Talk about expensive...

I used to think horses were the most expensive "pet" a person could own.  And I suppose, pound-for-pound, that still holds true.  But in my mind, and pocketbook, tortoises run a close second!

Or sure, one tortoise won't break the bank, but what if you have 8-20 at any given time?  Add the fact that three are sulcatas, and eating machines in their own right, plus a few onmiviorous land/water turtles, and your fresh produce grocery bill will skyrocket!

Oh sure, I go to the farmer's markets, and the tortoises (at least some of them) are outside during the summer months, grazing, but even then, if you want to feed them so you don't think they're perpetually hungry (although that may be true), you could easily spend $5-$10/day for produce!  Multiply that times 30 days in the months, and you'll spend between $150 and $300 all year long!  Our horses are on pasture during the summer months, so the cost of hay is not considered.  And even with grain, veterinary care, etc, etc, they probably don't cost us much more than $1,000 a year.  (We do have 20 acres, so we don't have to board them, or those costs would of course skyrocket.)

Oh sure, we could: grow our own garden; beg the supermarket people for the scraps they take off the produce and throw away; cut down on the number of mouths we feed...but then what would we have to talk about?  And not everyone has the time or effort to do some of those ideas we mentioned.  So let's just face the fact, that tortoises can be wonderful, albeit expensive, pets!  Because you can't own just one!

Who would you turn to if...

...you had venomous snakes, and needed to rehome them as soon as possible, due to whatever circumstances?  Do you have friends and/or family close by that could help with the transition? 

I bring up this point because in the recent weeks, we have been asked to take on a few venomous snakes, from friends, due to circumstances they had not intended.   The reasons are not important.   It could happen to any of us through weather-related problems; family problems; financial problems, etc, etc.  But I am talking about things that happen in a hurry; not months in the making so one could find new homes for the animals if need be.

We are fortunate that both people living in this household have almost equal experience and expertise with venomous animals.  Can you say that about your immediate family?  Can you even say that about your immediate friends.  On that score, we cannot.  We do have friends who are capable, but not close by, and even then, we have some rather exotic species that even the most trained would be wary or skeptical.  (Think Black Mamba!)

We wouldn't even think about the zoo, as they have limited space, and they're not interested in a lot of venomous snakes, as they have their own animals, plus the added liability issues.  The same holds true for those extra alligators, crocodiles, or whatever else you might be harboring.  Just because you wanted them doesn't mean anyone else wants them, needs them, or even appreciates them!

So as food for thought, maybe a little planning ahead would be a good thing.  If push comes to shove, where will your animals end up?

More fun finds!

It would be an all-day, every-day task to keep up on the herps we've been finding around here.  We've tried to highlight the more interesting ones, or just herp life in general.  We do try to take pictures of all the critters we come across.

The next animal we took pictures of just for fun, but a week later we found something that may have been "left behind" so we thought we'd share the fun and intrigue.

Just your usual ringneck snake.  Extremely hard to take a picture of as they do curl their tails in a defense, but they also thrash their heads around.  This was the only shot that put him in focus.  Speaking of focus, those "eyes" on Dennis' shirt are of a crocodile.   Probably 95% of his t-shirts (of which he wears nothing but) have herps on them. 

If you're read previous posts you know we have a retaining wall of railroad ties next to the house, where we've been finding things.  So then there was this...

Look closely at the little holes in the ties.    We were surprised to find this...

A nice little shed, going into one of those holes.  We can only surmise that it's from the aforementioned ringneck snake.  Of course we have also found garter snakes, worm snakes, etc in this general vicinity, and their food sources, such as more 5-lined skinks than we could count, and various forms of frogs.  Quite the little biosphere at our doorstep.

We do need to replace the railroad ties with something more substantial as they are beginning to lean and we don't want the dirt wall behind them covering the walkway, but we wonder when and how to do it, so as now to disturb the denizens therein. 

Another "find" around the house!

We have been spotting herps all over our property.  We live in the country, obviously, and we have woods and pasture, about 25 feet from the back door.  We also have a railroad tie wall/flower bed next to the hooue, and with the rotting wood, there are plenty of places for herps to live and hide.  In the past week, we have spied several skinks, leopard frog, garter snake, ringneck snake, etc.  And that's just outside our back door.

We have been rearranging our pastures, etc, to better accomodate the horses, and grass.  (Less grazing in one spot helps pasture improvement.)  With that in mind, we decided to empty one of the stock tanks that wasn't in use, and just being used as a mosquito-breeding operation(!)  (As an aside, if you do have stock tanks for animals, you can use "dunks" available at any farm/garden/hardware store.  They're an organic way to keep down the mosquito population.  They are safe for fish too!)

So to prevent rain water from starting the cycle all over again, we turned over the tank, and lo and behold, found the following critter underneath!  We can only hope that there are more, as these guys are fascinating, and really rather uncommon!   Obviously the picture was taken in a staged setting, as these guys do not settle in for their portraits, very easily!

EASTERN NARROW MOUTH TOAD

(Gastrophryne carolinensis)

Not a toad at all,  but in the frog family.  Very cute, about 1 inch long, and their cry sounds like a sheep bleating!  The first time I heard one calling was in a field near a pond, and I could not, for the life of me, figure out what it was, and recorded the call to ask a naturalist at the Nature Center.

Stay tuned!!!

...in the neighborhood...

...well, not really... 

We have a friend who lives in an area that is known to have timber rattlesnakes.  He had some friends stop by his place, and they saw this snake.  He wanted it moved to a safer area, as his "neigborhood" is seeing more and more traffic, in the form of cars, dirt bikes, four-wheelers, etc.   We were glad to oblige.  We're going to keep it until after a venomous snake program at the local nature center, and then release it further into the wild.

As you all should know, if you hold a snake (and fishermen know this about their prize catch) away from your body and closer to the camera, it makes them look MUCH bigger.  This particular animal is about 4 to 4-1/2 feet long.  Nice coloration, a male, and has been eating well before we got him!

Treading water

Just got through soaking some of our baby leopard tortoises.  They do seem to have good poops on their own, in their cage, but a good soak now and then seems justified.  I fill half of a double wash basin with lukewarm water, to about 1 inch at the deepest end.  The water would feel more cool than warm to your hand.  Then I put the little guys in, and they can move around as they feel necessary.  Occasionally they will poop immediately.  Sometimes you just see little air bubbles rising to the top, probably a small fart, on their part!  I usually leave them in there for 15-20 minutes at the longest,  and check them often, as I don't want any of them turning over, and drowning, if they can't right themselves.

These guys are a bit bigger than a golf ball, but not as big as a league ball.  The next picture shows what two of their adult siblings look like.   We sold these guys about 6-7 years ago, and got them back.  Amazing change of color from what you see above to now!  We have to thank Judy Hume of Texas, for raising and selling us these darlings (the babies)!