Dear Members and Friends:
Our Fall meeting will be held on Saturday, October 22 from 1:30 until 4 at the Belle Cooledge Library, 5600 South Land Park Drive, 95822. Father Dimitri plans on being at the meeting to conduct the pre-hibernation checkups. Please have your pet in a box or carrier and don't pass it around the room. We don't want to spread any diseases. If your critter is already hibernating, please leave it at home. We will try to answer all of your hibernation questions and help you decide how to accomplish it and if you prefer to keep your pet awake all winter, we have great ideas for that too. Or you could do an abbreviated hibernation. More on that below.
There will be more plants at the meeting including pond plants. Don't forget, it is also our 'Pot Luck' meeting so bring a yummy dish to share and don't forget some cookies or cake for me! I believe there will be hatchlings (various species) for sale and adoption at the meeting as well. Also, please take note of the fact that all of next year's meeting dates, etc. have been scheduled and confirmed. So please plan your year accordingly!!!
The TURTLERAMA was our biggest ever even though we were up against the State Fair! I never expected to see a crowd like that, coming and going all day long. I was told that approximately 1000 people attended!! We had a good assortment of turtles and tortoises on display and an extraordinary amount of plants to give away for any donation. You would have thought it was our very first Turtlerama and not our 30th! Thanks a million to the following people and especially to Maria Lambert for compiling the list and also helping out all day long and then sweeping the floors after everyone had left while the rest of us sat quietly going over the day and resting awhile. Here goes:
Joy Cornette (Russian tortoises & hatchlings), Kristen Armstrong (Sulcata), Michelle Thomas (desert tortoise and 3 box turtles), Michael Rajkumar (info and displays), Kasey Coffman and Jenna Scott (3-toed box turtles), MATT PANOS (ZOO MED REP), Nancy Ghoshal (various water turtles), Mary Schuett (big Sulcata and baby Greek and pancake), Elaine M (big Sulcata and 2011 Year of the Turtle display), Robin Marose (Greek tortoises), Pam Davis & Windy Dickens (Kids coloring table), Chuck Deguara (albino sliders and baby sliders), Shirley and Tracy (manning the sales table all day), Dan and Sylvia Goemmel (2 yr old Russians and plants and habitat ideas and photos of setups), Suzanne McNamee (Russian and Box), Lisa Burton (baby pancakes, baby Russian and baby yellowfoot), Corrine (baby redfoot) Sharon Jones (baby box turtles), Chris Leiser & Michelle Harris (KIDS CORNER, crafts and paint table), Jon Wato (Russian tortoises), Terra (bearded dragon), and Jim Corbett (helping set up the displays, etc.), If anyone was not mentioned, let me know and we'll put your name in the next newsletter. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR HELP. YOU DID GOOD!!
SEE YOU AT THE MEETING!!
Fall Hints: Yes, Summer ended too fast and now it's time to prepare for a safe hibernation. I know it's not easy, but try to keep your tortoises dry during hibernation. In reality, no matter how hard you try, someone will come out of their safe place and get wet and muddy. All we can do is be alert and do our best to return them to their shelter. I did notice last winter that whenever the temperature reached 50 degrees, the box turtles and even a few Greeks would come out of their doghouses to sit in the sun. If yours do this, don't disturb them but make sure they go back into their doghouses when it is dark. Food is not necessary and eating is to be discouraged. If there is a freeze, do not bring anyone inside, ok? Just add more covering. Do NOT break up any ice in your ponds. They will be fine!!
Regarding an abbreviated hibernation; sometimes you have your favorite turtle indoors and/or some hatchlings. If they go on strike and won't eat in November, then I would turn off the lights and heaters and let them cool down from Thanksgiving until about the middle of January. Of course, keep the box turtles damp and the tortoises dry. They'll tell you when they are ready to wake up. And remember the following: NEVER ALLOW A SICK TURTLE OR TORTOISE TO HIBERNATE AND NEVER LET A HIBERNATING TORTOISE GET WET!
For those following us on Facebook, you already know that the Bunker was under attack by a rogue raccoon most of the summer. He or she never gave up the desire to kill and maim turtles. Even with all of my motion sensors in place, barking dog alarms, he still managed to get some of the residents here and I have a feeling he was pulling them out of the doghouses. He would arrive between 2 and 5 AM every morning. I would leap out of bed and be downstairs within 10 seconds of hearing the alarm. I bought a new pellet gun, however, throwing rocks at him seemed to scare him off more than anything but, unfortunately, he would return several times a night. I certainly was suffering from lack of sleep! But it didn't matter. This was WAR. The State Trapper brought over a 'cougar trap' but nothing seemed to catch the raccoon. As I write this newsletter, I'm not even sure it is over.
I did put a bunch of box turtles into the greenhouse because they were not going into their hiding places at night. I hated having them in there because there was no way to take them all out during the day and then put them back in at night, so in they stayed throughout July and August. I had to weigh the danger of them roasting to death vs. being murdered. Well, nobody died in the greenhouse. In fact, they seemed very happy and excited to be in there, in such close proximity to one another!! There was no more lethargy. No more sleeping the lazy summer days away. They were very active and seemingly having a wonderful time interacting with one another. I do expect a bumper crop of eggs next spring!!
In the midst of all of this activity, Blondie, the leopard tortoise, decided that it was time to dig her nest. (She didn't lay any eggs last year) She began scraping her back feet on the cement outside of her doghouse. It started in late afternoon and would go on all night, but not resulting in any eggs being laid, of course. Is this rehearsing? But around midnight, I would go out and put her back into her doghouse and try to block her way out for her own safety. Of course, she outsmarted me several times. Each time I put her into the greenhouse (I prefer her in there so I can get some sleep!!) she would immediately begin eating and then go to sleep. In and out she was carried, yes, by me.....and FINALLY, on September 18th, she did dig a nest and deposited 7 eggs inside of it and one on the top. She is currently outside again and behaving normally. I wish I had some sort of a sling to carry her in such as people use to carry their bowling balls. She's quite heavy.
Just Jim and Suzy have not acknowledged one another since coming out of hibernation. I keep hoping to see baby Greeks hatching outside somewhere but so far, nothing. There have been many adoptions this spring and summer and a lot of water turtles found wonderful homes and I thank all of you who took them in. A note to remember: When you fill out an adoption form, check back often (I tell everyone to bug me a lot) because when your critter comes in, I will remember you. If I never hear from you again, then I assume the interest is gone.
I would like to encourage more of you to join us on the club Facebook page. It is very enjoyable chatting back and forth about daily problems and getting solutions almost immediately. Some people are offering their critters for adoption or some for sale. You might find your dream turtle there! Over 250 people are enjoying the site. We'd love to have you there too. Be careful tho, you may become addicted!! But it's a good addiction because if you need an immediate answer, you'll most likely get it. I've certainly learned a lot about ponds and pond plants from members who really know what they are doing!