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kingsnake.com
Darrell Senneke
Conservation of Asian Turtles
March 1, 2005
PHFlame: Good evening, everyone, and thank you for joining us
tonight!
On behalf of Jeff Barringer and all of us at kingsnake.com, I'm very
pleased to welcome Darrell Senneke to our Seventh Annual Chat Week.
Darrell is director of the World Chelonian Trust and a member of the
steering committee of the Turtle Surival Alliance. Over the last twenty
years Darrell has successfully bred Testudo ibera, Testudo hermanni,
Testudo graeca, Clemmys insculpta, Terrapene carolina, Chrysemys picta,
Indotestudo elongata, Geochelone denticulata and Geochelone pardalis.
He will be discussing the conservation of Asian turtles, as well as
general discussion on turtle and tortoise care.
Thank you so much for joining us, Darrell, and welcome!
turtledude03: ?
savannah_king: ?
Maliyum: ?
Senneke: Hello - happy to be here and help out however I can
X
LeoGeoGuy: ?
PHFaust: Turtle your up first
turtledude03: what turtles do you currently keep and have you
ever kept common snappers?
PHFlame: Thank you for coming to the special guest chat this
evening. If you have a question for Darrell, please type ? in the room
and you will be added to the queue. You WILL be called on in the order
of ? received. Please do not type openly in the chat room. Thanks again
for coming.
Laws-Yes: ?
rockybalboa_nr: ?
jake_nr: ?
Senneke: Its A long Long list -- Yes I have kept common snappers,
my focus is mostly on tortoises (8 species) but I have kept and do keep
a few aquatics as well
turtledude03: cool
turtledude03: what would you recommend as a good setup for an
adult common?
PHLiz: ?
Senneke: to list them all would take too long - if you go to
the WCT web site most of the care sheets I authored are of species I
have kept
turtledude03: ok
turtledude03: thanks
PHFlame: savyking, you're next
savannah_king: wuts ur fav turt and tort
Senneke: A wondertub for starters to medium size -- after that
a livestock trough
turtledude03: ok
turtledude03: was plannin on gettin a 750 gallon stock tank later
on
Senneke: My favorite tortoise is and of the various Greek tortoises,
my fav turtle is the Reeves
Senneke: X
PHFlame: mali, you're up
Maliyum: Have you ever worked with asian box turtles? I had one
but sadly she passed on. I currently have a Red Eared Slider, she is
a charm! Do you have any tips on taming them to get use to humans, she
always dives off into the water when i get near!
Senneke: The best way to tame a turtle is just to give it time,
eventually it will associate you with food and while there is varience
it will become reletivly tame
Senneke: Yes I have worked with ambos
Senneke: X
PHFaust: that totally sucks.... will pass on to folks on the
lists....
Maliyum: wow awesome
PHFlame: leogeo, you're up
LeoGeoGuy: Hey darrel, what is your view point on evolution in
general?
Senneke: Evolution -- in what way? it would be inappropriate
for me to get into a discussion in this venue on Darwinism and so on,
it is my opinion that species adapt over time to fill niches and by
doing so develop into new types
Geomyda: ?
Senneke: X
PHFaust: Laws_yes your turn
Laws-Yes: have scientist figure out what the cause of the mysterious
lumps forming on sea turtles is from?
Senneke: pleaseexcuse thetypos -- we can have speed or correct
spelling but sadly not both X
Senneke: I belive the currecnt thinking is this is of viral origin
- possibly triggered by polution
Laws-Yes: ok thanks
Senneke: there are a number of web site that explore this
Senneke: X
PHFaust: Rockybalboa
PHFlame: ?
rockybalboa_nr: What are the main problems facing the turtles
that you are protecting,and is it true that if i owned snakes it would
be a bad idea too bring in a tortoise because they spread a disease
that can kill my snakes?what is a good starter tortoise for me too get?thanks,its
great that you came too chat tonight.
PHLdyPayne: ?
Senneke: Thanks Rocky -- a lot to cover The main problems facing
turtles and tortoises the world over are loss of habitat, food markets,
ecological unbalance (racoons skunks) and to amuch lesser extent the
pet market \
Senneke: There can be transference of disease between reptiles
but if they do not come into contact you should be ok
Senneke: The beststarter in my mind is a redfoot
rockybalboa_nr: Thanks alot.
PHFaust: Liz your next
PHLiz: I've seriously considered making the commitment to sulcutta
tort, and wondered what kind of growth to expect as I know they become
giants, but realistically speaking how old are they before they get
to be 30+ lbs? Also what plans do you have for your torts as many of
the species out there will live longer than a middle aged human? Will
you bequeath them to family, friends, etc?
Senneke: Great questions Liz -- I have seen 30 pound sulcatas
that were only 10 years old. To a large extent they grow MUCH faster
in captivity than in the wild.
Midask9: ?
Senneke: My tortoises -- LOL well in my case I can not just givethem
to a family member
Senneke: not without having my grave trashed in resonse because
there is so many
Senneke: in my case my family has instruxtions to contact a friend
with the same obsession and to have him place them
Senneke: X
PHFaust: Jake Your up
jake_nr: what is the rarest turtle and tortoise you own? what
was the first turtle that you owned?
Senneke: hmmmmmmmmmm rarest? we tend not to talk of those things
but in my case it is a Testudo werneri
PHFaust: What is the common name on that one darrell?
Senneke: the first turtle I ever owned was a red ear slider I
imagine when I was about 7 the first tortoise was a berlanders when
I was 12 - it cost 5 dollars at woolworths
Senneke: It is the new specis split off the egyptians
jake_nr: awesome thanks
PHFaust: Flame your turn
PHFlame: Are russian or greek tortoises good beginner tortoises?
can they be kept inside? Do they need much room?
Senneke: Again I apologize for the typos -- Russians and greeks
can both be excellent tortoises for beginners
PHFlame: how hard is it to provide an adequate diet for them?
Senneke: if they are aqured as captive born specimens especially.
Otherwise thetime of adaptation can be pretty tough
reptileman17: ?
Senneke: both can be kept indoors but both like having time poutdoors
if itr is possible
Senneke: X
PHFlame: ?
Senneke: A varied diet is essential -- see our care sheets at
http://www.chelonia.org
PHFaust: Geo, your turn
PHFlame: thanks
Geomyda: Hi Darrell. I was encouraged to see a number of Pyxis
planacauda CH babies for sale of Kingsnake. Do you think we are finally
turning the corner on this tough species. I have some eggs right now
going through the zoo Atlanta protocol
PHFaust: Geomyda your turn....
Senneke: this has gotta be Jim -- Hi - I think we are really
starting to understand the incubation
Senneke: but can we really EVER have turned the corner till we
get to F2?
Midask9: sure! she will be done with mine in a week or two, leave
the porch light on...
Senneke: I am strongly encouraged by the work being donewith
this horrible threatened species
Senneke: X
PHFaust: Bring in the Payne, your next
PHLdyPayne: What is the greatest danger to Asian turtles? Is
it mostly habitate destruction or predation by humans?
PHFaust: Darrell in case you missed Ldy payne, this was her question
What is the greatest danger to Asian turtles? Is it mostly habitate
destruction or predation by humans?
antonio_fulc_nr: Do Asians keep Radiayed tortoises as pets ?
or only use them fro food? Thanks Darrell
PHFaust: OK Darrell, just in case you need it again
Senneke: There is a huge pet market in asia in fact a number
of the rarer species are very sought after there as they are here --
especially in Japan. The greater threat is the liver theives
Senneke: The greatest threat to the Asian turtles in order is
the food markets followed by habitat distruction
PHLdyPayne: thanks for the info
Senneke: Thefood markets take the adults out ofthe population
the very animals needed most
PHFaust: Reptile Man Your Turn
Senneke: next?
chez_nr: ?
reptileman17: Hello I have a common snapping turtle that I acquired
3 months ago from a friend. He is 8 inches long and I was wondering
when you think it would be ready to breed with a female?
Senneke: maturity in rturtles is size related - at 8 inches he
may be large enough already to breed 0-0 is this the head to tail or
the shell length? if it is shell length definetly he can probably breed
Senneke: X
PHFaust: Midas your turn
reptileman17: head to tail
Midask9: I work in an animal shelter and we occasionally see
injured (hit by car) turtles that are brought in. Are there any must
have's you would suggest for a turtle first aid kit? Most of what we
have seen has been cracked shells.
Midask9: (and we do have a vet on staff)
Senneke: Midas - I would keep sterile bandages -- maby some nusk9in
spray, provadone iodine and a number for a vet, minor cracks can heal
if you just keep it clean but severe ones will need to be patched with
detal acrylic or fiberglass or plaster
Senneke: X
Midask9: ty
PHFaust: Chez your question
chez_nr: i have a triunguis but i was wondering about their soaking
times and how long their head can be under water because my boxie has
been spending hours in his pool lately most of the time under water
chez_nr: sry faust im a slow typer
chez_nr: is this behavior from an injury or illness?
PHFaust: no prob
Senneke: Make certain the water is shallow enough that it can
easily get it s head out of the water, I have triunguis that spend nearly
hours every day in the bog section of their environment
Midask9: ?
Senneke: it is not unusual - particularly in a low humidity house
forthem to want to soak a lot
mist_stoock_nr: ?
rockybalboa_nr: ?
chez_nr: he pokes his head out of the water and it is not to
deep i was just wondering if it might be from an injury because b4 most
time was under his heat lamp
Senneke: It may be dehydrated -- you might want your vet to chgeck
for worms or entamebea
chez_nr: okay thx
chez_nr: im done*
PHFaust: Mist stoock
mist_stoock_nr: I get snapper eggs yearly and I am wondering
what the best time to let them go?
Senneke: Assming that you can release them in an eare that they
are comming from, and that the hatchlings have had no contact with other
species, I would release them any time up to the beginning of september,
after that they may not have time to properly set themselves up for
hibernation
Senneke: X
mist_stoock_nr: ok
PHFaust: Midas
Midask9: I have not kept turtles before, but would like to have
a set-up that is land/water in which I could keep a turtle with other
non-turtle inhabitants. Any suggestions?
Senneke: I would generally not suggest mixing species like that
-- Lizards can scratch tortoises eyes by perching on them and turtles
eat newts and frogs - if you are going to try this think BIG
chez_nr: ?
Senneke: I would suggest a stock tank with some sort of aviary
cage type thing over it
Senneke: X
PHFaust: rocky your turn
Midask9: ty, picturing a lizard perched on a tort now, very amusing
rockybalboa_nr: What is the best cage set up for a radiated tortoise,cage
size,substrate,temps,etc.Would you suggest me too get a radiated tortoise
as a beginner.thanks again.
Senneke: good question --
Senneke: I would not suggest a radiata for a beginner, mostly
because of cost -- they are not all that difficult to care for. For
a hatchling I would suggest a tortoise table 2 foot by 3 foot or so
rockybalboa_nr: Thanks alot.
rockybalboa_nr: what is the cost
Senneke: cost -- could be aywere up to 1200 dollars or more
rockybalboa_nr: thanks
PHFaust: Isnt there permits as well Darrell?
Senneke: http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/Gradiatacare.htm
Senneke: the above is the care sheet
rockybalboa_nr: where would you suggest me to get a tortoise
in canada?
Senneke: to own radiata -- you need a captive bred wldlife permit
which requires mentors or record and the goverment approval because
they are an engdangered species
PHFaust: Alrighty Chez go ahead with your question
Senneke: in Canada you bst access is a herp society to tie yourself
in with that community
Senneke: X
chez_nr: i have an oval turtle garden outside withc is 8x10 feet
with just my triunguis in it now since i adopt turtles from people who
cannot take care of them i was wondering if i could pur a redfooted
tortoise in with my triunguis..because i received an offer to take in
a redfooted tort
chez_nr: sorry for straying from "asian"turtles btw...
Senneke: I would not suggest mixing the species -- though the
diet and so on is similar. The redfoot could have disease that is asymptomatic
that might kill the three toe and vise versa -- do what I do -- build
another pen grin
Senneke: that is ok
Senneke: I am finewith these questions
Senneke: X
PHFlame: Darrell, on behalf of all of us at kingsnake.com, thank
you so much for being our guest tonight! Thank you to all who joined
us tonight as well. Tomorrow night at 9 PM Eastern we'll be welcoming
Jessi Clark-White of AfricanServal.com, discussing "Why Exotic
Pets Should Not Be Banned," and at 10 PM Eastern, Bill Love on
Herp Photography!
For information on all our Chat Week events, please visit our schedule
at http://www.kingsnake.com/HerpChat7.html
also... Lizardkeepers.com | AprilFirstBioEngineering.com
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