The Pondcast

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!

A torch bearer for a younger generation, Jordan Donini is a turtle academic who is taking the world by storm. His work on reproductive biology in chelonians and tireless work in the field in South Florida make him a must follow on social media.

This month, we are joined by Tyler Brooks. Tyler is a husband, father of two daughters, founding member of the Kinixys Working Group and the owner/operator of a solid waste disposal facility. In addition to what is sure to be an enjoyable conversation centered around Tyler's favorite genera, Kinixys and Manouria, you just might learn more about waste management then you ever thought you would!

The crew speaks with a hero in the conservation world, Dr. Dante Fenolio. Dr. Fenolio is an extremely accomplished underwater photographer, PhD and educator. He is also the author of “Life in the Dark,” and runs the Department of Conservation & Research for the San Antonio Zoo. We are thrilled to hear from someone who has had such amazing experiences and has done such incredible work.

In this exciting episode, your hosts are with a good friend of theirs, Ari Taub, an American film director and producer. The turtle related debates in this one get really lively, in a good way. Ari is perhaps best known for his movie, The Fallen, a 2004 war film about the perspectives of Italian, German, and American soldiers during World War II. His latest movie, '79 Parts, is a blend of comedy a...

The team visits with their good friend Kevin Pollack - one of the most knowledgeable reptile people you've never heard of. For that reason, we joking call him the "mystery guest." Kevin is a field biologist and naturalist who also breeds reptiles. He has herp experience on four continents and keeps some incredibly cool species.

Christine Light is an experienced scuba diver, with around 500 dives under her belt, one of which saved someone's life! She has traveled to several points on the globe in her efforts with both wild and captive animals from whale sharks and mobula rays to rehabbing a Painted Terrapin at the Downtown Aquarium Denver where she was Assistant Curator to being one of the first "Western Biologists" to se...

Tonight, Shannon joins the team as a special guest host to interview a college friend and very special guest, Dave Hudson, PhD. As a marine and aquatic biologist, researcher, and educator, Dr. Hudson aims to cultivate biological research, education, policy, and business interactions for marine and aquatic environments. To achieve that end, he works to empower people through collaborations with uni...

Carl J. Franklin, the President of the non-profit research organization Texas Turtles, joins The Pondcast to talk about his myriad experiences in herpetology. Carl is one of the most interesting men in herpetology, having spent time under the stars in locations all across the Americas and southeast Asia. His adventures could fill several episodes of The Pondcast and include a run-in with the Venez...

In this episode, the guys are joined by award winning animal educator and digital content creator, Emma Lock. Her YouTube channel, Emzotic, currently has over 690,000 subscribers, comprised of animal lovers and pet keepers seeking a place to learn about exotic animals and pet care. Her ‘Creature Feature’ videos have been showcased by the BBC World Service and Blue Peter, as well as many digital me...

Viviana Ricardez is the Vice President of the non-profit research organization Texas Turtles. Viviana joins our hosts to talk about all the cool things Texas Turtles is doing to study turtles and her background going from "90s turtle nerd" to a leading expert on the turtles of Texas. The goal of Texas Turtles is to “fill a Texas-sized hole in our knowledge of Texas turtles including studying the '...

The Pondcast team speaks with Diva Green, DVM, a talented exotics veterinarian from Connecticut who has partnered with tTR on care of their animals. Dr. Green is the type of veterinarian you want caring for your animals and is someone young professionals can look up to and aspire to be. We'll talk about the importance of working as a team with your vet and the importance of developing such partner...

The boys sit down to talk with one of the best turtle people you've never heard of, Ken Sopher. Ken is a box turtle expert and a wealth of knowledge on many species. Tonight we pick his brain to gain as much insight into his observations as possible.

The Pondcast crew introduces a new series within The Pondcast called "Husbandry Talk". Husbandry Talk shows will be focused specifically on the husbandry of a few select turtle and tortoise species. On today's show, each host will talk about the husbandry of a species or group of species selected by the other hosts!

Photographer, videographer, naturalist, and reptile keeper Greg Brashear of Greg's Turtle Haven joins The Pondcast team to talk Alligator Snapping Turtles and other reptiles from the Southeast United States. Like theTurtleRoom, Greg is passionate about educating others about turtles, tortoises, their conservation, and their husbandry. Greg is one of the rare cases, where a turtle advocate walks th...

The Pondcast's hosts talk about what makes a podcast a "reptile podcast" and banter about their favorite non-turtle reptile species. All of our hosts are reptile lovers, so why does our podcast always take a turn toward turtles, primarily? And why do snake lovers get to rule the world as reptile podcasters when turtle and lizard people are considered niche groups within a niche group? We will toug...

Daoist monk, Yun Rou, joins his friend Anthony and the rest of The Pondcast team to talk turtles, philosophy, writing, and anything else that comes to mind. His newest book - Turtle Planet: Conservation, Extinction, and What the Fate of Turtles May Say About the Future of Humanity and our World - released last week. Born Arthur Rosenfeld in America, Yun Rou (the name means Soft Cloud) was ordained...

In this episode, Anthony, Kevin and new host Chris sit down for a chat with no guests. Believe it or not, this was not due to our overall lack of likability, but instead was a calculated decision to allow listeners a chance to get to know our hosts a bit better and to introduce exciting new monthly features. We are looking forward to bringing you weekly installments of Minto's Mailbag," where Kevi...

In this episode, Anthony, Kevin and new host Chris interview their fellow tTR volunteer, Zach Braswell. Zach, theTurtleRoom's own Social Media Educator, joins the show to talk about his upcoming trip to Madagascar to assist the Turtle Survival Alliance at their TCC facility. Many of the animals housed at the TCC are from the extremely large confiscation many of us remember from a few years ago. In...

Casey Leone, Field Project Manager of theTurtleRoom's Terrapin Conservation Initiative, joins the show to discuss exciting new things happening with the project formerly known as Terrapin Nesting Project: Leeds Point.

Ty Park, proprietor of the upcoming IguanaLand joins to the show to talk about turtles, iguanas, and facility construction. Ty is a wealth of knowledge on lizard breeding and has considerable experience in keeping and breeding other reptiles as well. In this episode, he sits with Anthony, Kevin and Steve to discuss his current efforts to transform his property in Florida into a premier reptile zoo...

theTurtleRoom discusses the upcoming Turtle and Tortoise Preservation Group (TTPG) conference with the nicest guy in turtle nerd circles, Michael Thathuvaswamy. Michael is a keeper of turtles and tortoises from the West Coast, who is always willing to help others. He dedicates his time to help the TTPG achieve their important goals around the preservation of chelonian species through captive breed...

We're getting Krazy for Kinixys with Jeremy Thompson! Jeremy is really turning heads with his Hingeback Tortoise focused work, and we are thrilled to have him on the show to discuss it. Be sure to check out his operation on FaceBook at facebook.com/kinixyscoop/ to learn more about his collection, his initiatives, and the genus that has completely captivated him to the point that he has dedicated h...

In this video, the guys sit down with their friend Ralph Till, President of the Tampa Bay Turtle and Tortoise Society, to discuss how things are going. Ralph is one of the most successful breeders of the Egyptian Tortoise, Testudo kleinmanni, in the world and he has lectured on the subject at several conferences. He is known as one of the most calculated and attentive tortoise keepers around, and...

It's just Anthony and Steve in this one. They discuss what it's like to move with a collection of animals under one's care. They also talk about the "must haves" they've identified in their time keeping and breeding turtles.