The 2015 Annual NYTTS Turtle and Tortoise Show

The 41st Annual Turtle and Tortoise Show was held on Saturday, June 20, 2015, at the Village Community School in Greenwich Village, New York City.

Best-In-Show was awarded to Terry Troia for “Harry Houdini,” an African spurred tortoise (Centrochelys sulcata). A resuced tortoise himself, he is now brought into the local community to do social work. Congratulations Terry!

NYTTS thanks Patrick Baker, long-time friend of NYTTS and turtle expert, for judging the Annual Show this year.

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) = Spur-thighed tortoise
Russian tortoise (Testudo horsfieldii) = Central Asian tortoise
Sulcata (Centrochelys sulcata) = African spurred tortoise

First Place — Blue Ribbon Winners

Frances Feraro — Husbandry group: 3 three-striped mud turtles (Kinosternon baurii) and 1 Barbour’s map turtle (Graptemys barbouri)

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

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

Michael Sherwin — Husbandry group: 1 spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata), 1 common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina serpentina, 1 Asian leaf turtle (Cyclemys dentata), 1 yellow-margined box turtle (Cuora marginata), and 1 red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans)

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

Enrico Villanueva — 1 marginated tortloise (Testudo marginata)

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

Second Place — Red Ribbon Winners

Frankie Fischer — 1 red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans)

Matt Hybel — 2 giant Asian pond turtles (Heosemys grandis)

Sara Ramos— 1 yellow-footed tortoise (Chelonoidis denticulata), 1 red-footed tortoise (Chelonoidis carbonaria}, and 2 red-eared sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans)

Frank Schneider — 1 Russian tortoise (Testudo horsfieldii) and 1 leopard tortoise (Stigmochelys pardalis babcocki)

Larry Smith — 1 leopard tortoise (Stigmochelys pardalis babcocki)

Judy Stivelband and Maury Silver —1 red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans)

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

Third Place — White Ribbon Winners

Frankie Fischer — 2 red-eared sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans)

Roxana Guerra — 1 red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans)

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

Tony Monahan — 1 leopard tortoise (Stigmochelys pardalis)

Frank Schneider— Husbandry group: 1 giant Asian pond turtle (Heosemys grandis), 1 African spurred tortoise (Centrochelys sulcata), and 2 red-eared sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans)

Barbara Torres — 3 red-footed tortoises (Chelonoidis carbonaria)

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.