The 2014 Annual NYTTS Turtle and Tortoise Show

The 40th Annual Turtle and Tortoise Show was held on Saturday, May 21, 2014, at the Village Community School in Greenwich Village, New York City. A glorious day with a short shower, but it didn't dampen the enthusiam of turtle owners at the Show.

Best In Show was awarded to Barbara Daddario for her breeding groups of Central American Wood Turtles (Rhinoclemmys pulcherrima manni and R. p. incisa).

NYTTS thanks Pete Warny, shown here with Barbara, preventing Barbars’s eager turtles from walking off the table. This is Pete’s his second year as Show Judge. His knowledge and enthusiasm for turtles and the people who love turtles are greatly appreciated.

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 “breeding groups” or “husbandry groups” below.
Photos by Anita Salzberg

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 Daddario, Best In Show — Breeding groups of Central American wood turtles (Rhinoclemmys pulcherrima manni and R. p. incisa)

Brian and Alexandra Blecher — 4 black-breasted leaf turtles (Geoemyda japonica)

Joe Farmarco —2 Reeve’s turtles (Chinemys reevesii)

Sheri Greenspan-Ladino — 1 Central Asian tortoise (Testuto horsfieldii)

Matt Hybel — Breeding group: 4 Asian brown tortoises (Manaouria emys emys)

Sara Ramos — 2 yellow-footed tortoises (Chelonoidis denticulata)

Michael Sherwin — Husbandry group: 1 spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata) and 1 common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina serpentina)

Frank Schneider — 1 big-headed turtle (Platysternum megacephalum

Larry Smith — 1 leopard tortoise (Geochelone pardalis babcocki

Second Place — Red Ribbon Winners

Dylan Blecher — Central Asian tortoise (Manauria emys emys)

Chris Cho — 1 Yellow-margined box turtle (Cuora flavomarginata}

Lauren Cho — 1 Yellow-margined box turtle (Cuora flavomrginata})

Sheri Greenspan-Ladino — 1 Reeve’s turtle (Chinemys reevesii)

Matt Hybel — Husbandry group: 1 mata mata turtle (Chelys fimbriata) and 1 alligator snapping turtle (Macroclemys teminickii

Kay Martin — Husbandry group: 1 red-cheeked mud turtle (Kinosternon scorpioides cruentatum) and 1 red-footed tortoise (Chelonoidis carbonaria)

Frank Schneider— Husbandry group: 2 leopard tortoises (Geochelone pardalis babcocki) and 1 pancake tortoise (Malacohersus tornieri)

Michael Sherwin — Asian leaf turtle (Cyclemys dentata)

Third Place — White Ribbon Winners

Melissa and Keltan Goode — 1 African spur-thighed tortoise (Geochelone sulcata)

Milton Joseph — 2 red-footed tortoises (Chelonoidis carbonaria)

Anna Kaplan — 1 African spur-thighed tortoise (Geochelone sulcata)

Kay Martin — 1 red-footed tortoise (Chelonoidis carbonaria)

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

Bob Seaver — 1 Yellow-margined box turtle (Cuora flavomarginata}

Barbara Torres — 1 red-footed tortoise (Chelonoidis carbonaria)

Lee Tucker — 1 red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans)

NYTTS gratefully acknowledges ZooMed Laboratories, Inc., That Pet Place, and Unco Industries, Inc.–Vermiculture, for their ongoing donations of gift certificates and turtle and tortoise care supplies, made available at our Annual Turtle and Tortoise Shows.