Dear Members and Friends: Our Spring meeting will be held on May 2 at the Robbie Waters Library, 7335 Gloria Drive, 95831 (It's on Havenside too!) The meeting will have to be held later in the afternoon due to the ongoing events at the library on Saturdays, so arrive around 4:30 and plan to stay at least 3 hours. Bring snacks if you like. We'll supply chips and sodas. Of course we will discuss coming out of hibernation even tho our pets came out very early again this year and some are already laying eggs so we can talk about all of this, of course, and anything else. Bring a pet for SHOW and TELL and please don't put your pet on the floor or any of the tables - in a nice cozy box is fine.

Thank you Melissa Kolb Aipia for the nice presentation you gave on such short notice about various weeds, the good, the bad and the ugly, at the last meeting. We did learn a lot and I think it would be helpful if some of you brought the weeds from your gardens to discuss at the upcoming meeting since a few of you were not there and some of us were 'distracted' at times.

This will be our first Spring meeting at the new library and I will have a clear view of the back of the room where the food is from where I will be standing up front. It will also be our 34th club anniversary and I will buy a tasty sheet cake for us ALL to enjoy. I will also bring a clean knife. It was 7 years ago when I took the two candles with the numbers 2 and 7 written on them to the back of the room in order to put them onto the cake and light them up, etc. And for those who do not know, during the meeting, someone in the back of the room OPENED the decorated sealed cake and found a knife somewhere and cut the cake and served it to whomever was in the back of the room while we were enjoying the meeting. After the meeting, I was shocked to see the open container on the table with TWO PIECES LEFT - and about 35 people waiting for me to cut the cake and serve it.....I stuck one candle in each piece and walked away. The mystery is - WHO DID IT?? Nobody admitted anything. WHO BROUGHT A BIG KNIFE TO THE MEETING??? Was it clean? Who Who Who Who opened the sealed box with the pretty anniversary cake inside? Who served the slices to the people in the back of the room leaving two small pieces for everyone else? Seven years have gone by since that day and the mystery continues. One day we will get a confession and until then, the cake and knife will be right by my side and I will be watching you............

 

SEE YOU AT THE MEETING!!!

 

 

Spring Hints: Carefully check your yard for debris that has blown in or carried in on your shoes, etc. Bits of plastic are things tortoises end up eating or even get trapped in if the bag is not torn open . Dog fur and human hair can be troublesome. Small white rocks seem to be a favorite meal for tortoises; sharp objects (don't forget the open pin I impaled my own toe on two summers ago) string, washline, even Bermuda grass can kill because tortoises and turtles don't back up if they become tangled in anything. They just keep going forward and can lose their life or a limb or both; nails, staples, even weed whackers can hurt them so make sure the coast is clear when you or someone else is mowing or edging the lawn or cutting down the tall weeds and grass by hand or with the string trimmer. I worry about the big lemons on my tree in the turtle enclosure raining down on the helpless turtles below. There are so many dangers. BE ALERT!!

 


Recognizing Signs of illness in Reptiles
(excerpted from the May/June 1996 issue of The Carapace) Lack of appetite; Decreased activity not related to hibernation (Reptiles do not 'hibernate' at room temperature),nose, eye, mouth discharges; coughing and sneezing; vomiting or diarrhea; foul-smelling feces; red spots on scutes; inability to submerge; any swelling or lump, including generalized swelling of body or limbs; cloudy or swollen eyes or lids; absence of defecation greater than two weeks; flaking skin or blisters; weight loss, even if appetite appears healthy; sitting out all night (ed. note); floating sideways (collapsed lung); blue tinge to eyes (possible blindness.) Don't let your guard down.

 

 

AT THE BUNKER: Just like last winter, the weather warmed up considerably in January while blizzards and sub-freezing temperatures raged back East without letting up, I believe it is still quite cold there even though it is now April. Here's a rundown of some of our favorite characters At The Bunker. Helen Keller, the blind gulf coast box turtle, came out of hibernation in February and there has been no change in her condition but her weight is very good and she seems to have developed a way of knowing a banana is close by. Her head is always turned to the left so she spins in a circle trying to eat. When I can't stand seeing this anymore, I put her into an overturned container with a doorway cut out so she has to stay close to the food and that does work until she manages to come out. She does hide at night so she must have some perception of light and dark. Just Jim Jr. woke up on time and within minutes of emerging, ran to find Tarzan the leopard tortoise, in order to pick up where he left off-ramming and ramming him for no reason at all. And since he seemed even more relentless, he has been in the greenhouse to 'cool off' for awhile. And Zappo the Wacko (these are Greek tortoises, my friends) also has to be kept in there because of extremely bad behavior; coming up behind PEOPLE and ramming their shoes and biting the bottom hem of their pants. If you put a strawberry in front of his face, he will lunge at that too taking huge bites out of it. I don't know what to make of that either. Does he think he is biting a person or is he just plain hungry? He does try to mate with shoes.....people probably think I am making these stories up until they come over and experience all of these aborations for themselves. Sometimes my 'teaching yard' teaches odd and unusual activity.......

 

 

I'm thinking of having a 'box turtle roundup' one of these days because I have an overload of box turtles and my yard is way too overcrowded with them and Bunker 'guests' making me work very hard all day, except when I enjoy your comments on Facebook, of course. And since we are not allowed to sell anything at the meetings, perhaps I can have a 'turtle stuff garage sale' at the same time. People have donated a lot of wonderful items and all proceeds will go to the club and the Sick Turtle Fund. Let me know if you think this is a good idea? It would be on a Saturday or Sunday at my house, and soon. I'm thinking of May 16 or 17? The small Sulcata named Andy did well over the winter and still has not grown at all. I think he has been here at least 5 years. He is very shy but does eat well. Are there midgets in the tortoise world? Let's ask Dr. Ken!! I won't mention the abundance of sliders....even though I send a lot to someone else with a large pond, Animal Control and others deliver them to me in person. Which reminds me, I have not heard a word about the McKinley Park Turtle Relocation project so maybe that is dead in the water, which is not the right term to use, I know.

Since there is a little room left here, I want you all to know how much I enjoy our Facebook page. Your comments and questions are terrific and it's a great learning and sharing adventure. Sometimes people get a little cranky and that's fine because we all have the same goal, to give our pets our best care so they can live long and healthy lives. Problems come up as the seasons come and go and you are all a great source of information. I just wanted to say THANK YOU ALL for being such nice people and sharing your knowledge with others....good luck with all of your eggs this season!! You keep us on the edge of our seats!! Will she? Won't She? When will she? Why didn't she? Did she when I wasn't looking? Is she EGGBOUND? When will they hatch??? SHOULD I DIG THEM UP????

 


For Sale: Beautiful yearling redfoot tortoise. Extra scutes on carapace. Only $50. If interested, please contact Corrine at turttort16@yahoo.com or call 707-648-1037. I can deliver to the 5/2 meeting.....