Dear Members and Friends:

Our Summer meeting will be held on Saturday, July 14th from 1 until 4 at the Belle Cooledge Library located on the corner of South Land Park Drive and Fruitridge Road, off of I-5. So far, no speaker has been scheduled, therefore, let's have a Picnic Meeting. Teri has told me that members should bring food that starts with the first initial of their first name. I'll bring the Franks or Fritos. The Club will supply the soft drinks, so bring along your favorite snack I'll let you know what is going on in the turtle world and I will be able to spend more time with you individually. I know that a lot of you have special questions for me and I do see the disappointment in your eyes when I simply cannot get to you during our meetings. I do notice that you all enjoy being with each other and sharing stories about your turtles and there will be plenty of time for that, and since there are usually turtles up for adoption or sale, you will have more time to make your decision. The raffle and auction will be held a little earlier as well…………..and I think this will be one of our best meetings ever. Hope you can make it. Your turtles and tortoises are welcome also. Please secure them tho.

Our Spring meeting was fun. Vicki Boening could not attend because she became a new grandma that weekend, therefore, I tried, unsuccessfully, to give a presentation about Aldabra tortoises after studying up on them. If anything good comes out of my effort, I now have a new display for school presentations - speaking of which - we desperately need some people to give short presentations at schools. I am approached mainly by K-1 & 2 grades. The children have a short attention span at that age and a presentation of 10 to 15 minutes is perfect. Bringing a turtle or tortoise or two sweetens the experience because of the reaction of the children and the myriad of questions they ask.

The TURTLERAMA is coming up on August 11. PLEASE let me know if you are going to have an exhibit or can help. You know how cranky I can be if nobody shows any interest. Please be at the library at 10 A.M. in order to set up before the show. It is a monumental task putting it together and I know we can do it again. We have to. There are always new owners needing correct information. Please please please sign up.

SEE YOU AT THE MEETING!!!!

BE YOUR OWN VET - Sometimes

Runny noses don't amount to much in exotic tortoises but it can be deadly to desert tortoises. No treatment has proven to be 100% effective. Prevention is the key.

Call the Club regarding neck lumps in box turtles. These can be easily taken care of if you are not squeamish. When a water turtle has a lump, however, you could be severely bitten so it might be better to call on a vet for assistance. If your turtle or tortoise is limping and you don't see any signs of a broken leg, try pushing the leg gently inside the shell and placing a piece of tape over the opening to rest the leg for a week or more.

We certainly had a long and unkind winter. There was ice on the rooftops the day after our April 7th meeting and all of the Bunker residents went back to sleep and who could blame them? The weakest never woke up and far too many calls were coming in telling of deaths, illnesses and raccoon attacks, not only in Sacramento, but from as far away as Georgia! Kate reported a wolf attack in England last summer and then the tortoises were stolen in the spring. Two were recently recovered which was a relief.

Tarzan Jr., Tillie, Fernando, Junior, Blondie, Eleanor and Cooper, the Leopards, and Clyde, Claire and Chester, the Elongatas, came out of The Greenhouse on May 1st and the misbehaving Greeks immediately went into high gear and had to be put in a separate area for their own good. Fat Betty came out of hibernation 4 times before staying out. Miss America, a beautiful Leopard tortoise has come to live at The Bunker and she is an exact match for Tillie and he has been giving her his full attention. He has never been so happy. She seems to be enjoying him as well and they are together 24 hrs. a day.

Anyone visiting The Bunker has had the distinct pleasure of meeting the large common snapping turtle who has been living in a garbage pail for a year and a half after being found on someone's front porch and in spite of living in a seemingly horrible home, is thriving and getting way too fat and likes to play games with me. When he sees me standing by the garbage pail, he immediately stands up with his fat paws holding the inside walls and he sticks his large head up in the air and with his little black beady eyes pleading, opens his mouth wide and I am then supposed to drop his steak into this cavern. Either he is bad at catching or I have lousy aim because the food never lands in his mouth. I do not get too close for obvious reasons one being the utmost respect for my fingers. After having the pieces of meat bounce off of his face, he is smart enough to slide back down into the water to grab the goodies, which makes a frightening noise as his snout slams into the pail. WHAM!

He is too big to be sent by mail where they are legal, so I am patiently waiting for some kind soul, traveling to Alabama or Florida, to take him along and release him in a safe place. Meanwhile, if you leave your turtle here, when you come to pick it up, I may tell you it's in “the garbage pail over there…..”

Worth Repeating and Repeating

At the meetings, do NOT give your pets to anyone without first checking on their credentials or background. Just because someone says they'll give it a good home doesn't mean they will. If they tell you they have a beautiful pond, they usually don't. If they say it will live alone, it's a lie and it will be mixed with many others. Often it will be neglected after the thrill is gone, or killed by predators. ASK FIRST. We have a fabulous adoption program going since 1977 and it is filled with responsible people who have proven to be excellent caregivers. TURTLES FIRST!! BE ALERT.

ACTIVITIES

Shirley Waterman and I had the club display at Earth Day 2001 and The Animal Care Fair. Shirley's tortoise, Tiny Max, a baby desert tortoise, drew more attention than anything else during Earth Day. Since he turns himself upside down often (babies do that) Shirley had to bring him along and we let him walk around our table and so many people enjoyed seeing him and asking questions. And throughout the day, the same people would return again and again to check in on Tiny Max to see if he was sleeping or walking. It was great seeing some of you there. The turnout was outstanding. The Animal Care Fair had very little attendance. It would have been better if someone had promoted it. I volunteered to help with that next year. It was a shame because a lot of exhibitors were there and had gone to great lengths to set up their educational displays. Most of us left early, including the band. What a disappointment.