These little ones survived almost instant hibernation, shock, and me learning how to care for them.
these are called Marginated tortoises. They're land turtles.

The biggest one is called, " Centi" (my dh said it looks like it has a centipede shape on its back)

The 2 biggest one is called, "Bless" (for they're blessed to survived the trip.

The smallest one is called, "Ari" for my friend Aristotle.

I was expecting a quilt....LOL I got a good chuckle.

Wow - you saved them from death? Did you already know how to take care of them? I would have had no idea.

They are adorable little guys.

Your tortoise' are gorgeous. Many years ago (abougt 40 years) our neighbors were motorcycling across the Nevada desert and found a land turtle crossing the road. They picked it up, put him in the saddlebag and brought him home. They had him for about 15 years and loved him very much. He died rather suddenly without being sick or acting sick so they did some research on turtles via local vets and the zoo. Apparently they suspect the bagged lettuce they fed him MIGHT have had a chemical used in the washing of the lettuce or ??? that had something to do with his sudden demise. They had never fed him the bagged lettuce until the last day...they had always used fresh leaf lettuce so that was the best answer for the sudden death. Just info. Don't know if it's at all valid. Enjoy your new pets. My neighbors really enjoyed their old boy. Theirs loved to have the top of his head rubbed and he liked his feet and legs gently massaged. He'd slowly follow her from room to room so she was always worried about stepping on him but they said he was a wonderful pet and they missed him when he died.

How sweet!! Those are a great species of tortoise because full grown they only get 10-12 inches long compared to the several hundred pounds other species get ... But this species can live for 80+ years so I would definitely prepare for that :)

I have seven African spur-thigh tortoises and absolutely LOVE them!!!

There are tons of great websites for people with reptile pets and if you ever have questions you can feel free to PM me! I work at a zoo and my husband has a degree in herpetology so between the two of us and our sources, we would love to help however we can!! :)

I have one and 2 Russians, 2 Razor Backs, 1 Painted and 1 Aligator Snapper. Can we see pics of your 7?

Beautiful!

Really? boy, would I love to have 1 or 2 of the Sulcatas. but, my dg asked what would happen to them after we die?

Cute! Are they tiny?!

Oh man, do I have questions of how to care for these little ones. The breeder shipped them from Va to me Dec. 30, when the temps were freezing, she didn't put on the outside of the box, "Live animals" via Fedex, so when they reached Pitts Airport, they were delayed by freezing rain for 8 hrs. By the time I picked them up and they were pretty cold, so i soaked them in lukewarm water on a lid, they showed signs of life by opening their tiny mouths.
I took them home, soaked them again, and again they were opening their mouths. I thought they were hungry, I put some marzuri mush on my finger & they wouldn't eat it, I put them under a heat lamp, but not directly over top of them and again, they opened their mouths. I emailed the breeder and told her what I did, but she said that I was killing them. She told me that I was worse than Fedex and it any care instructions before I got them nor after. She demanded me not to contact her again, she blackballed me as a person who is cruel to animals and that I should seek med. attention for mental disease. I was fuming. I'm doing the best that I know how to care for them from reading the internet.

Aww they are so cute :D:D:D

Turtlerouge, there are fanatics out there for any species. YOu rock so don't be befundled. LOL. Love the cuties. HOw fun. I had a very large Iguana for a while and even took him to the doctor to have an absessesed tooth removed. He charges 10.0 if the iguana bit hiom or slapped him with his 7 ft tail. LOL. So I know exotic pets asre wonderful. Thanks for sharing them. Forget whatshername!!!! Her bad, not yours. *H*U*G*S*

Yes, they are approx 2 -3 months old. About 2 or 2 1/2" at least Centi may be.

Wow, thank you for your confidence in me! I have to try and find a herptologist in my state. So, I'm enjoying the tiny creatures that God has made. He sure does great work, doesn't He?

I was just thinking, did you know you can actually buy a skunk that is fixed? And when I applied to get one the sent me a "book" on their care and it was so technical and strict. Go figure. Enjoy your babies, they look so fun. I would be watching them daily to figure out their individual personalities. Have fun with them.

I will and thank you for your response Deb.

That's sad about the lettuce. Your kitten is too cute! Pics like this usually get me in trouble because I start looking for one!

I think you're awesome and it was an honest mistake. I've made them with my rescues. It just happens. Keep up the good work!

I have a red ear slider that is almost 4 years old. I picked her up out of the road when she was just a tiny baby. Her shell was about the size of a quarter! She lives in a 125 gallon aquarium with a Pleco for company. It's amazing how much personality these things have!

HI Melinda, I've 2 red-earred sliders & I got them from the pet store when they were a quarter size last Nov. 23 rd for my birthday. Now, a yr later, on my birthday this yr. I measured the female and she is 8 1/2" long and the male is 6 1/2" long.

She grew 8" in 1 yr. I feed them goldfish, guppies, waxworms, mealworms, nightcrawlers, and dried shrimp.

I just love watching them swim and now, the babies movements. I keep saying, ooh, they are moving around.

Id love to get a Sulcata someday.

How large did she grow in that size tank? Man, my Cecil would be a HUGE monster in there.

Wow! Your's is much bigger than mine! I just feed her turtle bites. Maybe I need to get her some live food. Her shell is maybe 6 inches long, front to rear, at almost 4 years old.

Here in Oklahoma, every spring, they are just everywhere! I live on the Arkansas River, so that may have something to do with it. You see them crossing the road frequently that time of year. I can't save them all tho!

She started out in a 20 gallon tank with just a little water in it, and in the summer I moved her to an outdoor 90 gallon fish pond. When the 20 gallon got a little small for winter time use, I moved her to the 125 gallon tank in the house where she now lives year round. I would really prefer she not get huge! Yes, she has a wonderfully big tank but I don't dare put tropical fish in it anymore, I'm afraid she would eat them, :lol:

They are so cute and sweet!!

i would love to have one, have wanted one for a long time, but my husband said they would dig up the drip system lines, i hope you have them for a long time.

Cute

Me too, I made a child's quilt top with turtles and just assumed your's was a quilt. lol

You don't have to feel bad about what you did. You cared for them as any knowledgeable person would. Soaking and light is the best you could have done for them. As any animal in a new environment, eating is not a priority. Turtles can go for months without food. My Jose Feliciano was blinded by his cage mates and he lasted a year. I managed him to drink from time to time but he would not eat.

The breeder is the one who abused the animals. First, you don't ship during the winter when the weather is so bad. This animal are sensitive to temperature. They are cold blooded and need warm environment to regulate their body temperature. She should have labeled the box. The reason she didn't is because FeDex will not ship live animals knowingly, and that is breaking their rules. DHL would have been the right way to ship them, but again, in the spring. She shipped them because she just wanted the money and was not interested in the well being of the little guys. When I got my Sulcatas I paid half the money in February and he held them for me until May, when he was coming to the area. We met in Albany and he delivered them. He would not ship them in February. If he had hibernated them prior to sending them, they could have died because of the temperature fluctuations in the truck.

You did the right thing. Have that peace of mind. She did wrong.

When it warms up (we are having unusual weather right now for Louisiana) and we all go back outside then I will gladly take an updated picture :) The ones I have now are of them from last spring ....

Ours are going to be handed down to our children or someone that we feel would take proper care of them and if we can't find anyone then we will donate them to a zoo that needs them :)

OK - as SOON as my husband gets home I am going to have him get on here because any breeder worth their salt would NEVER do anything like this!! My husband and I have been going back and forth with Wildlife and Fisheries about all the laws they are passing about reptiles for pets and it is people like THAT who give people who care a bad name!!

I sent you a PM with my number and I know that my husband will be more than happy to talk to you and do whatever he can to help!!

Skunks are actually INCREDIBLY intelligent and make much better pets then cats ... especially for me people with allergies. But because they are so complicated to take care of and each state has different laws and regulations, it does not surprise me that they sent you a book before giving you a permit :-/

Red Earred Sliders get to be about the size of a large dinner plate when they are full grown. A lot of people are amazed because when they are born they are actually just smaller than or about the size of a quarter. Their diet consists of dried pellet food, feeder goldfish and even the occasional plant.

Hope my random knowledge isn't bugging anyone :-/ I work in the education department at my zoo and I give programs on this kinda stuff all the time :) I reeeeally like my job in case you haven't figured that out LOL

WELL SAID!!!! Come to think of it ... snake breeders don't ship this time of year either UNLESS you live in the south and are experiencing warmer climates ...

Dinner plate size I can handle! I used to have an Oscar that was about 13 inches. Her name was Bertha, LOL (reason for the 125 gallon tank)
I fed some lettuce to Henrietta once but she never ate it. I'll pick up some feeder gold fish occasionally for her. What about crickets?

Wow!! That is cool!!

Sliders are omnivores and will pretty much each anything ... earthworms, crickets, waxworms, silkworms, aquatic snails, blood worms, daphnia, shrimp, krill, mealworms ... insects! Sometimes if the food is too big then they won't eat it.

I know that the veggies and stuff that is ok are your leafy greens like collard, mustard and dandelion greens, kale. Head (iceberg) lettuce should never be feed as it contains very little nutrition, but dark green leaf lettuces (e.g romaine) can be feed sparingly. Sometimes they will even eat chopped up carrots!

They are adorable! I hope you have years of pleasure as their guardian! :thumbup: :-D

Check out this care sheet. Is very accurate.

I would add to keep an eye open for respiratory infections. With fluctuations in temperature viral infections can catch on. If you see little bubbles on their nose when they breath, they could have one. Viral infections usually resolve on their own, but if they are weak it could complicate into bacterial pneumonia. If you see bubbles make sure you take them to a vet. If you don't have one that doesn't see reptiles, you can have them weigh the turtle and give you a prescription. They probably have antibiotics. The one of choice is called Baytril, at 7.5-10 mg/kg diluted with normal saline Intramuscular if diluted with saline. They can teach you how to inject them. I hope you don't need this information but is good to have.

Found this info on how to care for them, diet, housing, etc.:

http://premiumtortoises.com/marginated.aspx

I would never feed mine any iceberg lettuce, it has very little nutrition in it. I dig out dandelions and wild lettuce whenever I find them and grow them in pots and around flower beds. I did have some Purslane for my own use but the turtles dug it up and ate every bit of it. Wild plants have far more nutrition than commercial crops. I've seen one of mine with a snail in his mouth, so of course I don't put out snail bait. Other small bugs they follow around the garden plants and watch for a while and then snatch at them.
I fed mine whatever you would feed a cat or dog or rabbit. And some stuff from the pet store, they could pick and choose.
They have a very sophisticated taste, and my late DH used to say that my turtles ate far better than any poor kid in Africa!