Dear Members and Friends:

Our next meeting will be held on Saturday, January 19th from 1 until 3 (approximately) at the Belle Cooledge Library located on the corner of Fruitridge Road and South Land Park Drive. Bad weather will cancel the meeting so call ahead if in doubt. We can discuss your problems at this time of the year and with the icy weather, I'm sure most of you are worried about your turtles hibernating outside. If you are too embarrassed to ask your questions, please write them on a piece of paper and give them to me, anonymously is fine. We'll try to give you our very best answer. Remember, there are many ways to keep turtles and tortoises in captivity and one way isn't necessarily better than another. If there aren't many questions or much to talk about at this 'Slumberama', we can watch a related DVD or two if you like or we can simply munch and mingle and do a lot of turtle talk. At the end, we'll have our raffle. Thanks to all who donate wonderful items each time. What would I do without you?

Our Fall meeting was very crowded and fun. Thanks to all who helped clean up afterwards! We really appreciated your assistance. Father Dimitri conducted quite a few pre-hibernation checkups and gave advice as to who should or shouldn't be allowed to hibernate. We never know what winter will bring, and here in Sacramento, we know how very cold the nights can be without any cloud cover. When it is raining, it is definitely warmer. In any event, around Valentine's Day, you should begin seeing some turtles coming to life in your yard. No need to feed them until the weather stabilizes and they appear to be looking for food such as sniffing the ground or following you around. For now, however, your job is to plan on how to make your yard a better place for your pets in 2008.

SEE YOU AT THE MEETING

ELIMINATE HAZARDS IN YOUR YARD

Make your yard escape-proof for your pets. Some type of fencing is necessary. Never tether a tortoise!! If you have board or wire fencing, you will need to sink lumber or wire several inches below ground level to discourage tunneling out. Occasionally a tortoise may attempt to tunnel even under block wall fencing.

If the tortoise can see through at the base of the fence, the natural interest in 'getting over there' may lead to constant pacing, frustration, fence climbing and injury. A permanent, continuous 18-24" high baseboard that obstructs the view should relieve this problem.

In addition to latching the gate when not in use, you should install a permanent 18" high barrier across the base of the gate opening. This will prevent escapes during your use of the gate or if the gate is accidentally left ajar.

Tortoises often fall into swimming pools and ponds and drown due to poor depth perception. They also enjoy climbing but may become caught in obstacles or tipped over. Specific hazards include steps, irregularly stacked wood, parked cycles and power equipment, especially when stored on a concrete slab. A tortoise that falls on its back and is unable to right itself can die of suffocation or become fatally overheated in the sunshine before you find it.

Another danger is the family dog, usually curious, sometimes jealous, aggressive or just playful. Any kind of constant harassment can be injurious to a tortoise's health. For this reason, a tortoise is not recommended for households in which the normal manipulative behavior of children cannot be directed away from the tortoise. One must be willing to enjoy watching how the tortoise spends its day, rather than having to carry the tortoise about. A tortoise should be held in the same position as it stands. Its shell may break if the animal is dropped, with dire consequences. BE ALERT!!

It's been quite stressful this winter due to raccoon visitors. Not one, not two, but THREE of them have been coming into the yard looking for something to eat and if it weren't for the Driveway Patrol alerting me, the carnage would be complete. So far, no harm has been done, except of course, to my sleep. I cannot stress the importance of having an alarm set up in your back yard where your turtles and tortoises are sleeping. We have to do all we can to protect our pets from a cruel and untimely death. By the way, if you order the alarms from our website, it benefits the club.

Half of the box turtles are still awake in mid-December but not eating which is not unusual for them, however, a few Greek tortoises refuse to sleep and will eat if I put food in front of them. The Russians, including Fat Betty, have finally gone into hibernation. Blondie and her friends in the Greenhouse are snug and warm. A new Leopard tortoise has come into the Bunker. She is totally deformed, obviously she was an apartment tortoise. Her shell is pyramided causing most of her body to bulge out all around. She did live in an aquarium for the last 6 or 7 years and ate bok choy and arrived here with two containers: Rep-Cal Calcium with Vitamin D and Rep-Cal Herptivite (multivitamins). Both containers were less than half full and it seems to me that the cramped aquarium life, keeping her from having any space to walk or exercise, along with these vitamins, probably caused the terrible deformity. I'm sure a Vita-Lite was involved as well, probably too close to her shell and on way too many hours a day making the deformities even worse. I'm afraid this is permanent. I've never seen a tortoise outgrow it.

And that's it from The Bunker. Everyone is behaving right now but we know it won't last too long!!

OVERCROWDING

Overcrowding of turtles and tortoises brings on many changes in behavior and health. Some symptoms are obvious but others may be very subtle because turtles and tortoises sure know how to keep secrets.

In the wild, tortoises have plenty of room to roam altho they don't travel too far from their home base. There is territorial head bobbing going on but not on a daily basis as happens in a back yard situation. Being allowed to fight every day does shorten a tortoise's life. And, as far as the female tortoises are concerned, being chased, bitten and rammed nearly every waking hour leads to depression, sickness and death. One male desert tortoise in an ordinary sized back yard is enough. Two or more females is acceptable because they are non-aggressive, altho there are some exceptions to the rule!

Water turtles will bite each others tails off (and worse) if they are too crowded in one pool. Some of the turtles will bob around like a cork with all of their limbs tucked inside to protect themselves from the aggressive ones. The bad boys should be housed in a much larger pond.

Box turtles show their overcrowding stress by bickering with one another, biting, not coming out to bask and one of the most obvious clues is laying eggs on top of the soil. This is not a normal activity unless the eggs are infertile or the turtle is not pleased with its surroundings.

Try to limit yourself to: Desert tortoises (and other tortoises) 1 male, 2 females. Box turtles: 2 males and 5 or more females would be a good ratio. This way, one female won't be chased constantly by the males. Water turtles: 1 male to 2 or 3 females if kept in a small wading pool. Larger ponds can accommodate a larger number of turtles. I know it's difficult to limit oneself, but it is so much better for the turtles and tortoises to live hassle free. For those who must have them all, section off the yard and make sure the tortoises cannot see into the other pens. Out of sight, out of mind!! Hope you had a very Happy Holiday Season. Thanks a million for all of your cards and DUES PLUS!!!! xoxoxoxoxo