TTPG - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Construction Superintendent
- Director
- Member of the Board
Drew Rheinhardt is a construction superintendent and has worked with many species of reptiles since his early childhood. Like his mentor, Bert Langerwerf, Drew has devoted most of his time keeping species that will thrive in outdoor enclosures in his native Arizona. His enclosures are producing some of the most amazing species from Africa and Europe including Leopard tortoises (Stigmochelys pardalis), Spurred tortoises (Centrochelys sulcata), and a variety of Testudo species including Testudo hermanni, Testudo floweri and Testudo marginata. Drew also keeps and breeds a handful of aquatic species and has recently produced a number of Vietnamese pond turtles (Mauremys annamensis), a species that is now extinct in nature.
Drew has also been successful with a wide range of lizard species including terrestrial geckos, chuckwallas, and other desert species, and he is one of the most successful keepers of Uromastyx lizards in the country. Drew's insight into desert-dwelling species that thrive in his Arizona climate has provided a wealth of information for keepers around the country.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Member of the Board
James Badman has worked at Arizona State University for 18 years. He is the Associate Director for the Department of Animal Care and Technologies. He owns Wildside Pets, LLC, an exotic pet store in Mesa, Arizona. He and Drew Rheinhardt host the Phoenix Reptile Expo, LLC. James is married and has two beautiful daughters. Like most, he has kept tortoises since he was a kid.
James maintains a wide variety of tortoises with an emphasis on species that do well outside in the dry climate of Arizona. These include sulcata, leopard, pancake, radiated and Mediterranean tortoises. James also maintains and breeds several specialized species such as Pyxis, Kinixys spekii, Egyptian and Chaco tortoises.
Keith Chitwood works in the Pet Industry as a Category Manager for a large distribution company. He is also formally the store manager for what was at the time the largest aquarium and fish (and reptiles too) retail store in the Southeast. As part of his work history Keith also helped design and install several large filtration systems at Zoos, Science Centers and businesses.
Keith works with a diverse group of aquatic turtles primarily indoors. The turtles include species from Mexico, Central and South America, Southeast Asia, Africa and Australia/New Guinea. The focus being on The Chelidae family of turtles (Austro-South American side-neck turtles). In addition to the turtles he also maintains a large aquarium fish room with nearly 50 species bred at one time or another. Combined he works with about 3,500 gallons of aquariums and various turtle setups. While successful at breeding numerous turtle species, Keith counts the first USA captive breeding of Acanthochelys spixii (black spine-neck swamp turtle) as a major accomplishment. More recent success includes Pelusios nanus (African dwarf mud turtle), Chelodina reimanni (Reimann's snake-necked turtle) and Kinosternon leucostomum (white-lipped mud turtle).
Kurt Edwards has a diverse collection of both aquatic species and tortoises. He was best known early in the hobby for producing Spotted turtles. In more recent years, he has developed a fondness for South American species and became the first breeder in the United States to successfully hatch and raise a Spiny-necked turtle (Acanthochelys spixii). In addition to aquatic species, Kurt is also interested in the Kinixys genus, and has hatched over 70 Home's Hingeback tortoises (Kinixys homeana) to date.
Kurt has written various articles for publications such as Schildkroten im Fokus and The Batagur.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Director of Giving & Membership Services
Born and raised in India, I fell in love with turtles when I started going to a school that raised a group of Start Tortoises in the zoo on premise. I grew up listening to the local myth that turtles are bad luck but I couldn't help but wonder how turtles can bring good luck for our neighbors in China and bad luck to Indians. I decided I would find out when the opportunity arose and managed to purchase two young red-eared sliders, that were possibly smuggled into the country along with ornamental fishes. Since then I have not looked back. What started in 2001 as a curious experiment, if you will, turned into a serious obsession and has matured into a focus on chelonian conservation.
Apart from TTPG I am very active with the Sacramento Turtle and Tortoise Club and a Director at Bidwell Wildlife Rehabilitation group in Butte County,CA where I work with our native pond turtles and also assist with adoption of non-native species.
It is truly hard to pick just one species that I am in love with but if I am forced to pick one it would be Siebenrockiella crassicollis. My hope is to ensure there will be enough captive bred crassicollis for future generations to come.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Director
- Founder
- Member of the Board
Russ Gurley was a founding member of the American Federation of Herpetoculturists in the 1980s and served as a creative force behind The Vivarium magazine for several years. He has produced many books and articles relating to the captive care of reptiles, including geckos, snakes, and more recently aquatic turtles and tortoises. These articles have appeared in magazines and journals such as HERP NATION, Reptilia, MANOURIA, The Batagur, and on various websites.
Russ's first turtle-related book, The African Spurred Tortoise, Geochelone sulcata, in Captivity, was published in 2002. He has authored a number of other popular books including A Color Guide to Tarantulas of the World I, A Color Guide to Tarantulas of the World II, Tarantulas and Scorpions in Captivity, Keeping and Breeding Freshwater Turtles, Baby Turtles, SULCATAS: Spurred Tortoises in Captivity, and he currently has a number of other books in progress.
Russ formed the Turtle and Tortoise Preservation Group in 1996 to promote the captive breeding of rare turtles and tortoises and to spread the most recent information relating to the keeping and breeding of captive reptiles through articles, books, conferences and workshops, and through the TTPG website. Russ and the TTPG members host the TTPG Conference on Captive Care and Breeding of Turtles and Tortoises each year in Arizona.
Russ has a BFA from Oklahoma State University in illustration/painting and is involved in the art scene in his free time and he is the owner of FORGOTTEN TRIBES SKULLS (www.tribalskulls.com). Russ was the first in the United States to breed Pyxis planicauda, Batrachemys raniceps, and Bothropthalmus lineatus. He maintains a collection of turtles and tortoises and is involved in a variety of unusual lizard and tarantula projects.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Director of Marketing & Advertising
Growing up in a small country town in Chino Valley, Arizona I didn't have a lot to do, so I studied many different types of animals. I grew up working with & owning many different animals, which is how I decided that I knew I was going to work with animals somehow for the rest of my life. In 2012, I decided to open The Pet Shop in Mesa, AZ. a full line pet shop. I consider myself a tortoise aholic and have had turtles & tortoises since I was a little girl. I look forward to continuing my knowledge in turtles and tortoises by being a part of TTPG.