Mariah (MSc) 🐢
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tortoisetime.bsky.social
Mariah (MSc) 🐢
@tortoisetime.bsky.social
Graduate student currently finishing up my thesis on the immune system of the Mojave Desert tortoise

She/Her
I caught my leopard gecko basking in a most decadent manner this morning
September 17, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Now that I've defended, I unfortunately won't have new pictures of tortoises (at least for a while!). In the mean time, here's some old ones I took before making this account!
These are some pictures taken of one of our females post-sampling. We always provided a delicious treat to thank the torts
May 28, 2025 at 3:51 PM
I just want to keep studying tortoise immunology....but I fear that's too niche......
May 27, 2025 at 1:33 AM
It's #tortoisetime!

Water can be very hard to come by in the Mojave, especially in the Western Mojave. Desert tortoises can only reliably drink water during certain times of the year. As a result, these animals can reabsorb water from their urine and tolerate extreme water imbalances. 1/2
May 2, 2025 at 8:01 PM
I don't have a lot of pictures for #tortoisetime as it's chilly and so everyone was pretty inactive. However! I did catch this sweetie having a nice long nap.

#deserttortoise #tortoise #herpetology #herptiles
April 25, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Progress is happening
April 17, 2025 at 7:38 PM
These babies are all varying ages, so some are bigger than others, but all fit comfortably in the palm of your hand!
April 15, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Things have been so rough for everyone. Please take some baby tortoises for strength and morale.
April 15, 2025 at 4:57 PM
When the moon hits your eye like a big pumpkin pie, that's amore
(Or two male desert tortoises sharing a delicious meal like bros)

#herpetology #tortoises #herps
April 15, 2025 at 12:39 AM
I've sent the draft of my thesis to my advisor! Cross your fingers for me everybody
April 15, 2025 at 12:34 AM
Cleanliness is not often a concern for desert tortoises. This is especially true when pumpkin is involved.

#tortoisetime #tortoise #herpetology #herps
March 9, 2025 at 3:50 AM
It's #tortoisetime! Now that it's March, so most of the tortoises are up and about. They got pumpkin yesterday and had a great time

#tortoise #herpetology #herps
March 8, 2025 at 6:11 PM
#tortoisetime

While a lot of tortoises were up and about yesterday because of the warm weather, some decided to stay asleep! Previous research in this species has shown that there is no set time or cue for them to enter/exit brumation, it's all up to the individual!
March 2, 2025 at 2:16 AM
I was a little busy yesterday so #tortoisetime is a little late! It was very warm yesterday, so a lot of the tortoises were up and active!
March 1, 2025 at 5:34 PM
I've finished organizing my references for chapter 2 of my thesis :')
February 26, 2025 at 10:53 PM
Have some baby tortoises in these trying times

#herpetology #herps #tortoises
February 23, 2025 at 1:29 AM
Firefly DID get up as I was leaving. He has a 6th sense for when treats are about and will wake up in the winter to have some. To really make sure he gets some, he'll lift his head to look up at you and beg, something none of the others do.
It's very effective.
#tortoisetime #herps #toetoise
February 22, 2025 at 12:02 AM
It was cold all this week, so most of the tortoises were fast asleep during feeding! #tortoisetime updates might be a bit more scarce on this Friday!

#herpetology #herps #tortoise
February 21, 2025 at 11:47 PM
It's Valentine's day and we here at #tortoisetime would be remiss if we did not share a tale of romance. In our captive population Gus has always been obsessed with Buttercup, more than any other female. Here he is watching her eat.
No aggression, no biting, no attempt to eat her food. Just watching
February 15, 2025 at 2:17 AM
#tortoisetime

Aggression in desert #tortoises is thankfully easy to spot! If you see a male bobbing his head, chances are he's planning to bite or ram or flip whatever is in his vicinity. Piute here (right) quit his bobbing once I got close, because I put aggressive tortoises in timeout.
#herps
February 15, 2025 at 1:24 AM
It's #tortoisetime! Buttercup and Miss Mallow are here to remind you to stay hydrated.
February 15, 2025 at 12:39 AM
My girlfriend and I got into looking at pet pigeon's last night and this inevitably lead to some pigeon fancier websites, which have the most incredible graphics.
It's fun to get insight into communities and hobbies you didn't even know existed before.
February 8, 2025 at 7:09 PM
My beautiful girlfriend @angoulvm.bsky.social made me the cutest banner for bluesky! She's new to the site, but give her a follow, she does art and photography!
February 1, 2025 at 8:58 PM
My girlfriend took some very dreamy photos of the tortoises when she visited last.
They look like they should be in a vision.

#herpetology #tortoises
February 1, 2025 at 6:07 PM
#tortoisetime

Stages of a bite, featuring my favorite of our captive population: Buttercup (she's the littlest)!

#herpetology #tortoises
February 1, 2025 at 3:06 AM