Chris Leone

Chris is the owner and operator of Garden State Tortoise and Hermanni Haven. He is the studbook coordinator for the North American Regional Studbook for Testudo hermanni hermanni and his work with the world's turtles and tortoises spans over two decades. Chris' life centers around keeping and breeding dozens of species with a primary focus on Mediterranean tortoises and turtles of the Northeastern United States, among others. He is an educational resource partner of theTurtleRoom.org and a writer for Reptiles Magazine since early 2011. He is an active member of several turtle and tortoise forums across the globe and his educational/identification videos along with photo galleries have received thousands of views. In previous years, Chris has been a helping hand in turtle dioramas at the American Museum of Natural History, has provided live specimens for several state nature museums and has aided in photography for books and other magazines on the subject in addition to care sheets for reptilechannel.com. His work with local humane societies, fish and wildlife agencies and zoos has helped countless turtles find new homes and his research is ongoing. Visit him and his amazing animals at gardenstatetortoise.com and hermannihaven.com. Also, be sure to catch his articles in upcoming issues of Reptiles Magazine or look for back issues such as "Gems of the Mediterranean" (January 2011), "Smile Big" (October 2012), "An American Classic" (July 2013), "Long Live the Greeks" (April 2014) and "The Engraved Turtle" (July 2014).

The Pondcast, Episode 92

NyQuil Time

Anthony forgot after work that he had a Pondcast that night. Kevin struggles with timeliness again. This episode will go down in history as the low point against which all other bad episodes will be measured.

The Pondcast, Episode 88

Daniel Parker of USARK Florida

This month, Daniel Parker joins The Pondcast to discuss one of the biggest issues of concern to private keepers and conservationists – potential legal changes in Florida and beyond.

The Pondcast, Episode 87

Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group with Dr. Craig Stanford

This month, we are joined by Dr. Craig Stanford. Craig is Professor of Biological Sciences and Anthropology at University of Southern California, studying both primates and chelonians.

The Pondcast, Episode 77

Guestless In Seattle

Due to unforeseen circumstances, our intrepid turtle heroes find themselves guestless (though none of us are actually in Seattle). Join us for a fun night of sharing stories, updates, and silliness as we begin the crescendo towards celebrating theTurtleRoom’s 10th anniversary!

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