveanywhere, they thrived.
(06:41):
And now they're kind of surviveanywhere they thrived, and now
they're kind of taking over thecountry and even they're all
over the planet.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
So they're just everywhere.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
They're just everywhere, but they're supposed
to be here.
She's, of course, a shy one.
What's her name?
This is a pair of them.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
And I don't remember which one she is.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
I'd have to ask Joyce when she gets back.
I do wish she would come out,because it is really cute to
watch her eat worms maybe if youput the other one up there
they'll be like, oh hey no,they're not really friends oh
really but you can see um thislittle bit that I'm picking off
of her shell here, uh, so she'sshedding her scoots right now.
So just a piece like this um,and that's their equivalent, so
(07:22):
the shell itself.
Everyone thinks of turtles assimilar to um, like a hermit
crab, where there's a turtleinside a shell.
The turtle isn't inside theshell, the turtle is the shell.
So there are grooves kind ofgoing along here.
You can see actually this ridgewhen you hit the camera.
This ridge going down um showsyou where her spine is.
(07:42):
So her spinal column isembedded in her shell, um, and
then the spinal column isembedded in her shell, and then
the ribs are also embedded inthe shell.
So when she hides you can seeshe's not actually inside it.
All she's doing is tucking herface in so that if something
were to try and bite on her shecan hide.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
So she's not bothered though, right?
No?
Speaker 1 (07:59):
Just don't put your fingers too close.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Is that why your fingers are like back here?
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Yeah, back here.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
How far can she reach ?
Speaker 1 (08:05):
So for your typical sliders, like, most of what
you're going to see in a pond isnot a snapping turtle.
If you're holding them kind ofbehind the forelimbs, you're
fine, you're not going to getbitten.
Snapping turtles have evenlonger necks, right.
So if you hold a snappingturtle like this turtle, like
this, you're going to get bitten.
You actually have to hold themby the end of the shell like
this if it's a snapping turtle,this is the only way that
(08:25):
they're not going to be able toreach around and bite you,
because they can reach aroundall the way to the side of their
shell here, um.
So if you're helping one crossthe road, it's very awkward
because the balance isn't goodand she's trying to kick me
right now.
Um, but that's the safest wayto handle them, or just kind of
shoo them along with an object.
So she's.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
She's disgruntled and her worm is escaping.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
If we leave her here long enough, she'll probably
come out and go wandering.
Oh yes, this is a very common,common native.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
Well, she's nervous it's her first podcast.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
It is.
It's her very first podcastever.
If she sticks her head out, wecan see that she's called a
red-eared slider because she'sgot little red marks really
right by either ear so they live?
Speaker 2 (09:02):
how long?
Speaker 1 (09:04):
in the wild we're going to more commonly see like
20 to 40 in captivity.
They can easily live 50 or evenmore if they get proper care.
But the other problem isturtles even somebody little
like this red-eared slider hererequire very, very intricate
care and a lot of people don'tknow that.
They go to the store.
They see them in their littlepond, they think it's cute.
They bring it home for theirpet, require very, very
(09:24):
intricate care and a lot ofpeople don't know that.
They go to the store.
They see them in their littlepond, they think it's cute.
They bring it home for theirpet or for their children as a
pet.
But actually these guys havevery specific lighting
requirements, temperaturerequirements, diet requirements.
They are going to produce waymore waste than something like a
fish.
So typically they need a very,very large water source, at
(09:46):
least 10 gallons per inch.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
So she's the one that's inside the when you walk
into the ACA, she's in thosereally really big like full of
water.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
We had a stare down one day.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Yeah, yeah, because I was like, and she was literally
.
Well, when people walk up, tothe cage.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
they assume that you're going to feed them, so
they all will come and inquireat you.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
So it's a total letdown, Like come with food
next time.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
Exactly.
If you're going to comeinteract with me, you better
bring food.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
What do they eat?
Worms.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
They can't so in the wild.
These guys are going to eatmostly bugs, crustaceans and
maybe like small fish and thingsthat they can get a hold of.
They will eat some plantmaterial as well, but especially
when they're babies they reallyneed the protein to grow, so
they're going to focus on thatcomponent of their diet.
But one of the natures ofturtles is that they are
(10:34):
omnivores, meaning they eatplants and meat.
So she would eat pretty muchanything she could get a hold of
, but most of her preference aregoing to be insects and
crustaceans, gotcha muchanything she could get a hold of
, but most of her preference aregoing to be insects and
crustaceans, gotcha little fishand things.
I want you to see those prettyred ears.
Come on, they also do a reallysilly dance.
(10:54):
Um, so there's a coupledifferent ways to tell that
she's a girl.
One of the ways when she sticksher foot out she listens to
true crime podcast yeah, and shefalls asleep to them.
It's not just about listeningto them that's the worst part
but you'll see that her frontnails aren't super crazy.
They look pretty normal.
The boys have really reallylong nails.
(11:15):
Like, just got my nails didlike this long nails because
their preferred mating ritual ifthey want to show interest in a
female is, they swim up to thefemale and and they get right in
her face and they do this.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
I did that before and it was the last first date type
situation.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Well, they have to do it back to you.
That's how they show you that.
Oh, it's like a yeah yeah.
So they come up like right inthe female's face and do a
little wiggle finger dance.
So that's one way you can tellthem apart.
But it's also shell shape andplacement of the vent on the
tail and a couple of things likethat.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
But if she would come , out and say hi, she's getting
curious.
Speaker 1 (11:50):
She says excuse me, I wish you wouldn't poke my butt.
You might be able to see thered.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Yeah, I can see both of them, both sides, because
she's looking right at me.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
She's beautiful, the camera's silly she's beautiful
camera, silly, she's verycommonly mistaken for other
native species like paintedturtles, yellow-bellied sliders,
etc.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
But that's going to be the key marker she's a red
slider, red eared, red earedslider there you go.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
She says look at how pretty my red ears are.
Wow, they do come in a lot ofdifferent color patterns,
everything from kind of a solidblack to a lot more yellow, even
than she's showing.
Um, they look a lot prettierwhen they're wet, because you
don't see all the scoots oh,yeah, um they're all sleek and
shiny so she's a foreverresident she's a forever
resident, so she as I mentioned,people used to get them as pets
(12:36):
all the time and dump them intolakes and water rays, and
that's why they're now invasiveand taking over really
everywhere, I think, except, uh,antarctica, like one other
continent.
They're everywhere, um, butpeople get them as pets and
realize that they are reallyhard to care for.
And if they don't dump themwhich fortunately in this case,
(12:56):
um, her parents were splittingup and nobody could take her um,
so they brought her to us andso she and her sister sister are
permanent residents with us, umthe sister.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
She don't really like that.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
Well, she doesn't really like that although one of
them is laying eggs, sosomebody's happy do they uh live
in the same clothes?
Yeah, um, so we have a.
We have a separate big tankthat has a different one, just
for spacing, because you don'twant to cram too many in
together, but they are prettygregarious species.
They'll bask on a log all in apile, sometimes on top of each
(13:32):
other, because they all want toget the most sunshine, and they
do really well together.
The only trouble in captivityis that, as I mentioned, they
produce a lot of waste.
So you ideally want a filterfor the water that's rated for
three times the size of the tankyou have for one turtle.
So it takes a lot of filtrationto clear out the amount of
waste that they produce.
(13:52):
As much as we love them, theyare poop factories.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
That's wild.
Join the club, girl.
Look at that, she's cute.
Yeah, she's digging it.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
But yes, they do have sensation in their shell too,
so when I give her scratches shecan feel them, and most of the
time they learn to like it.
But she's definitely in a newplace, yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
A little wary Should we get out our next friend.
Yeah, let's see.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Our next friend is going to be a bit more social.
This is Lord Voldetort.
Lord what Lord Voldetort?
Speaker 2 (14:21):
Okay, lord, what lord voldetort.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
Okay, so he is an eastern box turtle.
He might eat a worm for usbecause they are his favorite
things.
Oh yeah, oh um.
He is an eastern box turtle.
They're also a native species umand he too, was a surrendered
pet, um, the person that ownedhim actually went to prison, um,
and he was kept by naturecenter for a while and then they
(14:42):
couldn't keep him anymore.
So now he's been with us forthe past five years.
So he is adult size.
He's about at least 10 yearsold, but no idea how long the
initial owner had had him.
There we go.
Good job, buddy.
So, as you can see, they alsowill eat worms.
They are a species of turtle aswell.
(15:03):
So, um, they're omnivores.
They're gonna eat worms andplants, and you'll even find
them scavenging on like a deercarcass they get protein where
they can take it um and anywhereand everywhere they can.
So they are really adapted tojust kind of get by with
everything and anything he cansit on there Can he.
He might go travel, that's allright.
(15:24):
He's used to programs.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
So he's not a nibbler , oh no.
He's not a nibbler, all right.
Oh my gosh, oh worm down hereyou get the worm and I'll make
sure he doesn't run off here.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Oh God, they're very slippery Okay.
Oh we're very excited.
We're very excited.
He doesn't have the best name,that's okay.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Oh.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
I'm sorry, buddy, my bad.
That was my bad, it was a badthrow, good catch.
So, yes, these guys are also anative species and they are a
species of concern in manystates, meaning their
populations are declining quiterapidly.
Unfortunately, most of theirproblem is habitat loss, but
also people taking them from thewild and selling them as pets,
(16:08):
either within the country oreven to other countries.
It is, in Indiana, illegal totake them out of the wild
because they are protected.
They're a species of concern,meaning their populations are
declining.
And he might not be much of adrinker either.
He usually drinks when we puthim in a bath.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
Oh, okay.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
All right, gets a little swim time.
But yes, these guys, as Imentioned, are called box
turtles because, unlike ourlittle red-eared slider friend,
if you pick him up and look onthe bottom, you'll see he's got
a seam, a hinge on his shell, um, and he's a really sweet soul.
So it's hard to make him upset.
(16:47):
But if, when you can upset him,he can actually I forgot to do
there no comment.
Uh, he can actually um,completely encompass himself in
his shell until he's like asealed little rock oh, really
like a roly-poly.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
Look at you, stretched out.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
He's got places to be .
He says I know where the wormsare.
This lady's been giving them tome.
Come on, buddy.
But they do have a greatpersonality.
They're really great with kids'programs too.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
Oh I bet.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
But just like our slider friend, they don't make
the best pets because they needeven more specific requirements.
Can I be?
Speaker 2 (17:23):
did he just make a noise?
Speaker 1 (17:24):
oh yeah, they hiss.
They hiss when they're mad, andI'm trying to show you that he
closes up in his shell, but hesays, no, I want to come out and
socialize.
So this is my first podcastyeah, see, well, I know the girl
over there was very scared andI thought you should know you
should hide.
He's like, excuse me, I justneed to go get the worms.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
He's wild.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
You can't go off the table, though We'll have to, so
do you get?
Speaker 2 (17:45):
many.
You got him.
Yeah, walk that way.
So do you get many people comein and seek care for the turtles
they have, do you?
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Not as many as you should, unfortunately, we do see
them pretty regularly.
Most of the time they're goingto have sliders or a variation.
It seems like they're a prettycommon pet they are a pretty
common pet and unfortunatelythey are very uncommonly taken
care of okay, so that's it um,and it's a lot of just lack of
knowledge, of eithermisinformation online or lack of
(18:19):
seeking information online.
Um, and you know, when you buythem from the pet store, often
they're just in a big tank withlike 10 other turtles.
So people think that that'swhat you do with them and they
really struggle in those kindsof situations.
And these guys, if you have oneas a pet that you acquired
legally from another state, youhave to have a permit even to
keep them Really Because theyare protected.
(18:40):
So these guys you can't reallyhave much as pets at all in this
state.
Other states are a bit more lax.
He wants to go take a tumble.
He's an adventure turtle.
He's got places to be.
We can also put him in turtleprison if we need to.
But yes, he is a native species.
So, unlike our red-eared sliderwho likes to live in waterways,
this guy is actually a landturtle.
(19:02):
So most of the time you'regoing to find these guys like in
the middle of the woods wherethere's leaf litter and a lot of
things like that around to hidein and burrow in and bugs to
eat.
Their mating strategy is kindof silly in that the only way
they can find another one toreproduce with is by physically
seeing it.
So imagine trying to find thislittle camouflaged thing in a
(19:23):
bunch of leaf litter, and thenyou have to find another one.
So their strategy is justpopulation density, is having as
many as they possibly can sothat you might happen to
encounter someone of theopposite sex that you can breed
with in the right season whichis also why pulling them out of
the wild is so detrimental.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
They need a turtle tender.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
They do.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
They need their own dating app.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
It would make their lives a lot.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
Wow, he's just chilling.
He's having a great time.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
He's actually very annoyed now that he can't
adventure.
So he is a turtle and that isalso a turtle.
Yeah, and our new friend isalso a turtle.
However, our new friend is atortoise.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
Tortoise, because it's like 400 pounds bigger.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
Not the size.
So all tortoises are turtles,but not all turtles are
tortoises.
So tell me the difference beforeI go getting so turtle is just
the um common name for chelonian, which are the things with
shells.
So anything that you would lookat and be like that looks
turtle, like they're cheloniansand that's called turtles.
(20:25):
However, more specifically,they're then broken down to
turtles below turtles andtortoises below turtles and
tortoises are going to bestrictly herbivores.
So these guys are going to eatbugs and plants and scavenge on
a carcass and eat a strawberry,happily.
Um, our extra friend, who's atortoise, only eats plant
(20:45):
material.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Oh cool, so she doesn't really care that's good,
because she could eat us if shereally wanted to.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
I mean if she took a chunk of your leg, it would be a
chunk.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:53):
They're also a bit different from their anatomy, so
think of a turtle being like asea turtle, with big fins and
flippers.
He had, or she had, webbed toesas well, because it meant more
for swimming the box turtles area little bit weird because they
want to pretend to be tortoises, but they're actually turtles.
But the tortoises truetortoises have like the big kind
(21:15):
of elephant feet because theywalk around all the time.
Um, they don't live in thewater at all.
They will drink water, take abath sometimes, um, but they're
strictly land animals andthey're also generally a lot
bigger.
So it's not a rule.
Um, but the largest things wehave are tortoises, not turtles
that's a wee bit bigger, just alittle bit I mean, you put them
side by side, you can't eventell
(21:36):
yes, go get it.
So this is zoya.
Zoya is an african spurredtortoise, or a sulcata tortoise,
or spurred thigh sometimes theycall it too um.
So she is obviously not anative species.
This is not something you'regoing to see in your backyard,
unless you have some strangepets.
But she, as you can see, isquite large.
(21:57):
She doesn't actually even fiton the camera screen, it looks
like, but she was dumped in apark.
Unfortunately, the person thatsaw her and found her realized
that this is not a normal turtleto find in Indiana and brought
her in, and ACA took her in fromthere.
So she is estimated to be atleast 20 years old.
(22:19):
She did grow since she's beenin ACA's care and these guys can
live with proper care well over100 years old.
They've been measured at 150even and potentially more, but
we don't have great records fromthat long ago.
She might even eat the peel.
You can offer it to her.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
Oh really.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
It's safe for her to eat it.
Does she eat the peel too?
We'll see what she likes.
She's interested, or maybeshe's just looking for more
banana.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
Oh yeah, there you go , so yes, these guys, she don't
waste.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
No, nothing Waste, not want, not.
As I mentioned, these guys aretortoises, so they eat only
plant material.
Fruit is a special treat.
This is not kind of an all thetime.
She eats only fruit.
Most of her diet is going to begreens, like grass and hay.
We had her out front.
She was devouring the clover.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
Oh yeah, she was taking care of it On the
sidewalk.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
She was devouring the clover and the little patches
on the sidewalk.
She does a great job at beingthe lawnmower.
However, as you can also see,she is very large and, as we
experienced and hopefully we canget a video of in the lobby
area.
They are very, very strong andhave very strong opinions about
what they want to do and wherethey want to go, and when they
(23:31):
decide they're going somewhere.
There's not a whole lot we cando to change their minds, even
if there are physical barriersin the way.
Like couches Like entire couches, bicycle stands, vehicles.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
I liked that Pizza King delivery guy.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
It was definitely a double take and he started to
walk away again and then he hadto stop, and then he had to walk
away again and come back again.
Double take and he started towalk away again and then he had
to stop, and then he had to walkaway again and come back again.
So, yeah, definitely notsomething you normally see
walking down the streets inindiana and banana peel hanging
out of her mouth, classy ladyright here um, I think she might
even actually be a boy why doyou say that?
uh, so the shell shape that wewere talking about, um, when you
(24:07):
pick her up she's got a veryconcave curvature to the bottom
of her shell.
It's called the plastron, andthat little curvature is the
same thing that Voldator herehad.
That's, we're talking aboutmating a lot, honestly, but
that's for mating as well, sothey can fit on top of each
other like little puzzle pieces.
And then the tuck of the tailas well, and then the two, the
(24:29):
gular scutesutes.
So this, the only plates in theshell that stick out underneath
her neck.
Those are used for flippingother tortoises.
So when they're havingcompetitions over mates they'll
go and flip each other upsidedown using that big piece that's
sticking out under her neck orhis.
But yeah, they are very, verypowerful and, as I mentioned,
(24:51):
with the ready-to-sliders,people buying them as little
tiny babies.
Obviously she's quite largeright now she's about 80 pounds.
She didn't start that way.
She started out as not muchbigger than a plum, and so the
trouble is people will go to thestore and see them as not much
bigger than a plum, thinkthey're going to turn into
something like Voldetort here.
You know, man, that's doable,handleable, and then they turn
(25:13):
into this.
So usually about.
You know, halfway to this theystart saying what did I get
myself into?
And you know I wasn't intendingto have a sentient bulldozer
running loose in my house.
And then they start to realizethat it's not actually the best
pet.
They can make good pets for theright people in the right
situations, but you have to havea huge fenced-in enclosure for
(25:33):
them.
That fence should be burieddeep in the ground, because they
burrow and they dig.
That's normal healthy turtletortoise behaviors for them and
they will destroy anything intheir path if they decide they
want to go somewhere and there'ssomething in the way.
The thing's not going to be inthe way very long and they also
have very strict temperature andhumidity requirements, diet
requirements to make sure theycan get to this size and be
healthy, and they really requirea lot of subtleties and care
(25:56):
and, as I mentioned, they canlive well over a hundred.
So if you are even consideringgetting a tortoise like this,
you have to ideally look forsomeone at least 20 years
younger than you and make surethey are fully willing to commit
to taking this turtle when youdie, because it is going to
outlive us probably everybody inthis room so how many years?
(26:16):
um in well captive 150 captivity.
That doesn't go so well, whichis what I see a lot in practice.
Maybe not even 10, because theyare so commonly kept in
improper husbandry setupsbecause people don't know.
So that's one of the mainreasons we recommend routine
wellness exams.
So even if they look healthy toyou, get them in.
(26:38):
Not only do we look at them andmake sure we don't see any
signs of illness that might notbe obvious to somebody else, but
one of our big jobs is to talkabout husbandry and talk about
how to care for them properly,to set them up for success long
term.
She's also scratching up yourtable here.
(26:58):
I hope that's okay.
Some worm goods, you know, somemashed strawberry and a little
tortoise scratches.
What do you think?
We got some greens here tooafter that.
Outside too, they do havesensation in their shell, um, so
they can feel.
Uh, it is a part of their body,so that is kind of their
backbone and ribs spread out,and then that surface layer,
like what the red-eared sliderwas shedding, is kind of like a
(27:19):
nail on top.
So it's keratin on top.
But they do have feelings.
So they do generally like shellrubs and shell scratches and
you know, when you're cleaningthem with a scrub brush they
feel that and they'll do thelittle butt wiggle that shows
that they're happy with it.
They like, usually, neckscratches as well.
She's just one track mind ofwhere did the strawberry come
(27:41):
from?
They are adorable and they havea great personality and they
quite frankly make very poorpets for the vast majority of
people.
So these are just a few of themany different kinds of animals
we see here at Animal CareAlliance.
We do treat cats and dogs andgeneral wildlife, but also pets
as well, and I'm Dr Matt.
I'm the main one seeing exoticsand I'm our full-time
(28:04):
veterinarian here at Animal CareAlliance and I'm happy to see
we saw birds last week reptilesthis week.
What Some more surprises?
Speaker 2 (28:11):
I know it's such a treat for you to come up here.
I mean, I love animals.
This is just wild, because I'venever experienced that before.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
Well, it's great enrichment for them too.
So you know, Voldatort's aneducation ambassador, that's his
role is to teach people aboutbox turtles.
And then Zoya obviously wasthrilled to go wander around the
streets in Richmond.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
No, she made all kinds of friends, yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
Some very confused transporters in the car too.
Poor pizza.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
It's like he wanted to take a picture and he's like
he just kept walking.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
Okay, no, I got to, and then like started to walk
away in the end and then justlike try to take a picture when
he thought we weren't looking,Because initially it was the.
Oh, there's a crowd of people.
What is that?
Speaker 2 (28:52):
I know I'm trying to think of like a funny place to
take her.
Yeah, and just like have coffeeon the patio somewhere, have
dinner.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
Well then the other guy that was like, is that
normal?
Does that live here Like dude?
I think you'd know if we had80-foot tortoises.
Speaker 2 (29:11):
I think we could totally.
We could take it down to likethe barbecue on the patio and
that's my therapy turtle.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
And no, especially like the ones that let dogs in.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:17):
You'd be like what do you mean?
You know?
Speaker 2 (29:19):
they wouldn't care.
Speaker 1 (29:20):
Spot.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
I need a really big salad Extra strawberries, she
told me.
Hold the blue cheese.
She doesn't like blue cheese.
Well, thanks for coming today.
This Hold the blue cheese.
She doesn't like blue cheese.
Well, thanks for coming today.
This is great.
I can't wait.
I mean, I didn't think it wouldget better than Ozzy, yeah, but
I'm really excited that you'rehere.
Richmond's lucky to have youhere, as being able to care for
(29:45):
these exotics, you know, becausefor the longest time they'd
have to go to Cincinnati or Indy.
So it's really cool you're hereand I'll keep spreading the
word.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
Well, thank you, and I mean nothing else.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
We're having a lot of fun.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
Life Inscripted with Kevin Shipp.
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