Geneva Area Turtle and Tortoise Society's free meeting on June 2

We're meeting for the first time in the home and garden of Society member Marissa Cambon in Bogis-Bossey, just north of Chavannes-de-Bogis and east of Divonne-les-Bains, in Vaud. She's been breeding Hermann's tortoises for ages, so the main topic of discussion at this meeting will be the successful breeding of tortoises. She's had one male Hermann's for an impressive 57 years, and a female for 13 years. The female has produced 32 eggs so far, and all but two have hatched to produce healthy babies. Five of those babies are now being raised with five older Hermann's in the garden of the Society's organizers.

At the June 2 meeting we'll learn everything we should know to match Marissa's breeding success. The basic techniques for breeding Hermann's tortoises (Testudo hermanni hermanni) can be applied to most other species of tortoises. Marissa will list the nutritious foods best suited to put healthy and vigorous adults in good breeding condition. She'll describe the exuberant mating rituals the male performs (including the biting of feet and the butting of shells) to induce the female to permit the male to mount her for fertilization. She'll show how to prepare a suitable nesting site of loose soil in a sunny part of the garden or enclosure, so that the female can easily dig a hole to lay her eggs. She'll describe the restless pacing of the female as a tell-tale precursor to her digging several test-holes with her hind legs before choosing a final place to deposit her eggs, then cover them to hide the eggs from predators.

We'll learn the safest way to dig up the the eggs and place them in a home-made incubator to maximize the successful hatching. Unlike bird eggs, tortoise eggs should never be turned over, so the top of each egg is marked to remain right-side-up. Marissa will explain the ideal temperature and humidity to assure hatching, and what signs to look for as the hatching date approaches. (She's a nurse, and her daughter's a doctor, so Marissa places a stethoscope against each egg to listen for signs of imminent hatching.) We'll learn to design the ideal environment for the young hatchlings, and to prepare the ideal foods to assure their healthy growth.

Many other discussions about turtle and tortoise care will be brought up at the Society's meeting. Bring your questions for the experts to answer, and contribute advice based on your own experiences. Details of the June 2 meeting are at our web site's description of the event at http://turtles.meetup....

If you can't attend the June 2 meeting, check out each of the other meetings already scheduled in the web site's Calendar section at http://turtles.meetup.... Click on the event's title to read its details, then click Yes, Maybe, or No to indicate if you can attend. The details of each meeting include the location where the event will be held, but only registered members of the Society can be shown the address. Non-members can instantly become members for free right on the web site by clicking the link marked "Sign up." They can then read the address, and can also download clear road maps and written travel directions to the meeting location in the web site's Files section at http://turtles.meetup....

Members and non-members alike can access many other pages on the Society's web site. The Welcome section at http://turtles.meetup... lists the latest additions to the site and the Society, such as the newest members, photos, messages and articles. The About Us section at http://turtles.meetup... tells all about the Society, and explains how to navigate the extensive web site. The Members section at http://turtles.meetup... lists the turtles, tortoises and other interests of the 50 families or individuals who are current members; some have included their pictures.

The Photos section at http://turtles.meetup... displays over 200 captioned pictures of turtles, tortoises and hatchlings to help identify the many species and sub-species. The Messages section at http://turtles.meetup... contains Society members' questions, answers, articles and other messages. The Polls section at http://turtles.meetup... shows everyone the latest results of online voting on questions affecting the management of the Society; members (only) may add or change their vote and instantly see the revised results. The Files section at http://turtles.meetup... has the maps and directions to meeting locations, alphabetical lists of all known species and sub-species by common name, by scientific name, and by taxonomy, plus a list of links to 600 other informative turtle and tortoise web sites.