return to main index

  mobile - desktop
follow us on facebook follow us on twitter follow us on YouTube link to us on LinkedIn
Southwestern Center for Herpetological Research  
click here for Rodent Pro
Mice, Rats, Rabbits, Chicks, Quail
Available Now at RodentPro.com!
Locate a business by name: click to list your business
search the classifieds. buy an account
events by zip code list an event
Search the forums             Search in:
News & Events: Herp Photo of the Day: Bearded Dragon . . . . . . . . . .  Tinley Reflections: An open letter from Mom . . . . . . . . . .  Greater Cincinnati Herp Society Meeting - Apr 02, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  Calusa Herp Society Meeting - Apr 04, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  Southwestern Herp Society Meeting - Apr 06, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  Hamburg Reptile Show - Apr. 13, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  St. Louis Herpetological Society - Apr 14, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  San Diego Herp Society Meeting - Apr 16, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  Suncoast Herp Society Meeting - Apr 20, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  DFW Herp Society Meeting - Apr 20, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  Colorado Herp Society Meeting - Apr 20, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  Chicago Herpetological Society Meeting - Apr 21, 2024 . . . . . . . . . . 

Shelled survivors find shelter - Press Item


[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ The Tortoise Forum ] [ FAQ ]

Posted by Wes von Papineäu on May 31, 2000 at 20:16:34:

MODESTO BEE (California) 31 May 00 Shelled survivors of human malice and ignorance find shelter at foothill home (Garth Stapley)
San Andreas: Former victims of mayhem, mauling, theft, cruelty and ignorance paddle around Stan Reif's foothill ponds.
These shelled refugees -- hundreds of them -- eat, sleep, mate and lie in the sun with nary a care, thanks to The Turtle Man.
"My wife (Debbie) says I'm reliving my childhood," Reif says with a sheepish grin. He doesn't dispute the observation.
Reif cannot help himself when confronted by a turtle or tortoise in need. By day, he drives a Coca-Cola delivery truck. By night, as a hobby, he cares for reptiles that haven't had much luck with humans.
During winter months, The Turtle Man might have 50 turtles and tortoises in his self-styled refuge. By the end of egg-laying season in late summer, about 350 typically are chomping away at his daily feedings of cat and dog food, smelt and lettuce. He trades the young ones with pet stores for food.
This one, he says, hefting a water turtle with an 18-inch, disfigured shell, was owned by people who looped a chain around it to keep it from wandering off. The shell grew around the chain (long since removed), deforming the creature. He calls this one Scar.
Another turtle had its shell bound with fiberglass by an enterprising veterinarian in an attempt to save the turtle's life after it was mauled by a dog -- a box turtle's worst enemy. It worked, and none of the turtles seems to mind its disfigured shell.
A third had been dragged on a rope attached to a car in a parking lot before entering Reif's haven.
Yet another was so sick when she arrived that she could only scoot backward. Reif's children named her Reverse.
Reif has taken turtles that were painted, punctured and taped -- all harmful no-no's.
"They're very, very resilient animals," Reif says with a mix of admiration and compassion.
Others were brought by people who found them or simply didn't know what they were getting into when they bought them.
"Better that they bring them to me," Reif say, "than to throw them out on the road."
Although Reif's fascination with turtles has spanned most of his 47 years, it blossomed only five years ago. That's when he learned, during a business call to Lodi's Micke Grove Zoo, that the zoo was seeking a good home for its water turtles to make way for a native species exhibit.
Once zoo administrators were convinced Reif wasn't going to eat their turtles, they agreed to give him a few red-eared sliders. When it became apparent he was serious about turning his foothill home into a turtle refuge, they gave him all 25, plus an African desert tortoise that runs so much faster than the others that he's called Roustabout. He frolics in lawn sprinklers with Reif's children.
"There is no way any zoo can deal with the huge number of calls we get for housing unwanted iguanas, boa constrictors, rabbits, you name it," Micke Grove Zoo manager Ken Nieland says. "When an individual like Stan takes an interest and does such an excellent job caring for and nurturing them, that's a very valuable resource."
Reif has established four brook-fed ponds to accommodate turtles. If people continue to bring him shelled refugees, he'll build more. His yard now is lousy with turtles and tortoises.
"I've never turned one away," The Turtle Man says. But he did reject a call from someone wanting to unload three alligators.
A 25-pound, amorous male California desert tortoise -- taken from the wild by its former owner more than 30 years ago -- is hot on the trail of a uninterested female. His head bobs continuously as he tries to catch her eye. When that doesn't work, he tries to get her attention with a nip on the leg.
"He'll keep it up until she decides (to give in)," Reif says. "It could be a few hours. It could be all day."
Reif's favorite part is watching the females digging for hours in the rust-colored foothill soil, laying eggs in holes, then covering them. Red ants have a taste for nickel-size hatchlings, so he recovers the eggs and keeps them buried in vermiculite soaked with water in Rubbermaid containers. The containers go in a temperature-controlled bathroom in his garage.
Turtle eggs take 60 to 70 days to hatch; tortoise eggs, 80 to 90. Females lay eight to 12 eggs at a time. Contented turtles may lay more than once per season. Last summer, his females laid three times.
The Turtle Man has given presentations to his sons' classes at San Andreas Elementary School and at the Assembly of God chapel in Valley Springs. His main message is to treat captive turtles with kindness and to resist the temptation to take home a Western pond turtle should you find one in the wild. That's illegal, he notes.
"Some kids in my class didn't know anything about turtles till we came," says Cody, 9, who takes the most interest in his father's hobby. Also helping out are Jonathan, 16, Ronnie, 6, and Reif's 22-month-old grandson, Cole.
"It's amazing to see the kids' eyes light up," Reif says. "Everyone wants to touch. They want to be a part of it. The teens act tough, but when they see them hatch, they get like little kids."
Reif knows that many of his pets will outlive him, because turtles often surpass 70 years and tortoises 100 years.
"My daughter (Emily) says, 'Don't you dare leave them for me in your will,'" he says, leaning on a gate with a sign reading: "Warning: This property patrolled and protected by turtles."
"I don't get (real) presents anymore," he chuckles. "I've got so many ceramic turtles, it's ridiculous.
"But I have a lot of fun with this. It's worked out well for me and for all the people who couldn't take care of their turtles anymore."




Follow Ups:



Post a Followup

Name:
E-Mail:

Subject:

Comments:

Optional Link URL:
Link Title:
Optional Image URL:


[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ The Tortoise Forum ] [ FAQ ]