Re: EJ, Terry, Giovanni, Marissa, Esther, Christy, Niki

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Posted by EJ on December 27, 2000 at 15:07:11:

In Reply to: Re: EJ, Terry, Giovanni, Marissa, Esther, Christy, Niki posted by Esther on December 27, 2000 at 14:07:49:

Cool. Very interesting story. Sulcatas in a skyscraper. You're going to catch some flax over that one but I think it's great.
Ed

Hi all. I have been a turtle lover all my life, a trait I came by genetically (mother's side loved turtles). I have raised box turtles since I was a little girl in the south.

: In New York City, I first saw Chanel, my oldest, when he was an irresistable 2 inches old and he has been spoiled beyond belief since his earliest infancy. Chanel is now almost 4 years old and still thinks he is a "lap turtle", even though he weighs in at 15 pounds. He is "potty-trained," prefers being hand-fed to floor-fed, "kisses" on demand and is very polite, so long as my girlfriends don't paint their toenails the color of a berry or introduce a female sulcata to him! Raising Chanel from early babyhood has ensured him to be a healthy youngster, his only problems being absurd things he has put in his mouth - those x-rays are priceless - what a toddler!

: Albrecht, my angel baby, miraculously survived an extremely tragic start. I never meant to own any other tortoises after Chanel, but Albrecht's situation gave me little choice. I "rescued" him and his baby sis Giselle from a pet store where I found them dying from severe starvation, parasites, cold and edima (sp?). Maybe "rescued" is the wrong word - I was not very heroic when I more or less threatened the store with legal action if they didn't turn over guardianship of the two babies to me so that I could spend the necessary money and time in vet treatments and medicine - they consented, and gave me the sulcatas plus a tank and two lights, and promised never to sell any more baby sulcatas!! At first, the two were pronounced hopeless with barely a 20% survival chance and Giselle died two days later, probably due to something the emergency vet did since she had to be admitted to the hospital - the vet said she soaked her in chicken broth??!! and did some other drastic measures??!!@#$_)!. Brokenhearted, I switched vets immediately after that.

: Giselle's brother, Albrecht, stayed alive due to my forced feeding and my NEW vet Dr. Adams and many phone calls to Richard Carey Paull (Sulcata Guru) in Florida. We nursed him back to health, only to have him relapse multiple times with various other problems. It seemed he would get a little better, get some energy, and then do something silly like climb up his hidey log and jump off and break his stick leg (junior osteoperosis from his former malnutrition in the pet store didn't help this condition any). Then he'd recover from that, only to get some freaky eye-infection where he would continually rub his eyes with his spiky arms until his eyes were almost gouged out. Then came Albrecht's near-fatal skin rash, where all his skin kind of fell off (not peeled-off healthily, but GOOPED off leaving just a thin membrane that was sticky and red, see-through, and infected - again, Dr. Adams really helped me pull him through). After those last illnesses, and then an X-ray showing intestinal blocking, I ridded the calci-sand from Albrecht's habitat and his eyes and skin got better (but there was an extended period where he had to be soaked several times a day in a warm water bath filled with a strange yellow-orange antibiotic? powder that Dr. Adams prescribed). I still can't believe he recovered and regrew his skin. This was followed by a brief period of health, and then he got sick again and needed daily shots which were so hard to give to him. The doctor continually told me that all of these were probably losing battles, and that even if Albrecht survived, he would never grow as big as Chanel if he grew at all.

: Albrecht is now a mischevious, fat 11 1/2 pounds and 3 years old. He and Chanel are the lights of our lives and the baby tanks (who are not so "babyish" anymore) are growing at record speeds. I have never regretted altered work schedules, vet bills, equipment bills, medicinal costs and countless hours to care for these little ones; I can't imagine life without my two chelonian clowns. And although I would love to have more babies (there is nothing cuter than a Sulcata hatchling -- except a yawning Sulcata hatchling), I know that baby sulcatas are fragile for their formative years and require so much time and care and eventually SPACE that I can't get anymore (These guys are a real handful) until I live somewhere more southern and with an enormous yard. My husband and I have moved to a better location with a balcony (turtle-proofed, just for them) so that they can get direct sunlight year round. They are truly cosmopolitain Sulcatas, living 40 floors up with a great city view!

: Whew! Now THAT'S more than you wanted to know!

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: Cool. Very interesting story. Sulcatas in a skyscraper. You're going to catch some flax over that one but I think it's great. : Ed : Hi all. I have been a turtle lover all my life, a trait I came by genetically (mother's side loved turtles). I have raised box turtles since I was a little girl in the south. : : In New York City, I first saw Chanel, my oldest, when he was an irresistable 2 inches old and he has been spoiled beyond belief since his earliest infancy. Chanel is now almost 4 years old and still thinks he is a "lap turtle", even though he weighs in at 15 pounds. He is "potty-trained," prefers being hand-fed to floor-fed, "kisses" on demand and is very polite, so long as my girlfriends don't paint their toenails the color of a berry or introduce a female sulcata to him! Raising Chanel from early babyhood has ensured him to be a healthy youngster, his only problems being absurd things he has put in his mouth - those x-rays are priceless - what a toddler! : : Albrecht, my angel baby, miraculously survived an extremely tragic start. I never meant to own any other tortoises after Chanel, but Albrecht's situation gave me little choice. I "rescued" him and his baby sis Giselle from a pet store where I found them dying from severe starvation, parasites, cold and edima (sp?). Maybe "rescued" is the wrong word - I was not very heroic when I more or less threatened the store with legal action if they didn't turn over guardianship of the two babies to me so that I could spend the necessary money and time in vet treatments and medicine - they consented, and gave me the sulcatas plus a tank and two lights, and promised never to sell any more baby sulcatas!! At first, the two were pronounced hopeless with barely a 20% survival chance and Giselle died two days later, probably due to something the emergency vet did since she had to be admitted to the hospital - the vet said she soaked her in chicken broth??!! and did some other drastic measures??!!@#$_)!. Brokenhearted, I switched vets immediately after that. : : Giselle's brother, Albrecht, stayed alive due to my forced feeding and my NEW vet Dr. Adams and many phone calls to Richard Carey Paull (Sulcata Guru) in Florida. We nursed him back to health, only to have him relapse multiple times with various other problems. It seemed he would get a little better, get some energy, and then do something silly like climb up his hidey log and jump off and break his stick leg (junior osteoperosis from his former malnutrition in the pet store didn't help this condition any). Then he'd recover from that, only to get some freaky eye-infection where he would continually rub his eyes with his spiky arms until his eyes were almost gouged out. Then came Albrecht's near-fatal skin rash, where all his skin kind of fell off (not peeled-off healthily, but GOOPED off leaving just a thin membrane that was sticky and red, see-through, and infected - again, Dr. Adams really helped me pull him through). After those last illnesses, and then an X-ray showing intestinal blocking, I ridded the calci-sand from Albrecht's habitat and his eyes and skin got better (but there was an extended period where he had to be soaked several times a day in a warm water bath filled with a strange yellow-orange antibiotic? powder that Dr. Adams prescribed). I still can't believe he recovered and regrew his skin. This was followed by a brief period of health, and then he got sick again and needed daily shots which were so hard to give to him. The doctor continually told me that all of these were probably losing battles, and that even if Albrecht survived, he would never grow as big as Chanel if he grew at all. : : Albrecht is now a mischevious, fat 11 1/2 pounds and 3 years old. He and Chanel are the lights of our lives and the baby tanks (who are not so "babyish" anymore) are growing at record speeds. I have never regretted altered work schedules, vet bills, equipment bills, medicinal costs and countless hours to care for these little ones; I can't imagine life without my two chelonian clowns. And although I would love to have more babies (there is nothing cuter than a Sulcata hatchling -- except a yawning Sulcata hatchling), I know that baby sulcatas are fragile for their formative years and require so much time and care and eventually SPACE that I can't get anymore (These guys are a real handful) until I live somewhere more southern and with an enormous yard. My husband and I have moved to a better location with a balcony (turtle-proofed, just for them) so that they can get direct sunlight year round. They are truly cosmopolitain Sulcatas, living 40 floors up with a great city view! : : Whew! Now THAT'S more than you wanted to know!

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