Dear Members and Friends:

Our Summer meeting will be held on Saturday, July 20th from 1:30 until 4 at the Belle Cooledge Library located on the corner of South Land Park Drive and Fruitridge Road. Exit I-5 (north or south) and go EAST for a few blocks. No speaker is scheduled - but our meetings are always wonderful due to the enthusiasm you all bring to the room. We'll discuss your problems and successes and go over hatchling care of all species and how you can care for a sick or injured pet. Most illnesses are easily cured if caught early enough. However, turtles and tortoises hide their sicknesses very well and by the time we notice something wrong, it is too late to help. Often, antibiotics do more harm than good, destroying livers and kidneys and diagnosis are never absolute as many of you have found out. We'll talk about it. If you are having trouble opening a turtle or tortoise's mouth, I'll give a demo. Once you know how, it's not so difficult, although you must be careful not to get bitten.

We'll need to prepare for the TURTLERAMA on August 17th. Any ideas for changes and improvements will be greatly appreciated and I need lots of exhibitors and helpers. PLEASE sign up or call me ASAP. Everyone is looking forward to it. Let's not let them down. Please pick up your flyers at the meeting or I can send some to you.

Try to bring one of your pets to the meeting for "Show and Tell". We'd love to hear about it. And last summer's meeting was so much fun, why don't you bring a snack that matches the first initial of your last name this time? I'll bring the Ruffles.

We do need raffle items. Turtle related, of course! And thanks to those who have donated over and over again. It certainly is appreciated!

SEE YOU AT THE MEETING!

TORT-ALERT!
BEWARE OF TOMATO CAGES!

I found one of my tortoises tangled up in a tomato cage I had bought and left sitting on the ground. Apparently he had knocked it over and then walked into it and since tortoises never back up, he became completely entwined in the wire. I found him while making one of my 'tours' of the back yard. I saw the tomato cage moving by the air conditioner and knew that someone was in trouble. It took quite awhile to untangle him without hurting him and he seemed relieved to be free of his prison and had a long drink of water and then joined the others at the feeding station. I also found a small turtle with a marble sized orange stuck in its mouth. The tub she is in is under my orange tree and the tiny oranges fall off and I guess she took a bite and then her mouth was stuck open with the orange in it. I had to carefully cut the orange into little pieces to get it out. You can't be too careful and must stay one step ahead of these guys.

The tortoise with the broken leg went home a few days ago. His leg was completely healed and his owner was happy to have him back. I was assured that the dog is no longer living in their yard. I had pushed the leg into the body cavity and then tightly wrapped pantyhose around his shell, trapping his leg in one position and kept it like that all winter and when I unwrapped him, he was able to walk perfectly.

The snapper escaped from his Rubbermaid tub soon after our last meeting. He had pushed the metal shelf, held down my many bricks, to one side and simply climbed out. When I went to feed him, I noticed he was gone and I was glad I was not barefoot. I stood quietly thinking of where I should look. I thought of all of the conversations I've had with others. NORTHEAST, of course! The northeast section of the yard is the main turtle enclosure. I walked over there, expecting the worst, and at first I didn't see anything - until I noticed the water turtles basking in the middle of the pond. How could they do that - unless - yep, the snapper was in the pond with the sliders and most of them simply took advantage of the situation and climbed onto his back to take their place in the sun. He didn't hurt anyone.

I know he was happy there, but it's a very small pond, only 8 inches deep and it was overloaded with turtles and he didn't belong there. Making sure my husband was not around, I bailed the water out of the pond. The snapper knew I was after him. He pulled his head in and had his rear end elevated which made it easier for me to gently put my hands on the back of his shell and pull him out of the pond and place him into the overturned garbage pail I had ready nearby. He's content back in his original living quarters...is anyone driving to Arkansas in the near future? Club Member Liz has named him "Tyson".

I found a baby slider in the yard a few weeks ago. And this baby slider saved a tortoise's life! I put the baby into a container in the kitchen and after a few minutes decided to go out and see if there were any more of them. What I found was a tortoise HEAD DOWN in the pond! It must have just happened and I got him out immediately and have no idea of how he ever got into the enclosure in the first place, but if it weren't for the baby slider, I never would have been out there looking around. WHEW is all I can say! For some reason, I find myself outside at the right time.

On June 4th, I had Master Tree come out to do something about the sink-holes in my back yard where the huge maple tree used to be. The problem has been getting worse. Since it was a hot day, removing the tortoises was quite a job since they all hang out in that area. It didn't take long before the desert tortoises, leopard tortoises and the Greeks came back by walking around the back of the greenhouse in order to supervise the workers! I don't know how the workers did it, but they managed to see and rescue the tortoises as they suddenly appeared in front of the stump-munching machine. I can't say enough nice things about these people.

CURING DIETARY ADDICTION
By Andy Highfield as seen in the Tortoise and Turtle Feeding Manual.

In more than 20 years of advising people about tortoise and turtle diets, the Tortoise Trust has encountered some terrible examples of dietary mismanagement - usually with tragic consequences for the unfortunate animal concerned. Some of the worst diets we have ever encountered include: The Red-eared slider fed only on ham and chocolate. The Sulcata raised on bagels and cream cheese. The Mediterranean tortoise given bread, milk and cheese. The Red-foot tortoise offered only canned cat food. The American box turtle fed on ice cream and apple pie. The Marginated tortoise reared on peas, beans and dog food.

Tortoises and turtles do not know what is good or bad, they tend to have very 'addictive' feeding behavior once introduced to a particular artificial diet. There is no excuse for offering items such as bread, milk, cheese, peas, beans, ice cream, or canned cat and dog food to herbivorous tortoises.Even omnivorous and carnivorous species require sound dietary management. Should you encounter an animal reared on diets as listed above, you should cease offering the offending constituents immediately and re-adjust the diet to meet conventional and appropriate standards. Some animals will resist the change to a safe and nutritious diet. Simply continue offering appropriate foods and on no account revert to these "killer" ingredients. Ensure adequate hydration, but otherwise leave them to feed when they become sufficiently hungry. Most animals reared on the appalling diets described above are, in any event, obese and suffering from a fatty liver. Some weight loss is usually beneficial. Monitor their progress carefully, under qualified veterinary direction, if possible. Sometimes drug therapy is required to deal with the consequences of excess saturated fat consumption so typical of these diets. Eventually, if offered appropriate foods and maintained under the correct environmental conditions, the majority of animals will eventually revert to a healthy feeding pattern.