Dear Members and Friends:

Our Fall meeting will be held on Saturday, October 15th at the Belle Cooledge Library located on the corner of Fruitridge Road and South Land Park Drive from 1 until 4. Last Fall, Father Dimitri set up a table outside of the library meeting room for the pre-hibernation checkups, and it was clear that most of you preferred to be outside waiting in line to have your animals checked out. Only a handful of people were inside and we didn't have what you could call a meeting, so, if it is ok with you guys, let's have a pre-hibernation clinic instead of a formal meeting. We can have our pot-luck and munch and mingle and have our resident experts, including Father Dimitri, give our pets the checkups to see if they are healthy enough to hibernate. Please let me know if you can donate your time and have the expertise to give advice on different species. I would like to have three or four people inside the meeting room doing the checkups. We will have our sale table set up and also hold the raffle around 3 pm. We have been receiving wonderful items for the raffle & sale table for which I thank you so very much.

SEE YOU AT THE HIBERNATION MINI-MEETING/CLINIC!!

Little did I know on the morning of our summer meeting what was in store for all of us. I went to the library early in January to secure our meeting room dates for 2005, however, this time the branch manager neglected to note the dates in the library log and ended up double booking the meeting room. When we arrived for the meeting, we were dismayed to see that another group was already settled into 'our' room and we were left outside in the 107degree heat! There were about 70 of us with no place to sit except two small stone benches. Since we are all troupers, we decided to stick it out for awhile. We were standing and sweating out front in the shade which didn't help much. We chatted and there were refreshments thanks to Shirley Waterman. Eventually we were offered a few tables and a couple of chairs for those who needed to sit. Thanks to Ashley, Tammy Vigon's wonderful daughter, for using her great voice to quiet everyone down so we could have a 10 minute 'meeting'. I could not go over any plans for a better Turtlerama tho. Maybe next year? We did have our raffle which was enjoyed by all and I thank you all for sticking around on that hot hot hot day.

The TURTLERAMA was a huge success thanks to all of your help. It usually follows the reptile show downtown by a few weeks and I enjoy telling people that they can buy turtles and tortoises at the show and learn how to take care of them at our Turtlerama. Several people called after attending the reptile show because they heard they could get free turtles from me. They were all sent adoption forms and I need to remind you of what I have said repeatedly. When you fill out an adoption form and send it in, please call or email me OFTEN to inquire about it. If I never hear from you, how do I know you are still interested? Some people think I give turtles to my 'friends'. Not true. The person who gets the turtle is the one who is always calling!

We have a new club member. His name is Anakin and he was born on September 6 and the proud parents are Michael and Sara Rajkumar. He joins sister Pepper. We are looking forward to meeting Anakin at our fall meeting! CONGRATULATIONS!!

NEVER LET A SICK TURTLE OR TORTOISE HIBERNATE AND NEVER LET A HIBERNATING TORTOISE GET WET.

The summer flew by. My favorite time of the year took its time getting here and after 4 weeks of heat it was gone leaving the residents of The Bunker wondering what happened. "Where's The Heat?" I could almost hear the box turtles saying. I am hoping for a long Indian Summer.

The best thing that happened was at the Turtlerama when Craig Dinger came up to me and asked if there was anyone who could give the tortoise he had in his hand a new home. I stared at the creature he was holding. It was a very old male Greek tortoise. His shell was totally black and very smooth. He had gnarled bumpy skin on his limbs and long grotesque nails on his back feet. I took the tortoise and felt like I was holding a reincarnation of Just Jim. I told Craig I would take him home and enjoy caring for him. The next morning I came into the kitchen and opened the patio door. I heard a strange clacking sound outside and a faint squeaking noise as well. I went outside to investigate. Yes indeed, the old Greek tortoise had dug up an ancient tortoise corpse and was smooching the area where a face used to be. I just stood there wondering if I was really awake. It was something I never thought I would see again. I came back into the kitchen. My husband asked what was going on. "Nothing", I replied.

Xango is here. What is it? It's a delicious and nutritious fruit juice which one of our club members sent to me to try on sick turtles. The juice is for humans, of course, but someone had good luck giving it to a sick turtle and so did I. A box turtle who had not eaten all summer began eating with great gusto after I put a few drops in his mouth each morning for three days. Another box turtle ate a large nightcrawler after only one dose of the juice. I am trying it on some of the sluggish tortoises and will report the results at the meeting.

Many of the box turtle residents are rehearsing for hibernation by digging in underneath their dog houses. I have no idea why they insist on doing this each year and no matter how hard I try to prevent it, they manage to do it anyway.

I've been cleaning the greenhouse in preparation for the winter months and Blondie has decided to lay her eggs in there again. I will dig them up because the time of hatching would be around January and they would not survive.

Fall Reminders: Do not allow your pet to hibernate if it has been sick or injured during the year. It is normal for appetites to slow down drastically from now on. If your turtle or tortoise has been eating and acting normally up until this time, it's ok to let it hibernate. However, if the eyes are swollen and the nose is gushing, you may want to keep it awake and treat these ailments which tend to get worse in the winter. Sometimes, however, the tortoises insist on sleeping no matter how hard you try to keep them awake. In this case, if it's not too seriously ill or congested, allow it to hibernate for 6 to 8 weeks but not outdoors. This goes for hatchlings as well. Keep them fairly dark and cool (in a closet perhaps?) 60 to 65 degrees would be just about right. For the turtles and tortoises outside who must come in for the winter, tropical and African species, start bringing them in when the nighttime temperatures are 50 degrees or lower. Remember, it's not how cold it is, it's how long it is cold.

Many turtles and tortoises try to escape as hibernation time approaches. This is normal behavior. They will climb and dig and be upside down because of this activity. Try to discourage them by blocking their view of the other side of the fence. If they can't see out, they usually don't try to get out. Be very alert at this time and put a spring on your gate so it will slam shut if someone forgets to shut it. Please register your desert tortoises with the F&G so that they can be returned if they accidentally escape from the yard. Put the tag on the tortoise and not in your drawer. I can send you the tag application. Other tortoises can be identified by a return address label super-glued to the shell. Do not get any glue on a seam.