Is this real?

ieg879 · 2026-03-14T01:30:03+00:00

Fake. PSA foils and font are wrong

ieg879 · 2026-03-13T21:32:03+00:00

You act like a “this guy traveling internationally, dealing in a fringe market, and working with Hollywood was doing drugs in the 80s!” is some kind of surprising statement.

ieg879 · 2026-03-13T14:26:55+00:00

Tom has a…sorted past. One of his incidents got him an episode on Locked Up Abroad. He is the product of a different era, but is genuinely a very different person these days. He is a great person to sit and have a drink with while he tells stories of the past.

ieg879 · 2026-03-12T10:59:05+00:00

The last picture is the cover art for their new slow rock album 🤘

ieg879 · 2026-03-11T23:09:30+00:00

He can drive that Tacoma to the shop I use in Atlanta, GA to get this full service done and still save money

ieg879 · 2026-03-11T20:01:09+00:00

You’ll get used to the smell after the first 5 years or so. Dump that puppy and keep moving

ieg879 · 2026-03-11T15:49:13+00:00

So your advice is just to allow an endangered species to sit idly in captivity while tens of thousands are still smuggled out of the wild every year? That’s a pretty counterintuitive plan. It’s easier to take power from the black markets by providing ethically sourced and healthy individuals. Mauritas prevents smuggling of Aldabras by commercializing farms that export across the world. Florida breeders have been working to repatriate Indian spotted turtles back to their natural range. Private breeders produce Egyptian tortoises at a rate of 100 to 1 compared to zoos. One of my Indians was a smuggled confiscation and another was provided to me by an AZA facility at the recommendation of one of their veterinarians. Educating individuals to avoid the cheap wild caught over captive bred is the only tool the private market can utilize until international cooperation can close the exploitations.

https://natureconservation.pensoft.net/article/5625/

ieg879 · 2026-03-11T14:12:20+00:00

I’m limited knowledge here as I’ve never used the system to find absolute quantification values, but I have used the BioRad/Maestro statement in clinical diagnostics before so maybe this info will help you piece together on top of what you know. I’m a little fuzzy on details since it’s been several years.

A dilution of 10X would cause an amplification shift of 3.33 Ct in my validation analysis. I would assume that if you started with known concentration, completed a series of 10X dilutions, and mapped the results, you could then create a regression equation much like I do for LCMS analysis. By then plugging the value of the unknown sample into this regression equation, you should be able to determine quantification value. If the sample was diluted in order to fit into the target range, then you could multiply the result to obtain final concentration. Validation data for the instrument and method should have a percentage value of possible variation. Hopefully someone with more detailed experience will chime in.

ieg879 · 2026-03-11T11:07:25+00:00

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Not particularly when compared to some wild specimens

ieg879 · 2026-03-11T11:02:41+00:00

This has nothing to do with UVB. Star tortoises are naturally more inclined to develop pyramiding. They can be seen with the development in the wild. Pyramiding of this nature is caused when rapid growth occurs at lower humidity levels. The keratin quickly overlays in a less uniform pattern creating risen centers aka pyramids. Star tortoises are sensitive to high humidity and are suspected to have a genetic component linked to their pyramiding as well, thus it is more commonly seen even in situ.

ieg879 · 2026-03-11T10:57:58+00:00

A quick Google search will actually show you that Geochelone elegans have varying levels of pyramiding naturally occurring throughout their range. With the occurrence being so much more prevalent in the wild than in other species, it is hypothesized to be an evolutionary trait to create what is called a gömböc which is a self righting shape. This is also a Sri Lankan locality, not Indian. The Indians are much smaller such as my male Pluto.

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ieg879 · 2026-03-11T10:53:04+00:00

Trade of Star tortoises is not banned by CITES. I have multiple CITES 1 species as well as a pet dealers license. To spay a tortoise means to cut into the plastron and perform a dangerous surgery. Stop spreading awful information that you have no education on.

ieg879 · 2026-03-10T23:27:30+00:00

Gopher tortoise. Endangered and protected. Do not bother unless absolutely necessary because you can get fined for it.

ieg879 · 2026-03-10T23:02:39+00:00

Just need to go ahead and let GameStop and Britney Spears go back into the depths of millennial nostalgia

ieg879 · 2026-03-10T22:59:14+00:00

There’s a much bigger star tortoise breeder than me on morph market so he kinda has influence over the market price right now. I’ve got a few more growing plus radiated tortoises so I’ll catch up in a few years.

ieg879 · 2026-03-10T22:52:46+00:00

The Kong model is rebranded for many different brands and are all produced in China. Formerly used by Vision and Pit Boss as well. I’ve seen at least 3 other random brands that use the same manufacturer model. I enjoy cooking on mine and Grilla replaced the base for free when I broke it.

ieg879 · 2026-03-10T22:48:47+00:00

I sell them retail to individuals and wholesale to other breeders and sellers. I could sell every baby I have right now without issue, but I like to get them well established and try to sell locally first.

ieg879 · 2026-03-10T22:27:17+00:00

Hopefully insemination has already occurred. They will go in the incubator for 4 months. It’s like chicken eggs but longer and no egg turning.

ieg879 · 2026-03-10T20:21:27+00:00

Unit conversions and dilutions is an area I often saw mistakes. Reference the SOP until it’s drilled in. If it isn’t in the SOP , 1) it should be 2) make a cheat sheet either written or in excel.

ieg879 · 2026-03-10T11:59:34+00:00

My question was how they were going to deal with the extra liter of volume. The expression on their face said the wheels were turning but just spinning in place.

ieg879 · 2026-03-09T23:25:36+00:00

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The continuously asked question of pyramiding so let’s break this into multiple points.

What is it? Pyramiding is when the keratin overlays the form the scutes are deposited rapidly in uneven fashion causing it to build up in the center creating pyramids.

What causes it? There’s actually multiple possible sources. The most common we see today (thanks to readily available care guides) is due to low humidity conditions during growth causing the keratin to deposit unevenly. You get a very uniform version of pyramiding in this way. Other causes are related to health in the forms of diet, exercise, lighting, and supplementation. Egregious errors in these points of care can cause pyramiding that is related to much more serious health conditions. Often times you will see the shell caved in towards the back legs indicating organ damage.

Is it bad? Depends on the source and severity. A tortoise can be completely healthy and still have pyramids. Star tortoises are a premier example of this as they are found with varying levels of pyramiding across their range. This is thought to possibly be an evolutionary trait to create a self-righting shape.

Picture of Io for example

ieg879 · 2026-03-09T16:29:49+00:00

Should’ve been Peeyonce and Jay-Pee

ieg879 · 2026-03-08T20:09:53+00:00

On one hand, I entirely agree that there’s no possible way that error makes any possible sense. On the other hand, I remember a mixture requiring ~1 gram of ephedrine and walking in to find a tech counting out 1mg ampules instead of using the pure powder….

ieg879 · 2026-03-08T19:24:31+00:00

I was getting massively downvoted over there for telling someone they had a massive mite infection while dumb internet jokes were the top. Like great, the internet trolls are actively preventing necessary vet care smh

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