PASTELS & CHERRY HEADS

At last weekend's NRBE -- National Reptile Breeders Expo -- in Daytona Beach, Florida, several animals caught my eye. Well, actually, a LOT of animals -- mostly turtles & tortoises -- got my attention. Due to price & animal size -- remember, I was flying & Delta Airlines doesn't want "creatures" in their planes -- just about all my desired reptiles were only just that ... "desired".

I look at all the snakes & lizards, as well, being offered. Heck, I look at EVERYTHING.

I did buy & bring home about a 1/2 dozen books, a couple t-shirts & a good number of business cards from vendors & newly met friends. I try to buy what I can pack.

I went to the annual Expo auction held on Saturday night & previewed the items for both the "live" & "silent" versions of the auction. There wasn't anything I desired so I decided to leave & go have dinner.

But, before I left, I wrote in a bid of $100 for a "life" membership [value - $300] for the TTPG -- Turtle & Tortoise Preservation Group -- since I am already a member & I did not want someone to "low ball" a bid & get a $300 membership for, say, $20/30. Not on my watch.

When I got back to Arkansas, I mailed my check for $100. I'm now a "lifer" with the TTPG. My bid was the high bid. And obviously ... the only bid. I should have "low balled".

I did return home with several "live" items: Two baby "Cherry Headed" Red Foot Tortoises & two small "Pastel" Yellow Bellied Turtles. For the record, I did not carry the animals on the plane. That's all you need to know.

The photo above is a normal Yellow Bellied Turtle. It's a turtle from the Southeast United States, sort of common & they are sold at the Expo for about $10.

The turtle in the above photo is a "color morph" of the same species & such color variations are somewhat rare in hatching's. They also carry a much higher price & are often sold as "Pastels". In my case, they were offered for sale at $100 each & I bought two turtles for $150.

A word about me & the Expo: Unless I find a vendor who is selling some turtle/tortoise I just can not live without & which I am sure waiting on my part to buy the animal(s) may result in someone else buying them before me, I make most of my Expo animal purchases on Sunday afternoon. My reasons for doing so are:

(1) I'll see ALL the animals being offered for sale.

(2) Many vendors will not want to face Sunday evening knowing they have to take their animals back home with them. They came to SELL the animals, not give them a round-trip to Daytona Beach.

(3) "Cash Talks" & I like to "make offers" & haggle. Many vendors don't like that. But, too many animals are over priced & the sellers know it. Heck, it works most of the time on Sunday.

These are Red Footed Tortoises, native to Central & South America. They are easy to keep, common in pet shops & at reptile shows & are a fine "pet" tortoise. I have had several in my collection now for the past few years.

This is a photo of a baby "Cherry Head" Red Foot Tortoise, two of which I bought last weekend ... on Sunday. They were "offered" at $135 each. I bought the two for $230.

Unlike the "pastel" turtles, which are a "variant", "Cherry Heads" are unique to certain areas in South America & are considered a separate species from "normal" Red Foots by many authorities.

I just wanted to buy them because they are more colorful than the Red Footed Tortoises I already have. They are a tad more expensive than the "common" tortoises, which sell usually for about $50-75.

I had a good time & added some interesting turtles & tortoises to my collection. I'll do it again next year, too.