Tortoise Spotlight Two: Meet Cupid!

 Welcome to the second ~Tortoise Spotlight~

One of the most frequent questions people ask about my tortoises is, "How do you tell them apart?" 

I can understand how it might seem difficult to tell them all apart at first. But...wait until you get to know them! You'll see.

The tortoises all have different markings and different personalities (and they are different sizes). The Tortoise Spotlight posts are my opportunity to brag about each of my tortoises individually, and what makes each of them unique. It's also a chance for you to learn about my creep, and about tortoises in general. Plus, I get to share lots of pics of torts...

I once had a male tortoise named Marley (you guessed it...he was named after Bob Marley). He was a very large, very cool tortoise. He was also very sexually active, dominant, and aggressive.  

While he was with us, there was no peace in Torti Town. Several of the tortoises stopped coming out for meals, choosing to stay hidden from the advances of Marley.

In the top two pics, you can see that Marley was determined to create little Marleys. And in the bottom right pic, you can see how much bigger Marley was compared to the others (white arrows pointing to Marley). The bottom left pic is Marley and me.

I determined that I had to return Marley to the person who had given him to me. But I was going to take a female instead. When I realized that my friend had 2 females and 3 males, and trading Marely for one female would leave the remaining single female with 4 males (including the aggressively amorous Marley), I knew I had to take both females (ladies and gentlemen, this is how my creep grows...). I mean, you can't have too many tortoises if you don't count them, right?!

Cupid was one of the two females who came to me as a swap for Marley. And I am so grateful! She is beautiful, outgoing, and has a spunky personality. Cupid (and her friend Virginia) joined the creep of Torti Town on August 7, 2020.

These are the two newest residents of Torti Town. In the top of the pic, the smaller of the two, is Virginia. At the bottom is our Spotlight Tortoise this week: Cupid.

Can you guess why she is named Cupid?

💛

In mythology, Cupid is the god of desire, erotic love, attraction and affection. Cupid Tortoise has a heart right above her nose! She is easy to spot among the creep. She is also an affectionate tortoise. When I step inside Torti Town, she is one of the first to come out and greet me, as she walks over to stand right on my feet (OK...maybe it's not so much affection as determination to be the first to get the food. But I can call it what I want).

Here's another pic of Cupid:

Quiz time! Can you pick out Cupid in this group of tortoises?

Click here to see if you were correct!

Bonus if you can name the tortoise in the top right of the picture above...

...

   ...

      ...

         ...Did you say Archie?! That is Archie Tortoise! Remember his identifying sideways 'L' and the redder tones of his legs and head.

And now you know TWO of the tortoises from Torti Town!

Stay tuned for more Tales from Torti Town.