Dear Members and Friends:

Our Fall meeting will be held on Saturday, October 18th from 1:30 - 4 pm at the Belle Cooledge Library located at the corner of South Land Park and Fruitridge Road. (5600 South Land Park Drive, 95822 for those who want to Google it.) It is our annual pre-hibernation meeting and Father Dimitri will be on hand to look at your pet and decide whether or not it should be allowed to hibernate. Michael Rajkumar will be giving a talk about the importance of proper lighting for indoor setups. He will cover selecting an appropriate UVB/UVA source; the importance of full spectrum lighting and the importance of the CRI & LUX values. Afterwards, we can discuss what to do with your hatchling tortoises and box turtles to keep them healthy throughout the winter months. Some people allow them to hibernate their first year but I always wait until they are at least 3 years old before trying it. We'll talk about the critters you have in your back yard and if they hibernate in the wild and address your concerns. Summer goes by so quickly. I'm never ready for this. Are you?

It's also our POT-LUCK meeting so bring something for everyone to eat, even better if it can be in the shape of a turtle. And we can have another turtle Halloween Costume contest since it seems to be a popular event. Let's see what you can come up with this year.

Regarded hibernation, it reminds me of a phone call I received a few days ago. A woman called about an African Sulcata. She wanted to adopt one from me. She told me that hers 'hibernated' every winter. It would go under the couch in October and come out in March. I asked her where it was now. "DEAD", she said. I asked her who told her it hibernates. "The guy in the pet shop." BE ALERT!!!! Use your common sense. Do not believe what you read on the Internet. 95% is totally wrong and deadly. All you have to do is research where your pet originates from and mimic its environment.

The Turtlerama was tremendously successful thanks to all of YOU who made it happen. I heard that people were parking three blocks away! It was a very busy and hectic day for all. Shirley, you were super at our sale table!! Our exhibitors included: Nancy, Michelle, Sharon, Chris and Ernestine, Mark, Suzanne and her son Adrian, Jennifer, Glenn and Susan, Kasey, Craig, Michael and family, Joy, Mary, Raul, Sherri and Linda. (Apologies if I left anyone out). We had quite a few plants donated, a bunch coming from Angie and Linda. Thanks!! The assortment of turtles and tortoises on display was fabulous and a large Sulcata named Thunder was walking around for awhile for all to enjoy. Special thanks to long-time club members, Jim and Suzi who helped out tirelessly wherever needed from 9:30 until 5 pm. I've never seen anything like it. You were terrific and I hope you can return for the Turtlerama 28 next year!

SEE YOU AT THE MEETING!!

Did you know that we had a table at the Reptile Show at the Convention Center in September? Thanks to Jeremy of Pets To Go and Upscale Reptiles for allowing us to be there and thanks to Michael, Tracy, Julie and Craig for manning the busy table for the two day run. We didn't have any turtles there, just information about the club and some care sheets and a 'display board' I'll show you at the meeting.

I want to thank Michael Rajkumar for his good advice regarding my overgrown backyard. I had asked for help cutting the weeds down. "The tortoises love hiding in it", he said. "I can hardly find mine"...so I thought it over and he was right. The tortoises LOVE hiding in the tall grass. Even the box turtles who were clever enough to escape their pen were hiding back there. Of course, none of them knew that I could see them. I guess nobody mows in the wild, right? So why should we?

I wish you all a very safe and healthy hibernation. Please call if there is a problem or you are confused. Just remember: NEVER LET A SICK TURTLE OR TORTOISE HIBERNATE AND NEVER LET A HIBERNATING TORTOISE GET WET. (Also wishing you all a Happy Holiday Season)

Just Jim Junior and Just Jim the Jerk, the Greek tortoises, were at the Turtlerama and never stopped showing off for the crowd. If anyone put their beloved pet in the pen with them, they immediately launched their attack. The victims were quickly removed. Any food offering, however, stopped the assault. They are no different at home and have to live with the box turtles where there is no friction. I do have a lovely female Greek who is a perfect match for them. She arrived here totally flat and soft from living in an aquarium, but after two years of outdoor living, now looks fairly normal. The above named males pay no attention to her whatsoever. They are only into violence and if they were human, I know they would be serving life sentences in San Quentin Prison!

Life at The Bunker became a little easier after the Turtlerama. Some very large sliders had been turned in for adoption. They seemed to be been 'wild', but it wasn't long before they began, timidly at first, eating and soon after, unashamedly begging for food everytime I walked by. I had three extra kiddie pools set up and I could have used Jim and Suzi every day to help dump the dirty water out and refill them. It doesn't usually happen, but I found myself beginning to become attached to them, especially the big girl who was almost blind and shunned all food and human contact when she arrived in a box from the SPCA. When she went to her new home, she was better than new and very friendly, as were the others.

There is something I must share with you. At the summer meeting in July, you all heard me announce that someone had phoned needing a home for her parents 2 Sulcatas, "12 to 18 pounds", the daughter said. "My parents want to travel". They lived up north, a three hour drive away. Some of you took down the phone number. Six days after the meeting, the couple drove the tortoises down to my house since I told the daughter that those sizes would be no problem for me to hold until I found them a new home. When the couple arrived, we exchanged greetings and then the gentleman opened up the trunk of his car and there sat the two Sulcatas. One weighed 60 pounds and the other weighed 80 pounds. I expressed my surprise at their size and told them I was not expecting anything that large and I really couldn't accommodate such huge creatures in my small yard.

My words fell on deaf ears and the tortoises were put into my wheelbarrow, one at a time, and placed in the back yard. Like Godzilla, they began to walk destroying everything in their path. My own tortoises looked like ants next to these guys. The wife was taking pictures of the tortoises and began to cry. I looked up into the sky. She couldn't bear the thought of leaving her tortoises behind. I smiled up to the sky. The tortoises were heading towards the greenhouse, almost pushing the big heavy bricks into the pond and smashing down the fence surrounding the 'turtle hotel' that had been there for 25 years. Without a word, the man (with sweat pouring down his face since it was 104 degrees) picked them up, one at a time, put them back into the wheelbarrow, and then back into the trunk and they headed home. I was unnerved for days, even having nightmares. The 80 pounder had a strange protrusion from his lower jaw. It looked like a spear jutting out, it was at least 5 inches long. I advised them to have it removed at once because he could inflict a serious injury to the other tortoise or a person unfortunate enough to be in the way. It was not a good thing!!

The days are getting shorter and colder and Blondie and her friends will soon be in the greenhouse for the winter months. The summer was not hot at all except for a few days. But let's hope it was warm enough for our pets to get enough to eat to see them through the hibernation period. Time will tell.