Becoming a Turtle Pimp

I won a HOVABATOR!  That's as very highly recommended incubator for reptile eggs.  So I am diving into the world of herp breeding. Well, 2 reptiles anyway - Russian Tortoises and Leopard Geckos.  My friend ML has a female Russian and I have Bratanik, my boy.  Russians do not lay many eggs, and the number that survive are even less.  Healthy CAPTIVE BORN RTs are hard to find, that's why I don't feel like breeding is a bad idea.  The ones at the pet stores are notoriously Wild Caught, living really rough lives when first captured and shipped.  It shouldn't happen.  Anyway, when I am homing MY babies people will have to prove they have the right set up for these amazing shell babies.  I do not want to sell to the ignorant and increase the number of BAD homes with pets.

And then there is Jack, my leopard gecko.  For him I am not doing the Stud thing.  I am buying him a girlfriend!  I have one in mind on KSL.com if they can hold her for me.  She is much sweeter than Jack the brat, and will make a much better Critters 2 Go participant.  Kids will be able to actually hold and pet her.  And, with a little help from cupid, hopefully she and Jack can give me darling little leopard gecko eggs! WOOT!  They will be SO CUTE. Jack may be a butt, but he IS gorgeous.

Currently my favorite names for my new little girl are Clementine or Norma.  I really hope it works out.  She is really inexpensive, a tangerine morph, and really gentle.

I am trying hard to think about happy things.  Christmas. Geckos. Family.  But my heart aches.  My Uncle Ken is dying. Their family is so positive, they are such a good example to me.  When Brady died in 9-11 they were the strong ones, comforting US about the loss of THEIR son. And now this.  Ola is so far away and I don't feel like I will ever be better, be HAPPY.  But I'm not dying, just hurting.  I feel lonely, fighting pain everyday.  So I do things just to distract me - play on Gaia, care for all my animals... at least that is taking care of someone else. Caring about something that matters.  I may never get married, have kids.... those things are mostly out of my hands.  But I can love my pets. I can be a CCL (sans cats) at that is a pretty good consolation prize. :)