Geneva Area Turtle and Tortoise Society's free meeting on September 1

Pet turtles and tortoises should ideally be housed in an environment closely matching the natural habitat of the particular species. This meeting's main discussion will focus on creating the best enclosures in our homes or gardens for the species most kept by members of our club. We'll discuss the housing of many different aquatic turtles and terrestrial tortoises.

The ideal home for water turtles would be a garden pond, provided that the pond or the garden is completely surrounded by fencing. That serves both to keep the turtles in and any predators out. The fence should extend down into the ground at least 15 cm, to prevent burrowing under by either turtles or predators. If just the pond is enclosed, the fence should be a minimum 50 to 100 cm away from the edge of the pond all around, to allow the turtles to walk and bask on land. If you pile up mounds of loose soil where the sun can warm it, that's where the females will dig their nests when laying eggs. The pond itself should have floating logs or flat rocks emerging from the water so that the turtles can climb up to bask in the sun. It should also have several natural "ramps" or a gravel beach along the pond's shore to let the turtles enter and exit the water. Assuming the pond is at least 50 cm deep, turtles will hibernate safely every winter by digging into the mud in the bottom of the pond or in the mud in large tubs at the bottom, then emerge every spring to enhance your pond. Tropical turtles, of course, will have to be brought indoors to spend the winter in an aquarium.

Turtle owners without a pond can keep water turtles in aquaria all year. Young turtles are mostly carnivorous, but they transition into a vegetarian diet as they get older. Owners of adult turtles will find they'll eat most live plants put into the aquarium, so the tank will have to be decorated with plastic aquarium plants instead. Water turtles are much more active than land tortoises, so they need lots of space in which to swim. They should be offered the largest aquarium available to provide the greatest volume of water. They also need to come out of the water whenever they want to dry off and bask in some warmth. At this meeting Peter will display the various ways to provide a basking platform in or above the aquarium, heated by a sun lamp as a substitute for the sun.

Terrestrial tortoises are ideally housed in a sunny garden completely surrounded by fencing, so they can roam over all the hills and valleys. They find shade under shrubs when they want to cool off. Suzanne and Peter's tortoises have the run of their entire garden, but most club members keep their tortoises in spacious enclosures. The fencing or enclosure walls should extend down into the ground to prevent burrowing under, extra-deep if enclosing burrowers like gopher tortoises. Enclosures should be placed in a sunny area, and include plants to provide shade whenever the tortoises want it. Suzanne and Peter's tortoises can also cool off in sagex-insulated shelters, placed both on the soil surface and underground, accessible through tunnels. The tortoises hibernate safely in the shelters every winter. In spring and/or autumn, they lay eggs in soft damp mounds of loose soil.

Tortoises can also be kept indoors, if the enclosures are large enough for the size of the inhabitants. A perfect enclosure would be heavily planted with hilly soil and rocks to mimic their natural environment. It should be lit with fluorescent lights on automatic timers to reflect the natural day length in each season, to benefit both the plants and the tortoises. A sun lamp warming a rock will provide an ideal basking spot. A dish of water deep enough to soak in should always be available. Peter will display the spacious clear plastic enclosure he made for their baby tortoises, designed to have desert, temperate and rainforest areas to give the babies a variety of environments.

Many other topics will be discussed at this meeting, including some that have nothing to do with turtles or tortoises. More information about caring for these fascinating reptiles can always be found on the turtle and tortoise society's colorful web site at http://turtles.meetup.... Clicking on the site's various links will bring up its many departments. The "Calendar" section at http://turtles.meetup... shows all the free events. Click on a meeting's title to learn its location and full details, then click Yes, Maybe, or No to indicate if you can attend. Only club members can read the meeting's location, but you can instantly become a member for free by clicking the link marked "Sign up."