Dear Members and Friends:

Our next meeting will be held on Saturday, January 17th from 1 until 3 at the Belle Cooledge Library located on the corner of Fruitridge Road and South Land Park Drive, off of I-5. I call this our “Slumberama” because there's not much going on in January, however, our club members look forward to having a mid-winter meeting and getting together to discuss mutual problems and plans for the coming months. If it is raining or foggy, I will call off the meeting, so call first if in doubt.

I would like to ask you about your methods of hibernation. Many times, even though we think we are doing it right, someone else has a better idea. I know the winter months seem to go so much slower than the summer months. It is as if Spring will never arrive. Eventually it does and not every turtle or tortoise wakes up at the same time. Some don't wake up at all. It can be very frustrating. I'd like to know if you wake up your tortoises to soak them during hibernation. Some do and some don't. I don't unless I hear a lot of movement in the hibernation box. Then I will check out the tortoise and offer water.

Our Fall meeting was a lot of fun and informative as well. We had three contest winners for the best dressed chelonian for Halloween. The winners were dressed as a witch with a broom, a pumpkin and the first prize went to Craig, whose Redfoot tortoise was dressed up as a bunny. Yes, I know it was silly, but in today's world, silliness is necessary!!

On a sad note, Harold Carty passed away in November. His lifelong interest in turtles led him to become a successful turtle breeder and lecturer. He lived in Chowchilla, California, and did a wonderful job tending to his large number of adults and hatchlings. Harold and his wife Naoma came to many of our meetings and Turtleramas with a variety of healthy hatchlings for sale and they enjoyed talking to all of us and sharing experiences. Harold will be missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing him and our condolences go out to his family.

SEE YOU AT THE MEETING (unless it's raining!!)

Mid-Winter Chat: Now is the time to make frequent rounds of your yard. Rain tends to turn the soil over and rocks and other undesirable objects suddenly appear on top of the soil. Get rid of as much as you can before the tortoises wake up again. How are your box turtles doing? Mine are not all asleep. Some are in their doghouses. Many are under the doghouses and no matter how often I get them out of there, the next day they are underneath again. On sunny days they come out to bask. Quite a few are in the pond with the water turtles hoping to get cold enough to sleep. If you see a box turtle sitting out all night - you'll know it needs some attention. Do not rush it indoors because that would be too much of a shock. Put it into its shelter but check for swollen eyes and a runny nose first. Sometimes they come out to bask but then it gets cold and they simply don't go back to their shelter. If the turtle continues to sit out at night and you think it is sick, bring it into the garage for about 24 hours and then into a cool room before warming it up completely in your living area. The same is true of water turtles and hardy tortoises. Anytime our turtles do not seek cover at night, you can bet something is going wrong. Don't wait until it's almost gone, although I must say that very often, when you suspect something is wrong, it is usually too late to save the turtle. They hide their illnesses very well.

The new pond is working out very well. I pump the water out once a week in the spring, summer and fall. Right now, I am leaving it alone because I don't want to disturb the turtles who are hibernating and since nobody is eating, the water stays clean. It's the end of December and on sunny days, several water turtles are seen basking. Fat Betty and her boyfriends were awake until just a few days ago when the weather turned a little colder. I am hoping they stay asleep this time. We had a few frosty nights in November and they did go to sleep, but when the temperatures reached 50 degrees again, they decided it was time to wake up. For those not familiar with Fat Betty, she is a Russian tortoise. She's our resident meteorologist. Her hibernation activities forecast the weather. After observing her daily activities, I am predicting a short winter and if it doesn't come true, you know where to place the blame.

The indoor Bunker is extremely busy. Although I hatched no sliders this year, a gentleman gave me 17 eggs one day. He had no turtles, but a wandering turtle laid her eggs in the dirt by his driveway and, of course, ended up in my kitchen where 9 hatched three months later. Too young to be adopted, they are enjoying their first winter in a sunny bedroom, perched comfortably on their hyacinth leaves with their little arms and legs stretched out and look so sweet. They share the bedroom with a bunch of leopard tortoise hatchlings and a guest Sulcata baby named Squirt. Several box turtles came down with various illnesses before hibernation and they are recovering nicely. They will be indoors until spring. I have a female African Sideneck turtle up for adoption if anyone is interested in giving her a good home. Many larger sliders have come in for adoption, some came in while I could still acclimate them to the outdoors, but at this time, the new ones must stay indoors because it's too cold outside for previous indoor pets. I am running out of room and hoping for a VERY early spring! I hope Fat Betty is correct.

In a box on the kitchen floor are two male tortoises. A Russian and a Hermann's. They are in the kitchen because their health has to be closely monitored. Lately it seems that the Russian is feeling much better since he spends his days standing up behind the Hermann's tortoise and tries to mate with him. It came to my attention the other day when I began hearing the familiar squeaking sound coming from the box. I had dinner guests at the time and it was not easy keeping a straight face……………

Predators have been a severe problem this winter - BE ALERT - look for signs of intruders. Possums and Raccoons mess up your ponds and enclosures because they are hungry and smell something interesting. They like fish, but certainly eat turtles too. Has anyone used a motion detector with any success? Have any of you used one of the units that emits a sound that repels wild creatures? Would that help? Let me know if you’ve had good results.

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR CHRISTMAS CARDS and your dues and very generous donations. The club and our efforts to educate the public could never continue without your constant support and kind words. It is greatly appreciated. I do hope you had a wonderful holiday and the turtles and I would like to wish each and every one of you a very Happy and Healthy and Prosperous New Year.