Dear Members and Friends:

Our Summer meeting will be held on Saturday, July 17th at the Belle Cooledge Library from 1:30 until 4 pm. The library is located on the corner of South Land Park Drive and Fruitridge Road close to I-5. There are no guest speakers lined up so I am appealing to all of you to give a 10 minute talk about your favorite turtle or tortoise. If nobody is interested in 10 minutes of fame, then we'll talk about summer problems, triumphs and tragedies, egg laying and perhaps show a video. No matter what, our meetings are always interesting and a lot of fun. You can count on that. Please be on the lookout for people who might be interested in being a future guest speaker. It could be your vet! If they require a fee, that can be arranged.

Regarding our April meeting, at the last minute, Darlene and Cheryl could not make it over the hill from Reno to be our speakers. I called Father Dimitri for advice on what to discuss in their place and he offered to step forward and do a desert tortoise presentation. Everyone in the room, whether or not they were interested in desert tortoises, was captivated by Dimitri's most down to earth and highly educational and often humorous talk about these fragile creatures. A renewed respect towards desert tortoises was gained through Dimitri's talk and we thank him VERY much.

The raffle has become the most fun part of our meetings and thanks to all who have donated wonderful items and also thanks to those buying so many tickets in order to win a prize. Don't blame me if your numbers are not picked. If you look towards the front of the room, I am not picking the numbers. We leave that to the children. I'm only reading them out loud.

The TURTLERAMA will be held on AUGUST 21 at the Belle Cooledge Library. PLEASE sign up at the meeting or call or email me and let me know if you can exhibit or donate your time to help out that day. Angie Tamantini donates the wonderful array of plants which she cultivates all year for our Turtlerama. Thanks Angie. You make life beautiful for all of us.

SEE YOU AT THE MEETING!!

Summer Tips:

Use your mister on these hot dry days. Clean up leftover food before dark to discourage predators including rats. Check frequently for upsidedowners. I have no idea why box turtles, in particular, often prefer to stay upside down to die in the sun when they can easily flip themselves right side up. Sick turtle? Before rushing to a vet, keep in mind that turtles and tortoises don't show their illnesses until it's too late to do anything and then the treatment often kills them. What to do? PREVENTION is the key. Cleanliness, proper food and a stress-free environment closely mimicking its natural habitat, if possible, are very important. QUARANTINE all new turtles for at least 6 months. I have a feeling that the "Petco" Russian tortoises are spreading deadly diseases. Be very careful no matter how cute they are. Don't mix them with your long-term pets.

April 29th. It was warm and sunny. About 9 am the phone rang. It was Animal Control asking if I could please hold a tortoise for them since they have no ability to house them even temporarily. The tortoise had been picked up the night before and was in a box. Within an hour, the tortoise was in my yard. It was a beautiful African Sulcata approximately 2 years old and about 9 inches around and obviously very well cared for. I knew someone would soon be missing their pet. Sure enough, about noon, a frantic call came. The very relieved owner was on the other end explaining that her 2 year old took the tortoise 'out front' and then left him there. She said she would pick up the tortoise when her older daughter got out of school.

Around 4 pm, she arrived with her 16 year old daughter. I took them to the back yard and she was so excited and happy to see "Sherman" again. She swooped him up calling his name and began kissing his face and head over and over again and I was getting a little nervous over this activity waiting for her to be seriously bitten. She was clutching the tortoise to her chest as she continued to kiss and rock him. It was not long before the tortoise let her know how he felt about all of the affection. "HE LOVES TO BE KISSED" were her last words before the waterfall of excrement squirted onto her chest and then splashed all over the rest of her clothing and shoes. Her scream could be heard for blocks. She was a stinky mess and when she left the yard, after I tried hosing her off, she had taken off her shirt and wrapped it around Sherman and walked to her car in her underwear. The moral of this story is - please do not kiss your tortoise and if you can't help yourself, then don't do it in my yard!!

The Bunker is a very busy place right now. There have been plenty of red eared sliders turned in for adoption and since I put in the new pond for the ones who are staying here, there's no place for the new ones except the kiddie pools which I have to dump out twice a day and refill. If anyone wants to help, please DO. It's an ongoing problem. TURTLE ALERT -If you have a pond with water turtles in it and box turtles go in for a swim, be very watchful because sometimes the water turtles become carnivores for no apparent reason. Prevention is the key. Try to keep the box turtles in a separate area away from the pond.

WWJJD? (What Would Just Jim Do?)

Last October, during a windstorm, a pet tortoise of 17 years escaped when the fence blew over. The owner was not aware of the escape and assumed the tortoise was in hibernation at that time as he usually is. The tortoise was found shortly after by a passerby and turned over to the Humane Society. He was then placed into a foster home with two female desert tortoises. In late May, the owner realized his tortoise had not come out of hibernation and was quite worried. Upon close inspection, he realized that the tortoise must have escaped in October. He traced the tortoise to the new owner and now we have a situation unfolding. Should Boron be returned to his original owner or should he be allowed to stay in his new home where he is very comfortable and content and safe. Just Jim thinks he should be allowed to stay with the new owner. What do you think?