We’ve certainly got a full house here now. One little Painted turtle was adopted out, but many other turtles and torts came in. Some we are still looking for homes for. Some are ill and receiving care to get them in shape for adoption. The two smaller Sulcata that came in here in December have a home to go to, but we need to wait for the weather to warm up. Another Sulcata came in that is not in very good shape. Real bad pyramiding, but his shell is pretty hard. We have a really kind adopter down in Texas waiting for warm temps so he can be shipped. A larger twenty-pound Sulcata was brought in and is being treated for parasites. No fun cleaning up after a Sulcata that has not been on a good diet AND has parasites. Is it spring yet?
I was given a Pink bellied side neck turtle, and this one I am keeping, so not offering this one for adoption. Every once in a while I will keep a turtle or tort that comes in here. Not too often as I need the room for the rescue animals, but this is one of those turtles I’ve always admired, so it will remain here.
Look at this face http://www.turtlerescues.org/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=2813 Beautiful!
On this list of other turtles/torts that came in, we have another small Red ear slider that still needs a home, and those two that came in last month are healed up well and looking for a new home as well. They are big girls, 8″ or so. The larger Eastern Painted has a home to go to in a few weeks. A Southern Painted is awaiting adoption and another small Eastern Painted was brought in this week that needs a home too.
I got two Russian tortoises from the local reptile store, which came to them from the distributor in awful shape. Both severely dehydrated and malnourished. Eyes sunken and they felt like empty shells. Both were loaded with parasites. One is doing great and is like an eating machine. He’s gaining weight steadily. The other is not doing as well. This one was really pretty beat up, but I’ll keep trying to bring it around.
So if you notice I’ve not been on the lists as often as usual, it’s because I’ve been really busy tubing turtles/torts that won’t eat, cleaning substrates, water changes in three aquariums and an indoor pond plus cleaning those nasty filters, and still taking time every morning to hand feed the HBC Wood turtle that seems to think that’s the way things should be done. However, I’m very happy to report that as of two days ago that Wood turtle has realized it can eat on it’s own. She ate several mealworms all by herself and today ate several superworms. So we are on the way to having one less mouth to feed by hand. I’m feeding some 50 or so turtles/torts, as well as cleaning tort water dishes daily to keep the Midge flies from laying their eggs in their dishes. Some think bloodworms are a good thing; to me they are a pain in the neck. Not what I want in my reptile room. Bad enough I have fungus gnats to contend with, and springtails, but these little buggers are even more annoying.
Lucky the HBC box turtle continues to do well, and the Itty bitty box turtle that will be released in the spring is doing great. Has really grown over winter by eating all those bugs that are living in his enclosure. Gonna miss that little fella, but he will love living in the wild where he belongs.
We have several requests for more Sulcata to be surrendered so if you live in a warm climate and want to adopt, please fill out and submit an adoption application at our website. It looks like it’s going to be another busy season for Sulcata, as well as Red ear sliders, so if you have room for either think about adopting.
I think that’s it for now. Counting the days until spring when we can get everyone outside, including me!