African Spurred Tortoise

The African spurred tortoise is also called the spurred tortoise or sulcata. The sulcata used to be a rare tortoise but because of successful captive breeding it is now one of the most common tortoises in captivity. So much so that it is considered a problem because some keepers do not give the tortoise the thought that is required when obtaining one. They then find that they do not know what to do with a 50 pound plus monster and end up placing it up for adoption.

The sulcata can attain a very large size in a relatively short time so care for this tortoise must be thought out carefully with accommodations being the primary concern. Sulcatas enjoy a temperature range of 80 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. This tortoise is best considered for warmer climates where it can be maintained in a large outdoor enclosure with the range extending into cooler climates with the use of supplemental heating.

Sulcatas are not only capable burrowers but frequently do dig burrows when given the opportunity which can be over 2 foot in diameter and over 15 feet in length. For this reason they should be provided with housing that they should be encouraged to use.

In their native range food and water is relatively sparse with reports of them feeding mainly on succulent plants and grasses. In captivity the Sulcata is an opportunistic feeder where it readily takes almost any vegetable matter but grasses and dark leafy greens are the most common staple.

Even though sulcata are considered desert type tortoises water, should be provided at all times.

Knowing Aldabra Tortoise

Aldabra Tortoiseare found on the islands of the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles, and they are one of the largest tortoises in the world (the largest tortoise on record being the Galapagos tortoise – Geochelone nigra). Aldabra tortoises have a varied habitat on their home and introduced islands, ranging from mangrove swamps and coastal dune areas to grasslands and scrub forests.

You can find Aldabra tortoises for sale at select reptile stores, reptile shows and sometimes on the Internet. If you are able to find one, no doubt you will find them very rewarding to keep.

The average weight of an adult male Aldabra tortoise is approximately 550 pounds, although there is one at the Fort Worth Zoo that weighs in at nearly 800 pounds.

Keeping Aldabra tortoises outdoors is usually the best way to house them. Hatchlings up to 2 years old can be housed indoors, but once they get beyond that, they need the great outdoors to roam. For babies up to a year old, tortoise tubs or the equivalent work very well. Use bark or crushed coconut for the bottom of the enclosure. Provide a hotspot of about 90 degrees Fahrenheit at one end of the enclosure with an ambient temperature of about 80 degrees. Mercury vapor lights work well for this, as they provide both UVB and heat all in one fixture.

Aldabra tortoises get large, so as a rule of thumb, the bigger the outdoor enclosure, the better. I house mine in a pen made of ornate cinder blocks. The wall is a bit over two feet tall, and the paddock area is 100 feet by 30 feet. Depending on how many you plan to house, the size of your paddock can vary.

 Aldabra tortoises do best at temperatures of 80 to 95 degrees. Provide your tortoise house with heat lamps, heat emitters and/or large outdoor-use heat pads (“pig blankets”) to maintain the proper temperature even when the weather outside is cold. The entrance to the house should be large enough for the tortoise to easily enter and exit, and a door is handy to lock the tortoise inside on very cold days or nights. Aldabra tortoises love mudholes, and if you can build one, or a shallow pond for them to soak in, they will be very content. Unlike most tortoises, they are also good swimmers.

Aldabra tortoises get very large and live a very long time. They need lots of space, special habitat setups and a bit of care. They make very rewarding pets as long as you have the time and space to dedicate to their needs. You'll more than likely have to arrange for their long-term care in advance since they are probably going to outlive you. They are smart, personable and very entertaining. I find that after a long day at work, just sitting outside and watching them eat can calm the nerves of a hectic day.

Finding A Two-Headed Tortoise

These tortoise pictures prove it. Two-headed creatures are no longer the stuff of legend and myth but a startling reality.

This angulate tortoise was discovered in Wellington, Western Cape South Africa and it has two heads that are joined separately to a shared body. But it seems quite normal otherwise and both heads feed on grass, leaves, and softened rabbit pellets.
This species seldom grows bigger than 22 centimetres (eight or nine inches), and has a lengthened straw-colored shell with somewhat raised shields that are black in the middle and on the sides.

Male angulates grow larger than the females and they are shy and reserved, usually retreating into their shell at the first disturbance. They drink rather more infrequently than other species but take in a large amount of water at one time. They submerge their heads when drinking which can be rather alarming when first encountered.

This is only the second reported case of its kind in South Africa in over 20 years. The other one was discovered in the early 1980s.

There are a total of 43 species of these reptiles worldwide and 13 of them can be found in South Africa including the highly endangered geometric tortoise.

Male turtles may start to lose their cool

As global temperatures rise, male turtles may start to lose their cool.Many reptiles, including most turtles, display temperature-dependent sex differentiation. In other words, the temperature that an egg incubates at determines the sex of hatchlings. In the case of turtles, warmer temperatures yield more female offspring, and cooler temperatures yield more males.

Worldwide, a population bias already exists against male sea turtles. Largely female sea turtle populations are common, whereas male-skewed populations are almost unknown.In an effort to understand what nesting conditions produce a balanced sex ratio, Kamel and Mrosovsky logged temperature fluctuations at four types of sea turtle nesting sites in Antigua: an open beach, in low vegetation, in the forest, and along the forest edge.

Their temperature data suggest that only eggs laid in the forest itself are cool enough to produce male turtles—nests laid in all other environments produce exclusively female hatchlings. That means that as more Caribbean forests are cleared to make way for new resort development, fewer turtle nests will be able to produce male turtles.

Climate change compounds the threat of localized habitat destruction for these sensitive reptiles. Global warming predictions range from a 1° to 6° Celsius mean temperature increase over the next century, and studies have shown that as little as a 1° increase in mean incubation temperature can dramatically reduce the ratio of male turtle hatchlings to female. A 4° increase effectively eliminates male turtles from a clutch.

But behavioral change is limited to individual turtles, and there is no evidence that whole species, or even whole populations, will adapt in this way. According to Janzen, air temperature is only one of many indicators that signal the start of nesting season. Other factors less influenced by global warming, such as ground temperature and day length, ultimately influence how early turtles will start to nest.

We Must Save Sea Turtles

Sea turtles roam the planet in every ocean except the Arctic. Though it’s only the size of the little state of West Virginia, Costa Rica hosts five of the seven remaining species of marine turtles and has taken the lead in conservation efforts. And you, my fellow traveler, play a vital role.

We’d wait for them to lay their eggs along Mexican beaches and then dig up millions, taking them by pack trains of burros to market. We’d kill them by the millions in Ecuador so that we could sell turtle leather shoes in Italy (and other places), or make combs and trinkets. We relentlessly killed them everywhere on the planet.

Millions of eggs were (and still are) sold in bars to drunken patrons across the world as aphrodisiacs. Vast numbers were accidentally killed by drowning in huge ocean fishing nets or barbed tuna hooks. And, of course, innumerable beaches now sport hotels, resorts, and housing developments.

No more. Sadly, in just a few decades, these animals---which have survived for some 150,000,000 years---have been reduced to a tiny, tiny fraction of their former numbers.

Actually, they've probably been around for a few million years more than that, as evidenced by the discovery off a Scottish Island of a 164,000,000 year old sea turtle fossil, click.

Green Sea Turtle's Life

The green turtle is a large, weighty sea turtle with a wide, smooth carapace, or shell. It inhabits tropical and subtropical coastal waters around the world and has been observed clambering onto land to sunbathe.

It is named not for the color of its shell, which is normally brown or olive depending on its habitat, but for the greenish color of its skin. There are two types of green turtles—scientists are currently debating whether they are subspecies or separate species—including the Atlantic green turtle, normally found off the shores of Europe and North America, and the Eastern Pacific green turtle, which has been found in coastal waters from Alaska to Chile.
Weighing up to 700 pounds (317.5 kilograms) green turtles are among the largest sea turtles in the world. Their proportionally small head, which is nonretractable, extends from a heart-shaped carapace that measures up to 5 feet (1.5 meters). Males are slightly larger than females and have a longer tail. Both have flippers that resemble paddles, which make them powerful and graceful swimmers.
Unlike most sea turtles, adult green turtles are herbivorous, feeding on sea grasses and algae. Juvenile green turtles, however, will also eat invertebrates like crabs, jellyfish, and sponges.

While most sea turtles warm themselves by swimming close to the surface of shallow waters, the Eastern Pacific green turtle will take to land to bask in the sun. Occasionally seen sunbathing alongside seals and albatrosses, it is one of the few marine turtles known to leave the water other than at nesting times.
Green turtles, like other sea turtles, undertake lengthy migrations from feeding sites to nesting grounds, normally on sandy beaches. Mating occurs every two to four years and normally takes place in shallow waters close to the shore. To nest, females leave the sea and choose an area, often on the same beach used by their mothers, to lay their eggs. They dig a pit in the sand with their flippers, fill it with a clutch of 100 to 200 eggs, cover the pit and return to the sea, leaving the eggs to hatch after about two months. The most dangerous time of a green turtle’s life is when it makes the journey from nest to sea. Multiple predators, including crabs and flocks of gulls, voraciously prey on hatchlings during this short scamper.
Green turtles are listed as an endangered species, and a subpopulation in the Mediterranean is listed as critically endangered. Despite this, they are still killed for their meat and eggs. Their numbers are also reduced by boat propeller accidents, fishnet-caused drowning, and the destruction of their nesting grounds by human encroachment.

Turtle's Interesting Life

 Sea turtles are air-breathing reptiles remarkably adapted to life in the sea. Their streamlined shape, large size and powerful flippers enable them to dive to great depths and travel long distances.
The only time sea turtles leave the ocean is when females emerge to lay their eggs on a sandy beach.
A turtle must drag her great weight ashore, dig a nest, deposit about one hundred eggs, and cover and conceal the nest before returning to sea. The arduous process of nesting can take up to three hours.

 Nests are found by walkers the next morning. It looks as if a tractor has emerged from the ocean, turned around and gone back in the ocean.
The mother turtle leaves her eggs to incubate in the warm sand and never visits her nest again. A female will usually lay several nests during one season and many nest every two to three years.
Volunteers mark the nest for monitoring because the tracks and body pit containing the egg clutch are quickly obliterated by the wind, human foot traffic.
Here in the sugar sand of South Walton, the average incubation time for the eggs to hatch is about 62 days.

A joyful site is a succesfully hatched nest! This hatched nest was found at dawn. All hatchlings emerged about the same time, and left baby tractor tracks as they scurried directly to the ocean, in synch with the divine plan. This is not always the case anymore.

Sea turtle nest numbers looking good, although latest waves take out 2 green turtle nests

Waves bashing the Treasure Coast are having a negligible effect on the annual monthslong sea turtle nesting season that appears to be ending up with normal or better numbers of successful nests, according to preliminary estimates.
The Treasure Coast is at the center of one of the largest sea turtle nesting areas in the world, so the outcome of each nesting season is important to the species' survival, scientists say.
The season had appeared destined for a record until midseason Hurricane Irene hit with outlying waves during August. Those washed out 17 percent of the loggerhead nests and 11 percent of the green sea turtle nests in one survey area in the middle of the Treasure Coast, said Ken Gioeli, a natural resources extension agent with the St. Lucie County Cooperative Extension.
Season totals are still being tabulated for most areas along the coast. Yet from what Gioeli has seen, "We had a fairly good year."
The nesting season ends in five days and virtually all the thousands of nests laid during the season previously hatched out, said Niki Desjardin, a scientist who help monitor nesting in Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties.
Green sea turtles are the last to nest. The latest round of waves only washed out two green sea turtle nests — one each in Martin and Indian River counties — during high tides this past weekend, she said.
Gioeli's assessment is based on a count of nests from the southern part of St. Lucie County to the St. Lucie Inlet in Martin County. In that area, there were 3,478 loggerhead turtle nests, 376 leatherback turtle nests and 243 green sea turtle nests.
Loggerhead turtles are the most common. Green and loggerhead turtles are rare.
In Gioeli's survey area, leatherback nesting was at a 31-year high, surpassing last year's 248. At the same time, green sea turtle nesting declined to a normal level, after a record of 390 in 2010, Gioeli said.
Indian River County sea turtle coordinator Rick Herren said both green and loggerhead nesting was the second highest in the past seven years in the area he surveys from Wabasso Beach to the south county line.
Anyone who sees eggs on the beaches should just leave them alone, Desjardin. "If they are rolling around, they probably are not viable," she said.

Newberry springs take off site near main solar list

An area 20 miles from Newberry Springs originally identified as one of 24 prime “solar energy zones” in the western United States was taken off a plan designed to speed the development of alternative energy projects.
A study completed in 2010 named 24 different prime solar energy zones in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah. The study named four in California. One of the zones was for a 23,950 acre parcel of Bureau of Land Management land near Pisgah, in an area between Ludlow and Newberry Springs on both sides of Interstate 40.
A revised study released last week removed two of the solar energy zones in California, including the Pisgah site, and reduced the size of several others, reducing the total acreage amount from about 677,000 acres to about 285,000 acres. The solar energy zones were removed because of resource conflicts or development constraints that make them inappropriate locations for prioritizing solar energy development, according to the BLM.　　
　　Calico solar plant to undergo additional environmental study
A solar energy plant proposed near Newberry Springs will have to have an additional environmental study because the developer changed the type of solar technology that will be used, the BLM announced last week.
K Road purchased the Calico Solar Project last year and decided to change the project from the solar thermal SunCatcher dishes to photovoltaic panels with the possibility of using some SunCatcher technology.
The study has not been prepared yet, but the public will have 45 days to comment on it once it is published, according to a statement from the BLM.
Construction of the Calico project is set to begin in early 2013, with two separate phases of construction. The supplemental environmental report would have to be approved by the California Energy Commission before it can begin construction on the part of the part of the project that will use the SunCatcher technology.
First Ivanpah tortoise released into wild
Biologists released a tortoise found on the Ivanpah project site into the wild for the first time in early October.
The tortoises found on the project site have been kept in pens and have been monitored closely by project biologists, according to a posting on Ivanpah’s website. The tortoises can only be released during specific times in the spring and fall when the temperature is between 65 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit.
The tortoises also have to undergo comprehensive medical assessments to make sure that the animal is healthy and does not carry a common and potentially fatal respiratory disease before they are released.
The female that was released has settled into her new home and appears happy and healthy, said BrightSource spokeswoman Kristin Hunter. It’s likely that she’ll burrow for the remainder of the winter months over the next few weeks.

Quincy Marine center care "zombie" the tortoise back to life

　　During this past weekend's snowstorm, a walker along Martha's Vineyards' Edgartown beach came across a near dead Kemp's Ridley Turtle, in a "zombie-like state" and suffering from hypothermic shock from the below freezing temperatures.
The endangered sea turtle was rescued just in time, as it was immediately taken to a wildlife sanctuary and is now safely recovering inside New England Aquarium’s Marine Animal Care Center in Quincy.
Massachusetts typically sees hundreds of these endangered turtles popping up along the coastline throughout the winter season. Beyond life threatening hypothermia, nearly all of the effected sea turtles also suffer from dehydration, malnutrition, metabolic problems and possibly even pneumonia.

　　Last year, more than 120 endangered and threatened sea turtles were brought to the Quincy Marine Care Center, for treatment and recovery until the weather permitted their return to the Ocean.
The rescued turtle, found early Sunday afternoon, will be slowly re-warmed, at a few degrees warmer each day, until it's body temperature returns to it's normal state in the low 70's.

Help Seaturtles alert to volunteer

　　Paul and Connie Summerlin were in the middle of their early-morning walk along the beach in south Baldwin County when they spotted a commotion.
When they investigated, a fisherman had reeled in an endangered Kemp’s ridley turtle. Because of their role with Share the Beach, the Summerlins quickly moved into action as the crowd watched the angler remove the monofilament line that had put the turtle in distress.
As members of the Share the Beach program, the Summerlins, who call Foley home, patrol a 1.3-mile stretch of beach to look for signs of sea turtle nesting activity. On this morning in May, they were distracted from their regular vigil.
“About 75 yards away, we saw a fisherman and there was a crowd gathering around him,” Paul said. “I thought he had caught a big fish, but I leaned out and looked that way and realized it was a turtle. So we ran down there right quick to look at her. He had already removed the monofilament and was fixing to release her. But I looked at her and told him we didn’t need to release her; we needed to get a recovery team out here with the Share the Beach turtle program.”

　　An endangered Kemp’s ridley turtle, nicknamed Molly, is lifted from its transport crate and deposited on the beach near the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge by Lisa Crawford of the Gulfarium and Paul Summerlin of Foley as Connie Summerlin looks on. As part of the Share the Beach program, the Summerlins played a role in the rescue and rehabilitation of the turtle, which scooted down the sugar-colored sand and into the Gulf of Mexico, where she quickly disappeared into the clear, blue waters.Share the Beach (www.alabamaseaturtles.com) is a volunteer program that enlists concerned citizens to walk every mile of the Alabama beaches from Mobile Bay to the Florida line, as well as Dauphin Island.
“We walk every morning during turtle-nesting season,” Summerlin said. “We walk it right at daylight to see if we spot any turtle trails before the crowds get out and disturb the tracks. If we find a turtle crawl, we call in a team and move the nest if necessary. We excavate the nest and count the eggs. We mark them and monitor them. The turtles will nest any time from May to the first of October. There are usually several rescues a year, but this is the first rescue effort we’ve been involved in.”
The Kemp’s ridley rarely nests along the Alabama Coast, although several nests have been verified. The majority of the nesting for the Kemp’s ridley, which is mostly carnivorous, occurs in Mexico and southern Texas. Although they rarely nest in Alabama, Kemp’s ridley turtles are frequently seen in Alabama waters by recreational and commercial fishermen.
Other sea turtles that may be encountered along the Alabama Coast include the loggerhead, leatherback, hawksbill and green sea turtle. The leatherback and hawksbill are also listed as endangered species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, while the loggerhead and green are listed as threatened. The green sea turtle gets its name from the color of its fat because of its diet of vegetation and algae. The leatherback diet is made up mainly of jellyfish, while the hawksbill feeds primarily on sponges, invertebrates and algae. The loggerhead, which is the turtle most often encountered along the Alabama Coast, dines on hard-shelled animals like conchs and whelks, as well as crabs and other crustaceans.
When the Summerlins called 866-SEA-TURTLE to report the turtle in distress, a team from the Gulfarium in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., was quickly dispatched to recover the turtle and assess its health.
Rachel Cain, one of the turtle rehabilitators at Gulfarium, said the Summerlins definitely took the right action.
“The monofilament line was wrapped so tightly that it had cut off the circulation in the flippers,” Cain said. “The turtle was unable to swim well. She was brought to the Gulfarium to make sure the monofilament was completely removed, and she did have to undergo a course of antibiotics because of the deep cuts along each flipper. She also went through a little physical therapy to get a little more movement in each flipper. She did not lose any part of the flipper. One of the flippers is a little less functional, but she is able to get around with all the abilities she had previously. It’s just one flipper doesn’t move as well.

　　“They are a more-endangered species. We have a few nests in our area. This is one that is rarer, and we don’t encounter them as often in our area. It’s a smaller turtle species for our area. It gets to be about 100 pounds when it’s fully grown. Its shell is different. It looks almost like a lily pad compared to the other species, which have shells that are more teardrop-shaped.”
Patrick Berry, general manager of the Gulfarium, said the Kemp’s ridley release near the Bon Secour Wildlife Refuge was one of three for the week.
“The Gulfarium has been in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., for more than 55 years,” Berry said. “We have quite a variety of species of animals at our facility. As far as our role in this project, we have been involved in sea turtle rehabilitation for many, many years, almost as long as the facility has been in existence. We’ve worked with the gamut of the sea turtle species to rehabilitate them and return them to the wild.
“Just the other day, we released another Kemp’s ridley turtle near Fort Walton Beach, where it was rescued. We’re also going to release a green sea turtle at Pensacola, where it was rescued. We’re thrilled to be a part of the sea turtle rehabilitation effort. It’s good for our staff, as well as the animals. We like to get the message out about how to conserve these animals for future generations.
Berry said the greatest threats to sea turtles are habitat degradation, entanglement in monofilament or netting, boat strikes and ingestion of garbage.
“Plastic bags get blown into the water that the turtles mistake for jellyfish,” he said. “Some of this is man-made, so we need to try to be careful to reduce those variables by reducing, reusing and recycling. All of us can do those simple little things that help conserve this type species and other species in the ocean.”