My name is Ernie Johnson and I got started with tortoises back in the summer of 1971, when I purchased a female Berlandier's or Texas Tortoise.
Having watched every nature show in TV back in the 1970's, luckily for the tortoise, I determined feeding them cactus pads, grass, and weeds was what they needed – and it worked.
She, and the male I acquired two years later, were doing very well 9 years later when I gave them to a friend, who also had Texas tortoises, and was headed to Northern Arizona University to study Herpetology, where I though they'd have a better life.
That first tortoise became Greek's, then Russian's and Redfoot's.
For the last 20 years I've focused on Russian's, my very old male Greek tortoise, and a pair of captive bred, now adult Redfoot's.
My mission is:
Help educate current and potential owners of tortoises on the husbandry of their specific species, so they can have a healthy, active tortoise and the tortoise can express its normal behavior and live a long, healthy life.