The 2011 Annual NYTTS Turtle and Tortoise Show

The 37th Annual Turtle and Tortoise Show was held on Saturday, June 4, 2011, at the Village Community School in Greenwich Village, New York City.

Best In Show — Barbara Torres (left) was awarded Best In Show for her pair of red-footed tortoises and two hatchlings.

NYTTS thanks Show Judge Patrick Baker (right). Patrick worked with Dr. Bill McCord’s extensive turtle collection for many years. He was a speaker at the 2002 NYTTS Seminar, and he went on to receive his Ph.D. for work on overwintering hatchling turtles in northern environments.

Judging

Awarding of ribbons is based not only on the quality of the animal (configuration and form, uniqueness, and rarity of species) but also upon ownership responsibility (length of ownership, general health and physical condition, and apparent quality of husbandry). Significant credit is also given when animals have been successfully bred in captivity. When it becomes apparent more than one animal in a person’s collection has benefited from high quality of husbandry, the group (a breeding pair and offspring, or long-term captives in good health) is recognized accordingly. These are designated as a “breeding group” or “husbandry group” below.

Turtle Names

The common names of turtles and tortoises vary widely by country and region. To maintain consistency, John Iverson’s scheme of common names (A Revised Checklist with Distribution Maps of the Turtles of the World) has been followed. Therefore, a number of familiar names many of us use informally may have been partly altered or replaced. See the following informal common names and the equivalent Iverson common names below:

Burmese brown tortoise (Manouria emys) = Asian brown tortoise
Chinese box turtle (Cuora flavomarginata) = Yellow-margined box turtle
Flat-tailed tortoise (Pyxis planicauda) = Flat-shelled spider tortoise
Greek tortoise (Testudo graeca) = Mediterranean spur-thighed tortoise
Russian tortoise (Testudo horsfieldii) = Central Asian tortoise
Sulcata (Centrochelys sulcata) = African spurred tortoise

First Place — Blue Ribbon Winners

Barbara Torres, Best In Show — Breeding group (pair + 2 hatchlings): red-footed tortoises (Chelonoidis carbonaria)

Diane P. Greene, First Runner Up — Husbandry group: 2 Home’s hinge-back tortoises (Kinixys homeana), 1 Bell’s hingeback tortoise (Kinixys belliana), and 2 central Asian tortoises (Testudo horsfieldii),

Brian Blecher — Breeding group (pair + 1 hatchling): pancake tortoises (Malocochersus tornierri)

Janice Glock Jones and Rhea Greenberg — 2 yellow-margined box turtles (Cuora flavomarginata)

Allen P.W. Karen — Husbandry group: 3 central Asian tortoises (Testudo horsfieldii), and 1 leopard tortoise (Stigmochelys pardalis)

Kay Martin — Husbandry group: 1 red-cheeked mud turtle (Kinosternon scorpioides cruentatum), 1 red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans), and 3 red-footed tortoises (Chelonoidis carbonaria), 2 yellow-margined box turtles (Cuora flavomarginata), and 1 red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans)

Frank Schneider — Husbandry group: 1 spider tortoise (Pyxis arachnoides), 1 leopard tortoise (Stigmochelys pardalis), 1 Central Asian tortoise (Testudo horsfieldii), 1 Home’s hinge-back tortoise (Kinixys homeana), 1 pancake tortoise (Malocochersus tornierri), 1 big-headed turtle (Platysternum megacephalum), 1 mata-mata (Chelus fimbriatus), 1 spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata), and 1 eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina)

Bob Seaver — 2 yellow-margined box turtles (Cuora flavomarginata)

Michael Sherwin — 1 red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans), 1 Asian leaf turtle (Cyclemys dentata), 1 Malayan box turtle (Cuora amboinensis), 1 yellow-margined box turtle (Cuora flavomarginata)

Randye Wolf — 1 yellow-margined box turtle (Cuora flavomarginata)

Second Place — Red Ribbon Winners

Josephine Arnold — 2 red-eared sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans)

Karen Buckley — Husbandry group: 1 red-footed tortoise (Chelonoidis carbonaria) and 1 Florida snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina oceola)

Blaze Cartelli — Husbandry group: 1 Mediterranean spur-thighed tortoise (Testudo graeca) and 1 central Asian tortoise (Testudo horsfieldii)

Kelsey Cartelli — Husbandry group: 2 central Asian tortoises (Testudo horsfieldii)

Frankie and Lisa Fischer — Husbandry group: 3 red-eared sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans)

Sheri Greenspan — Husbandry group: 1 Reeve’s turtle (Chinemys reevesii) and 1 central Asian tortoise (Testudo horsfieldii)

Matt Hybel — Husbandry group: 2 Asian brown tortoises (Manouria emys), 2 giant Asian pond turtles (Heosemys grandis), and 1 alligator snapping turtle (Macroclemys temminckii)

John McQuillan & Lesley Brunelle — 1 red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans)

Dan O’Malley — 1 red-footed tortoise (Chelonoidis carbonaria)

Sara Ramos — Husbandry group: 1 red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans), 1 yellow-footed tortoise (Chelonoidis denticulata), 1 Mediterranean spur-thighed tortoise (Testudo graeca), and 1 Reeve’s turtle (Chinemys reevesii)

Third Place — White Ribbon Winners

Alexander Boston — 1 juvenile red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans)

Zoe Boston — 1 juvenile red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans)

Nicholas Caruso — 1 incised wood turtle (Rhinoclemmys pulcherrima incisa)

Nicholas Caruso — 1 Indian star tortoise (Geochelone elegans)

Nicholas Caruso — 1 Bell’s hingeback tortoise (Kinixys belliana)

Larry Smith — 1 leopard tortoise (Stigmochelys pardalis)

NYTTS gratefully acknowledges Unco Industries, Inc., That Pet Place, and ZooMed Laboratories, Inc. for their donations of gift certificates and assorted turtle and tortoise care supplies, which were raffled off at the 2011 Annual Show.

This year’s Show featured a special treat, courtesy NYTTS member photographer Mike Duva. Mike created a photo set inside the school and invited everyone to have their turtles and tortoises photographed for a project he’s working on. Members who participated will receive a CD/DVD, and the finished images will be online here when ready. Meanwhile, see Mike’s work at www.duvaphotography.com. He was also happy to make images for two of our visiting non-profit organizations, Turtlesinger, Inc. and the Terrapin Conservation Project. We thank Mike for donating a gift certificate to the NYTTS raffle!

See also NYTTS member and reptile blog author Frank Indiviglio’s article about the Show: Urban Turtle fest — the New York Turtle and Tortoise Society’s Annual Show, and photographer Anita Salzberg’s Flickr gallery of the Turtle Show.