On April 14th exactly 60 days after this little egg was laid "Valentini" the Madonie locale Sicilian Western Hermann's Tortoise (Testudo hermanni hermanni) hatched here at Reptile Mountain!
Ever since my early teens I've always been huge fan of wildlife conservation in general and once I became a zookeeper my passion for the private community's involvement in conservation partnerships through professional and ethical means really grew. Then right after my return from Australia in late 2019 I began to have the almost "need" to have Reptile Mountain take on a more conservational and educational approach to reptile keeping/breeding. My heart had changed slightly and I wasn't as interested in producing family pets as I was interested in taking part in something a bit bigger with more impact. Yes, I still do produce pet reptiles and yes I absolutely use the proceeds (in part) to fund conservational efforts. However, I want my breeding to make an impact as well.
Thus, enter in the new business slogan and philosophy:
Conservation | Propagation | Welfare | Ethics
This new plan allows me to really concentrate on species that need or already have assurance colonies in captivity as well as allowing me to continue focusing on the lived experiences of captive reptiles in the private community.
And....... that is how Valentini fits into this plan. Many of the most vulnerable, threatened, and endangered species of reptiles on the planet are chelonians (Turtles and Tortoises). Valentini, a Western Hermann's Tortoise, from Sicily is one such reptile. His/her species is listed as Endangered and they are at a very real risk of population crashes if anything goes wrong in their natural habitat. Because Western Hermann's Tortoises are relatively rare in the private hobby and even more rare in public collections the need to continue to wisely breed these guys for assurance is massive. I'm so excited to participate in the continuation of this species, even if for now it comes in the form or raising this little nugget.
I must give a huge thanks to Randy Betz at TortStork for breeding this little one and shipping me a well incubated egg for me to hatch here. I hope to continue to add more Western Hermann's from this locale and others as well as breed their Near Threatened cousins the Dalmatian Hermann's Tortoises (Testudo hermanni hercegovinensis) in future years.
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