WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.640 --> 00:00:03.319 Oh hey, twenty twenty two, me here taking a few 2 00:00:03.359 --> 00:00:06.160 weeks to be with my family after my dear dad's passing. 3 00:00:06.759 --> 00:00:08.560 For more on what's been going on there, you can 4 00:00:08.560 --> 00:00:10.839 listen to the secrets at the ends of episode starting 5 00:00:11.199 --> 00:00:14.320 around mid April with the squid encore. But here's another 6 00:00:14.400 --> 00:00:16.160 gem of an episode that I love. I hope you 7 00:00:16.199 --> 00:00:18.559 dig it. Oh hey, it's that lady in front of 8 00:00:18.559 --> 00:00:20.440 you at the grocery store who didn't realize she was 9 00:00:20.559 --> 00:00:24.480 holding up the line because she's reading a magazine. Ali Ward. Okay, 10 00:00:24.559 --> 00:00:27.320 this is kind of two episodes of Ologies, because over 11 00:00:27.359 --> 00:00:30.160 the next two weeks you're going to get up close 12 00:00:30.359 --> 00:00:35.960 and personal with those wizened, slowly ambling boulders, tortoises and 13 00:00:36.039 --> 00:00:39.320 turtles an sea turtles. What is their deal? Why do 14 00:00:39.359 --> 00:00:42.000 they live to be one million? Do they need us 15 00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:45.560 to save them? Are they misanthropes or just introverts? Et cetera, 16 00:00:45.640 --> 00:00:48.000 et cetera. But before we take a deep dive in 17 00:00:48.079 --> 00:00:51.719 a turtle burrow, and we will kiddos per usual. Thanks 18 00:00:51.759 --> 00:00:54.280 to all the friends on patreon dot com slash Ologies 19 00:00:54.320 --> 00:00:57.320 who help support the making of the show and contribute 20 00:00:57.679 --> 00:01:01.079 so many good questions for Theologists. Thanks to everyone who 21 00:01:01.159 --> 00:01:05.439 is buying shirts and toats and hats on ologiesmerch dot com. 22 00:01:05.719 --> 00:01:08.920 Thanks to all the new subscribers, hey, and folks leaving 23 00:01:09.040 --> 00:01:12.760 ratings and even reviews which you know, I read like 24 00:01:12.840 --> 00:01:15.920 your grandma going through old birthday cards like this week. 25 00:01:16.000 --> 00:01:19.280 This one from put a Burk on It says, this 26 00:01:19.359 --> 00:01:21.680 is the type of binge worthy podcast that makes you 27 00:01:21.680 --> 00:01:24.239 sit in your driveway after a ninety mile commute home 28 00:01:24.280 --> 00:01:26.920 from work at four am, just because you have to 29 00:01:26.920 --> 00:01:29.840 finish the episode. Not that I've done that. Okay, yeah 30 00:01:29.920 --> 00:01:32.640 I have, they say, so, thank you put a bork 31 00:01:32.680 --> 00:01:35.359 on It. Thanks to anyone who has ever left a review. 32 00:01:35.400 --> 00:01:37.599 If you've written one, I've read it and it made 33 00:01:37.599 --> 00:01:42.120 me happy. Probably. Okay, So turtles boy, howdy are you 34 00:01:42.159 --> 00:01:44.280 about to fall the hell in love with turtles? Okay? 35 00:01:44.319 --> 00:01:47.920 Over the next two weeks, turtles will be digging a 36 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:51.560 gentle burrow in your heart, where they will sleep like 37 00:01:52.120 --> 00:01:54.599 little cozy potatoes for the next I don't know, one 38 00:01:54.680 --> 00:01:59.200 hundred and forty years. So this week is test studentology, 39 00:01:59.480 --> 00:02:02.599 which it comes from the Latin test dudo for tortoise, 40 00:02:02.959 --> 00:02:07.319 and I was introduced to this testudonologist through reptile hero 41 00:02:07.400 --> 00:02:10.680 doctor David Stein, who you may remember from the Herpetology episode, 42 00:02:10.719 --> 00:02:14.199 Remember him, right, Dope. I was like, xteen, you got 43 00:02:14.199 --> 00:02:16.240 any turtle people? And he was like, God, damn do 44 00:02:16.319 --> 00:02:18.439 I And he introduced me to one of his favorite 45 00:02:18.479 --> 00:02:21.560 turtle people on maybe planet Earth. She did her undergrad 46 00:02:21.599 --> 00:02:24.800 at the University of North Florida. She had an internship 47 00:02:24.919 --> 00:02:28.680 at the Jacksonville Zoo Animal Hospital, and is now getting 48 00:02:28.680 --> 00:02:33.080 her masters at Florida Atlantic University, studying gopher tortoises and 49 00:02:33.159 --> 00:02:37.240 what critters share their burrows and doing some digging. It 50 00:02:37.280 --> 00:02:40.439 turns out that her tortoise love goes way way back. 51 00:02:40.719 --> 00:02:45.599 So we talk about turtles versus tortoises versus terrapins, what's 52 00:02:45.680 --> 00:02:49.400 up with those big heavy shells they're toting, and how 53 00:02:49.560 --> 00:02:53.479 Team Turtle is affected by humans, her feelings on teenage 54 00:02:53.520 --> 00:03:00.039 Moutant Ninja turtles they're very crazy anatomy, let's say, and 55 00:03:00.080 --> 00:03:03.039 how they live so long and more. Also, I feel 56 00:03:03.120 --> 00:03:05.840 I must warn you that these two turtle interviews this 57 00:03:05.960 --> 00:03:09.199 weekend next I'm a little too excited about turtles. It 58 00:03:09.319 --> 00:03:13.520 was just legitimately very earnestly pumped, but pull up a 59 00:03:13.560 --> 00:03:17.479 stump and have a sit for the infectious dedication of 60 00:03:17.759 --> 00:03:44.560 tortoise advocate, wildlife biologists and test studentologist Amanda Hips. Okay, 61 00:03:44.639 --> 00:03:45.960 so welcome, hello. 62 00:03:46.039 --> 00:03:46.479 Thank you. 63 00:03:46.599 --> 00:03:49.719 Welcome to LA. And now where are you from? 64 00:03:50.479 --> 00:03:55.120 I'm from Florida, from South Florida. Oh you are like Fishermantown, Stuart. 65 00:03:55.319 --> 00:03:57.960 Did you grow up going to beaches a bunch or 66 00:03:58.039 --> 00:03:59.919 romping and swamps? Were you beach? 67 00:04:00.639 --> 00:04:04.000 I was mostly like I liked the beach. It's it's fine, 68 00:04:04.599 --> 00:04:07.599 but I mostly I was in the woods or the swamps, 69 00:04:07.960 --> 00:04:10.280 and so yeah, that was kind of My family really 70 00:04:10.280 --> 00:04:12.199 loved hiking. So that was a lot of what we 71 00:04:12.240 --> 00:04:13.280 did is just hike. 72 00:04:13.759 --> 00:04:15.560 What are the Florida swamps like? 73 00:04:15.879 --> 00:04:18.800 Take me to so smelly? Are so great? I love them. 74 00:04:20.480 --> 00:04:23.519 She loves a smelly swamp? How much do you like her? Already? 75 00:04:23.800 --> 00:04:25.600 So much? I don't think I've ever been in a 76 00:04:25.639 --> 00:04:26.399 proper swamp. 77 00:04:26.759 --> 00:04:28.639 Oh my gosh, you had to come. 78 00:04:28.920 --> 00:04:29.240 Yeah. 79 00:04:29.279 --> 00:04:31.600 So yeah, so just even like hiking in a swamp. 80 00:04:31.639 --> 00:04:36.600 It's called slogging, and I love this and I don't know, 81 00:04:36.680 --> 00:04:39.040 it's just it's like kind of it's super creepy, Like 82 00:04:39.240 --> 00:04:42.399 I you never know what you're gonna bump into. There's 83 00:04:42.439 --> 00:04:47.240 alligators and snakes and just tons of mosquitoes, which is 84 00:04:47.279 --> 00:04:49.360 maybe the most unpleasant part of all of it. But 85 00:04:50.680 --> 00:04:52.480 I don't know. It's just like a very mysterious place 86 00:04:52.519 --> 00:04:54.839 and it's like very little hiked. There's you know, not 87 00:04:54.920 --> 00:04:57.199 too many people that you'll run into out there. 88 00:04:57.439 --> 00:05:00.360 So how in danger of getting chomped? Are you? 89 00:05:00.560 --> 00:05:04.959 I you just just have to watch where you're going. Yeah, 90 00:05:05.000 --> 00:05:08.519 it's you know, just be cautious. And but I've never 91 00:05:08.560 --> 00:05:10.839 had it. I've never really like bumped into an alligator 92 00:05:11.279 --> 00:05:14.600 and they're so scared, like they're usually they usually kind 93 00:05:14.600 --> 00:05:17.160 of disappear if they see you coming. But you have 94 00:05:17.199 --> 00:05:17.800 to be careful. 95 00:05:18.199 --> 00:05:20.879 What's the craziest shit you've ever seen in a swamp? 96 00:05:21.240 --> 00:05:23.199 I'm sorry, I'm going to just start another podcast called 97 00:05:23.240 --> 00:05:23.920 swamp Talking. 98 00:05:24.160 --> 00:05:26.560 Oh my god, I love it. I got a really 99 00:05:26.800 --> 00:05:30.199 cool picture when I was in the swamp of a 100 00:05:30.240 --> 00:05:33.040 cotton mouth and he was just chilling. 101 00:05:33.240 --> 00:05:36.240 And cotton mouths are the ones that can they can 102 00:05:36.279 --> 00:05:37.160 bite you bad. 103 00:05:37.240 --> 00:05:39.639 Right, yeah, they can. They are venomous. 104 00:05:40.160 --> 00:05:42.279 And so those are the ones that everyone they see 105 00:05:42.319 --> 00:05:45.319 like a dirty hose at a gas station and they're like, 106 00:05:45.319 --> 00:05:46.120 it's a cotten math. 107 00:05:46.199 --> 00:05:49.800 Yeah, yeah, that's yeah, that's exactly it. 108 00:05:49.839 --> 00:05:52.600 So side note, if you've listened to the herpetology episode 109 00:05:52.600 --> 00:05:55.519 with doctor David Stein, you may remember the hashtag not 110 00:05:55.600 --> 00:05:59.079 a cotton mouth, in which he educates the public about 111 00:05:59.360 --> 00:06:03.000 the snakes that are frequently in fact not cotton mouse. 112 00:06:03.319 --> 00:06:07.000 And he sometimes educates someone so hard that I am 113 00:06:07.000 --> 00:06:09.959 in a good mood for days. Afterward he just owns them. 114 00:06:10.279 --> 00:06:15.120 Do you think that your swamp romping kind of contributed 115 00:06:15.160 --> 00:06:17.959 to your wanting to be a herpetologist of some kind? Yeah? 116 00:06:17.959 --> 00:06:24.199 Absolutely. Oh what's crazy is that I I never considered 117 00:06:24.199 --> 00:06:26.720 being a wildlife biologist actually, like going to school and 118 00:06:26.720 --> 00:06:29.639 doing my undergrad I was so lost. I knew I 119 00:06:29.639 --> 00:06:32.519 wanted to work with wildlife, but I didn't really have 120 00:06:32.639 --> 00:06:34.920 like exposure to any of the sciences, and so I 121 00:06:35.000 --> 00:06:36.639 kind of just thought, like, I want to work with animals, 122 00:06:36.720 --> 00:06:39.319 I should probably go to VET school. And that's kind 123 00:06:39.360 --> 00:06:41.040 of the guidance that I got, Like, I think that's 124 00:06:41.079 --> 00:06:42.720 what everyone told me. It was just to go to 125 00:06:42.759 --> 00:06:45.279 bed school. No one ever really suggested like why don't 126 00:06:45.279 --> 00:06:47.079 you like go to be a wildlife biologist? 127 00:06:47.240 --> 00:06:50.959 Okay, buckle up for a winding backstory that proves no 128 00:06:50.959 --> 00:06:54.319 one's life is linear, and that is beautiful and awesome. 129 00:06:54.959 --> 00:06:57.839 So I started. I did my entire undergrad kind of 130 00:06:57.839 --> 00:07:00.560 just gearing it towards going to bet School. And that's 131 00:07:00.680 --> 00:07:03.920 really like, I planned my entire life around that school. 132 00:07:04.279 --> 00:07:07.600 So I did all of my undergrad courses with that, 133 00:07:07.959 --> 00:07:12.560 and I ended up working for the Jacksonville Zero. I 134 00:07:12.600 --> 00:07:15.240 was an intern at the Jacksonville Zoo Animal Hospital, and 135 00:07:15.279 --> 00:07:16.560 I was I know, it was so great. It was 136 00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:20.519 very cool. It was very hard in some circumstances. It 137 00:07:20.560 --> 00:07:25.680 was dealing with mostly wildlife and native wildlife and doing 138 00:07:25.720 --> 00:07:28.519 rehab and then releasing, so it was pretty cool. But 139 00:07:28.639 --> 00:07:31.240 I was dealing a lot with gopher tortoises. Most of 140 00:07:31.279 --> 00:07:35.240 them were hit by cars, yeah, and so it was 141 00:07:35.279 --> 00:07:38.399 really awful. We were euthanizing a whole bunch quick rundown. 142 00:07:38.639 --> 00:07:42.800 So gopher tortoise territory is in the eastern southern United States, 143 00:07:42.879 --> 00:07:47.759 but most remaining gopher tortoises are in fact Floridians. So 144 00:07:47.800 --> 00:07:51.040 they're about a foot long, they're between eight and twelve pounds. 145 00:07:51.279 --> 00:07:55.519 Ladies are bigger, hello, and they have these strong scaly 146 00:07:55.639 --> 00:07:59.920 legs that are like alive garden trowels. And Amanda was 147 00:08:00.079 --> 00:08:04.040 also helping rehab injured tortoises, working sometimes for months with 148 00:08:04.120 --> 00:08:07.680 individuals whose shells had been split until they healed, and 149 00:08:07.720 --> 00:08:11.399 then releasing them back into the wild. But that didn't 150 00:08:11.439 --> 00:08:14.079 seem like enough. She was like, damn it, I love 151 00:08:14.079 --> 00:08:14.959 these little mofos. 152 00:08:15.199 --> 00:08:18.000 I feel like I should try to figure out how 153 00:08:18.040 --> 00:08:20.959 to help them in other ways. I would really like 154 00:08:21.000 --> 00:08:23.720 to get to know them from like the wildlife perspective. 155 00:08:23.879 --> 00:08:26.720 I started kind of like reading about gopher tortoises because 156 00:08:26.759 --> 00:08:28.600 I just was fascinated by them. 157 00:08:28.680 --> 00:08:30.800 What kind of game do these gopher tortoises have? How 158 00:08:30.800 --> 00:08:34.440 does a gopher tortoise slowly burrow its way into your heart? 159 00:08:35.279 --> 00:08:37.000 I don't know, it's so crazy. 160 00:08:37.120 --> 00:08:39.240 I think it was more just feeling like there were 161 00:08:39.279 --> 00:08:43.600 so many that were coming in and I don't know why. 162 00:08:43.600 --> 00:08:45.039 I don't know how they did it. How did they 163 00:08:45.080 --> 00:08:48.480 do that? As far as like really how they stole 164 00:08:48.519 --> 00:08:50.799 my heart, I'm really not sure. I don't know how 165 00:08:50.799 --> 00:08:51.320 that happened. 166 00:08:51.399 --> 00:08:53.960 So you started reading and reading about them, and you're like, oh, no, 167 00:08:54.200 --> 00:08:56.320 I've become obsessed with gopher tortoises. 168 00:08:56.000 --> 00:09:00.080 Exactly what happened. Yeah, I don't know. I started just 169 00:09:00.120 --> 00:09:01.639 like looking into them because I was like, oh, they're 170 00:09:01.879 --> 00:09:04.360 what's called keystone species. And that's where I started learning, 171 00:09:04.679 --> 00:09:06.279 you know, all about gopher tortoises and all like this. 172 00:09:06.399 --> 00:09:09.840 This is a really incredible animal. And I was learning 173 00:09:09.840 --> 00:09:12.600 about their burrows and how so many other animals will 174 00:09:12.639 --> 00:09:15.480 share their burrows and it's oh, really important for the ecosystem. 175 00:09:15.559 --> 00:09:18.960 Yeah, so they have stowaways. Yes, Is that what a 176 00:09:19.039 --> 00:09:20.240 keystone species is? 177 00:09:20.399 --> 00:09:24.279 Not necessarily No, So, like the beaver is considered an 178 00:09:24.320 --> 00:09:29.120 ecological engineer in a keystone species because they're rearranging habitat. 179 00:09:29.159 --> 00:09:33.159 They're taking these trees, they're building dams, they're altering hydrology 180 00:09:33.159 --> 00:09:37.159 of rivers, and that's like ultimately affecting the wildlife that's coming. 181 00:09:37.320 --> 00:09:40.480 It's affecting the entire ecosystem. Same thing with the gopher tortoise. 182 00:09:40.519 --> 00:09:43.759 They dig these massive burrows. Oh they'll be they can 183 00:09:43.799 --> 00:09:44.840 be up to forty feet long. 184 00:09:45.519 --> 00:09:49.279 They're burrows. Or the tortoise they're kid just really a 185 00:09:49.360 --> 00:09:50.720 stretch limousine tortoise. 186 00:09:50.759 --> 00:09:52.879 They're like, damn, I wonder why it's. 187 00:09:52.720 --> 00:09:56.240 Getting hit man. That's says forty feet long. Okay, so 188 00:09:56.279 --> 00:09:59.039 they're burrows can be just like catacombs. 189 00:09:59.200 --> 00:10:03.639 Yeah, they dig these massive burrows. There's a size of 190 00:10:03.679 --> 00:10:06.840 the tortoise. The shape of it is just like a tortoise. 191 00:10:06.879 --> 00:10:09.159 But they can be up to forty feet on average, 192 00:10:09.159 --> 00:10:12.000 they're like fifteen to twenty Like I've definitely seen ones 193 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:12.600 that are bigger. 194 00:10:12.960 --> 00:10:15.600 Damn. So side note, I just went and looked up 195 00:10:15.639 --> 00:10:19.519 videos of these turtles with these bodonka butts just flinging 196 00:10:19.559 --> 00:10:23.480 sand like little machines behind them, and it's the adorable list. 197 00:10:23.919 --> 00:10:26.120 Their burrows are kind of like if you had a 198 00:10:26.159 --> 00:10:29.799 tortoise silhouette from behind that was a cookie cutter that 199 00:10:29.840 --> 00:10:32.679 you just bored deep into a hillside, like. 200 00:10:36.799 --> 00:10:40.080 These other animals are using it. There's some species that 201 00:10:40.559 --> 00:10:45.120 have just co evolved with them and have are like, 202 00:10:45.240 --> 00:10:46.440 are fully reliant on them. 203 00:10:46.639 --> 00:10:49.360 I want to live in a gopher tortoise burrow me too. 204 00:10:49.559 --> 00:10:52.360 That sounds more spacious than my apartment in Los Angeles, 205 00:10:52.480 --> 00:10:55.720 to be honest, like square footage wise, yeah, damn. 206 00:10:55.799 --> 00:10:57.679 But then you have all these roommates, that's true. 207 00:10:58.120 --> 00:11:00.559 There's moles and like weavils. 208 00:11:01.399 --> 00:11:03.279 It's just coming in like yeah, taking over. 209 00:11:03.879 --> 00:11:06.360 And so you started learning that they're this keystone species 210 00:11:06.360 --> 00:11:09.799 because the work that they do lets other animals kick 211 00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:10.399 it with them. 212 00:11:10.519 --> 00:11:10.840 Exactly. 213 00:11:10.879 --> 00:11:12.480 They were like, they're the kind of people that like 214 00:11:12.600 --> 00:11:14.679 buy a big house in Tarzana and they're like pool 215 00:11:14.720 --> 00:11:18.120 party on Sunday, come over. Literally, that's exactly that's what 216 00:11:18.159 --> 00:11:18.519 they do. 217 00:11:18.919 --> 00:11:21.480 They do. This is what a party looks like, I mean, 218 00:11:21.519 --> 00:11:25.399 and like it's it's it's used for many different reasons. 219 00:11:25.440 --> 00:11:27.120 Some of them are like some animals are coming in 220 00:11:27.559 --> 00:11:31.080 to feed, some of them are coming to just a 221 00:11:31.120 --> 00:11:34.559 site for reproduction. There's a number of insects, which is 222 00:11:34.600 --> 00:11:38.759 actually what I'm studying, that are living in these burrows 223 00:11:39.039 --> 00:11:41.600 and they're fully reliant on the gopher tortoise, but they 224 00:11:41.639 --> 00:11:44.879 also have this mutualistic relationship where they're feeding on dungs. 225 00:11:44.919 --> 00:11:46.799 They're like the house keeping service. 226 00:11:47.519 --> 00:11:49.440 So we can you imagine if your maids, like I 227 00:11:49.600 --> 00:11:50.919 ate your garbage. 228 00:11:50.519 --> 00:11:54.000 Yeah, they come in clean it. They're eating. They're just 229 00:11:54.200 --> 00:11:57.960 living their life and rolling around and shit, and it's 230 00:11:58.000 --> 00:12:00.600 they're not just any dung beetle though, it's like they're 231 00:12:00.679 --> 00:12:04.559 very specific. They're only eating poop. They might be eating poop, 232 00:12:04.559 --> 00:12:06.679 but they're really particular about what they like, what kind 233 00:12:06.639 --> 00:12:10.039 of fay And I was like, this is fascinating. And 234 00:12:10.039 --> 00:12:14.399 then just researching it, I found that at my university, 235 00:12:14.480 --> 00:12:16.639 University of North Florida, there is an advisor that was 236 00:12:16.679 --> 00:12:20.799 studying them, professor there, Joe Butler, and so I contacted 237 00:12:20.879 --> 00:12:22.320 him and I was like, hey, I heard you're doing 238 00:12:22.399 --> 00:12:24.559 some field work with gover tortoises. Can I jump in 239 00:12:24.600 --> 00:12:24.840 on this? 240 00:12:25.120 --> 00:12:25.799 I've allowed here. 241 00:12:26.519 --> 00:12:28.799 Yeah, that's kind of just how I got started. And 242 00:12:28.799 --> 00:12:30.759 then that's when I was like, there's this whole field 243 00:12:30.799 --> 00:12:33.759 of wildlife biology. Oh my god, what am I doing here? 244 00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:37.679 So Amanda had been working on projects studying the reproductive 245 00:12:37.720 --> 00:12:41.120 success of for turtles, and she still had plans to 246 00:12:41.200 --> 00:12:44.120 go to VET school. She even applied and she was accepted, 247 00:12:44.159 --> 00:12:47.799 but she just like she just wasn't really sold on it. 248 00:12:47.960 --> 00:12:49.519 I ended up just being like like, I don't think 249 00:12:49.559 --> 00:12:50.919 I want to go. I don't really want to work 250 00:12:50.919 --> 00:12:53.919 with just cats and dogs. And so I kind of 251 00:12:53.960 --> 00:12:59.039 got involved with with like exotic animals and like working 252 00:12:59.080 --> 00:13:02.480 with Adabat in Colorado and he worked mostly with reptiles, 253 00:13:02.559 --> 00:13:05.879 and I just still I really didn't like it. I 254 00:13:05.919 --> 00:13:07.600 was like, I don't want to be in a hospital. 255 00:13:07.639 --> 00:13:08.919 I really wanted to be outside. 256 00:13:09.200 --> 00:13:12.000 So that's such a difference. I guess, like having your 257 00:13:12.000 --> 00:13:14.840 parking spot and your coffee mug, and like you know 258 00:13:14.879 --> 00:13:16.480 where you're going to sleep, you know what time you're 259 00:13:16.519 --> 00:13:21.240 waking up, versus some people probably couldn't handle what I'm 260 00:13:21.240 --> 00:13:25.159 now calling swamp ramping, yeah, or like you know, burrow 261 00:13:25.279 --> 00:13:27.440 recording or whatever. Like I guess it really depends on 262 00:13:27.720 --> 00:13:30.320 what kind of lifestyle you want right exactly, how clean 263 00:13:30.480 --> 00:13:31.519 you want your fingernails tack. 264 00:13:31.639 --> 00:13:35.000 Oh my god, it's so true. I wanted to be dirty, 265 00:13:35.720 --> 00:13:39.120 It's true. I yeah, I didn't love working inside. I 266 00:13:39.240 --> 00:13:41.240 liked working with the animals, but I didn't really love 267 00:13:41.279 --> 00:13:45.679 the work itself. So that's when I was like, Okay, 268 00:13:45.879 --> 00:13:48.360 I don't want to do this anymore. And so I 269 00:13:48.399 --> 00:13:50.000 went to Madagascar and. 270 00:13:50.159 --> 00:13:55.279 Whoa, that's not that's not Florida. You're like by Florida. 271 00:13:55.480 --> 00:13:58.240 Yeah. So I went to Madagascar and kind of got 272 00:13:58.279 --> 00:14:02.519 onto this internship where I was studying reptiles but mostly snakes, 273 00:14:02.840 --> 00:14:06.559 and that was amazing. It was a really really great 274 00:14:06.559 --> 00:14:08.759 experience and that's really what got me into Like I 275 00:14:08.799 --> 00:14:10.559 was like this is it? Like, this is the best 276 00:14:10.600 --> 00:14:11.080 that I felt. 277 00:14:11.200 --> 00:14:12.759 You're like ectotherms? Are my people? 278 00:14:13.039 --> 00:14:13.480 Yeah? 279 00:14:13.600 --> 00:14:15.399 Yeah? Are they ectotherms? 280 00:14:15.519 --> 00:14:15.879 They are? 281 00:14:16.080 --> 00:14:18.200 Oh man, for a second, my brain froze and I 282 00:14:18.200 --> 00:14:21.120 thought I got that wrong and I was mortified. But yes, yes, okay, 283 00:14:21.279 --> 00:14:24.759 of course turtles are ectotherms. That means that they rely 284 00:14:24.919 --> 00:14:27.480 on external sources of heat, which is why you'll see 285 00:14:27.519 --> 00:14:32.240 turtles just basket on a log like pasty Florida spring Breakers, 286 00:14:32.320 --> 00:14:35.399 and also why it's so important to dig out burrows, 287 00:14:35.639 --> 00:14:38.279 which are pretty much like walking into an air conditioned 288 00:14:38.440 --> 00:14:41.559 movie theater in July, but darker and full of dirt 289 00:14:41.799 --> 00:14:44.559 and cool bugs that eat your pooh. When you are 290 00:14:44.759 --> 00:14:47.960 starting to get obsessed with turtles, like what kind of 291 00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:50.720 books are you reading? What kind of chat groups are 292 00:14:50.720 --> 00:14:52.879 you in? What kind of group text? Talk to me 293 00:14:52.919 --> 00:14:53.879 about the turtle world. 294 00:14:55.080 --> 00:15:00.480 Honestly, when it comes to connecting with p people in 295 00:15:00.519 --> 00:15:05.559 the turtle world, it's social media, really yeah, turtle Twitter, Instagram, 296 00:15:05.799 --> 00:15:09.360 It's Twitter, turtle Twitter. I mean there's so many like 297 00:15:09.440 --> 00:15:11.679 turtle groups on Instagram. 298 00:15:12.200 --> 00:15:15.120 Look, okay, when you say turtle groups, are these like 299 00:15:15.159 --> 00:15:20.360 the sea turtle people, the tortoise people, the turtle people. Okay, yeah, they're. 300 00:15:19.799 --> 00:15:21.559 All like yeah, I kind of think if you're a 301 00:15:21.559 --> 00:15:24.600 turtle person, you're a tortoise person, vice versa. 302 00:15:24.639 --> 00:15:26.879 All right, that's a good segue because we need to 303 00:15:26.879 --> 00:15:28.679 get to this right now. I mean I should have 304 00:15:28.679 --> 00:15:30.240 asked you this the second you walked in the door. 305 00:15:30.639 --> 00:15:33.320 Turtle versus tortoise, what's the deal? 306 00:15:33.679 --> 00:15:38.080 Okay, well, tortoises are turtles. Okay, they are turtles, but 307 00:15:38.200 --> 00:15:41.720 they're just adapted to living life on land, so their 308 00:15:41.759 --> 00:15:46.240 limbs are different, their legs are built for walking and digging. 309 00:15:47.200 --> 00:15:51.240 So a sea turtle really should have a should a 310 00:15:51.279 --> 00:15:53.840 sea turtle have a different name, like a turtle that way, 311 00:15:54.679 --> 00:15:56.919 like a turtle, you know, like the turtles like just 312 00:15:56.960 --> 00:16:00.159 like a whatever. We're all turtles and then you're fully 313 00:16:00.679 --> 00:16:04.320 see you're a turtle, you're fully land, you're a tortoise. 314 00:16:04.840 --> 00:16:06.679 You're maybe a little bit of both your turtle, but 315 00:16:06.720 --> 00:16:07.480 you're all turtles. 316 00:16:07.600 --> 00:16:09.480 I think we need to talk about this. Okay, this 317 00:16:09.600 --> 00:16:12.559 needs to be This needs to me be a chang dreaming. 318 00:16:13.440 --> 00:16:17.039 I mean, I just feel like, let's get specific about turtles. 319 00:16:17.519 --> 00:16:23.639 Give me some just overall anatomical facts about turtles because 320 00:16:23.679 --> 00:16:26.320 here's the thing about turtles. We know there's stuff going 321 00:16:26.360 --> 00:16:29.240 on under that shell. Oh yeah, like what is happening 322 00:16:29.440 --> 00:16:32.279 under that shell? It's like if there's a silver dome 323 00:16:32.799 --> 00:16:35.639 over a platter of food and it's just a mystery 324 00:16:36.080 --> 00:16:39.759 cloaked in fancy armor. We don't know what kind of organs. 325 00:16:39.759 --> 00:16:42.200 Do they have five hearts? How many butts do they have? 326 00:16:42.559 --> 00:16:44.120 You know, do they even have a liver? Like, what's 327 00:16:44.159 --> 00:16:44.799 going on in there? 328 00:16:44.879 --> 00:16:48.080 Okay, well yeah, I know that it's that that's where 329 00:16:48.080 --> 00:16:50.440 it all happens. That's where everything's happening. 330 00:16:50.559 --> 00:16:52.440 A party is under the shell. 331 00:16:54.240 --> 00:16:59.120 So with the shell, the ribs and the spine are 332 00:16:59.240 --> 00:17:01.480 like built in to the shell and to the top 333 00:17:01.480 --> 00:17:04.839 of the shell, so it's part of it. So tortoise 334 00:17:04.880 --> 00:17:07.160 can't leave it shell. I mean, that is everything. A 335 00:17:07.200 --> 00:17:09.440 lot of people really do think that they can just 336 00:17:09.480 --> 00:17:11.440 walk off and find a new one if they're growing. 337 00:17:12.640 --> 00:17:15.480 Well, there's some flim flam we debunked. Yeah, they're stuck 338 00:17:15.480 --> 00:17:18.000 with that shell for life. And how is it growing? 339 00:17:18.400 --> 00:17:23.039 Okay, So the shell is bone. Oh yeah, it's bone, 340 00:17:23.039 --> 00:17:25.559 and then it's just it has a cover keratin. It's 341 00:17:25.559 --> 00:17:28.519 covered in caratin, so it's like our fingernails or hair, 342 00:17:28.960 --> 00:17:32.359 but it's bone and so it's growing with the tortoise. 343 00:17:32.519 --> 00:17:33.200 Oh yeah. 344 00:17:33.240 --> 00:17:35.200 And so it's basically like you can age a tortoise 345 00:17:35.240 --> 00:17:38.119 by looking at the shell and it's got rings on 346 00:17:39.079 --> 00:17:42.039 each of the scutes, and so it's basically like like 347 00:17:42.240 --> 00:17:43.160 trying to age a tree. 348 00:17:43.359 --> 00:17:44.279 Oh my god. 349 00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:45.039 Yeah. 350 00:17:45.079 --> 00:17:48.799 So each scute, which is like those parquet floor tiles, 351 00:17:50.319 --> 00:17:53.359 kind of gets a new ring every year. Is that? 352 00:17:54.480 --> 00:17:57.039 Is that partly because of conditions like in a tree, 353 00:17:57.160 --> 00:17:59.200 like the rings happen when there's a lot of water 354 00:17:59.240 --> 00:18:00.359 and growth, exactly, is it? 355 00:18:00.359 --> 00:18:02.920 So? Yeah, it's sort of seasonal. So it really does 356 00:18:02.960 --> 00:18:08.279 depend on location. So if you're further north, like the 357 00:18:08.279 --> 00:18:11.680 gopher tourtist is further north, they are very seasonal. They 358 00:18:11.720 --> 00:18:15.079 do have a winter. They're disappearing into the burrow during 359 00:18:15.119 --> 00:18:18.200 the winter. They're not eating for months and they're just 360 00:18:18.559 --> 00:18:19.640 they're just underground. 361 00:18:20.559 --> 00:18:22.519 Is there hard like one beat a year? 362 00:18:22.720 --> 00:18:23.240 Probably? 363 00:18:24.039 --> 00:18:26.000 It's like the lowest metabolity ever. 364 00:18:26.279 --> 00:18:28.279 Yeah, so why they live so long? 365 00:18:28.720 --> 00:18:31.799 Ps. Not only is next week's episode about sea turtles 366 00:18:31.920 --> 00:18:35.000 aka turtles, but you'll want to hold onto your butts, 367 00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:38.720 my friends, because in researching how turtles gets how old 368 00:18:39.000 --> 00:18:43.519 I came across an ology called biogerontology, and the best 369 00:18:43.599 --> 00:18:47.119 biogerontologist in the world, doctor Caleb Finch, is based in 370 00:18:47.319 --> 00:18:50.599 La hot Damn. Yes, we recorded an episode on aging, 371 00:18:50.680 --> 00:18:54.480 so stay tuned for that the week after. Sea turtles. Also, 372 00:18:54.559 --> 00:18:58.480 the material tortoise shell, which has been banned in many places, 373 00:18:58.880 --> 00:19:02.039 was most commonly made made from skewts of the hawks 374 00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:06.079 bill turtles, which are sea turtles and not tortoises. So 375 00:19:06.359 --> 00:19:09.599 not only does it mean but it's also factually incorrect 376 00:19:09.640 --> 00:19:11.880 a lot of the time. Okay, back to tortoise shells, 377 00:19:11.920 --> 00:19:15.640 which are the spine in the ribs all fused together 378 00:19:16.039 --> 00:19:19.160 into a dome that says, don't even try to touch me, 379 00:19:19.400 --> 00:19:22.079 you jerks. And so they have a ribs that are 380 00:19:22.160 --> 00:19:24.839 fused to the bone of their shell. Correct, And then 381 00:19:24.920 --> 00:19:26.759 what else is kind of guts they got? 382 00:19:26.799 --> 00:19:29.480 Everything is just under under that shell? 383 00:19:29.720 --> 00:19:32.039 Are what kind of do they have crazy hearts or 384 00:19:32.039 --> 00:19:36.240 do they have like like is there reproductive system indoor outdoor? 385 00:19:36.240 --> 00:19:37.559 What kind of plumbing is happening? 386 00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:41.839 So with them with this is for tortoises, you can 387 00:19:42.119 --> 00:19:45.240 flip them over and they're at the bottom their belly. 388 00:19:45.599 --> 00:19:47.480 The bottom part of the shell is called a plaston, 389 00:19:48.440 --> 00:19:50.559 So you look at the plaston and that's probably the 390 00:19:50.599 --> 00:19:52.119 best way to tell. So male is going to be 391 00:19:52.480 --> 00:19:54.759 it's going to have a dip. Oh, and then the 392 00:19:54.759 --> 00:19:57.400 female's going to be flat. Okay, so the male's just 393 00:19:57.480 --> 00:19:59.000 just got a concave so you can fit on top 394 00:19:59.000 --> 00:19:59.559 of the female. 395 00:19:59.599 --> 00:20:05.119 Oh oh, got it. Yeah, like nesting bowls exactly. I 396 00:20:05.160 --> 00:20:07.319 shouldn't ask this so early on, but I'm. 397 00:20:07.200 --> 00:20:09.119 Just I'm ready for this question. I think I know 398 00:20:09.160 --> 00:20:09.640 what's coming. 399 00:20:10.359 --> 00:20:13.119 Do they have crazy dicks or what? Okay, I'm so happy. 400 00:20:13.160 --> 00:20:17.279 I'm so happy right now. I feel like I saw 401 00:20:17.480 --> 00:20:19.680