BEGIN:VCALENDAR PRODID:-//Meetup Inc//RemoteApi//EN VERSION:2.0 METHOD:PUBLISH CALSCALE:GREGORIAN X-ORIGINAL-URL:http://turtles.meetup.com/44/calendar/7445205/ical/Geneva+Ar ea+Turtle+and+Tortoise+Society's+free+meeting+on+April+5/ X-WR-CALNAME:Events - Geneva Area Turtle and Tortoise Society's free meetin g on April 5 BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Geneva Area Turtle and Tortoise Society's free meeting on May 3 DESCRIPTION:Turtle and Tortoise Meetups > Geneva Area Turtle and Tortoise S ociety\n\nhttp://photos1.meetupstatic.com/photos/member/d/3/6/0/highres_251 4112.jpeg?\n\nIn spring\, they say\, a young man's fancy turns to thoughts that are romancey. Pet turtles and tortoises react the same way in spring\, almost immediately after they awaken from their winter hibernation. Spring time's increasing day length and warmer weather combine to generate in turt les and tortoises a strong sexual urge to merge. The main topic of discussi on at the May 3 meeting will be what their owners can do to facilitate thei r pets' breeding.\n\nTurtle society leaders Suzanne and Peter will describe the preparations they make for the annual mating of their turtles and tort oises. The aquatic turtles mate underwater in their ponds\, so that process is rarely seen by the club's members. But the terrestrial tortoises have f requently been observed brazenly mating during club meetings in the garden. Photos of this process (which might be considered pornographic in tortoise communities) are in the 'Photos' section of the club's web site at http:// turtles.meetup.com/44/photos.\n\nhttp://photos2.meetupstatic.com/photos/eve nt/e/6/e/b/event_1859115.jpeg\n\nThe club leaders' turtles and tortoises ca n roam all over their fenced-in garden. Attendees at the May 3 meeting can see there the ideal site prepared for the females' nest holes. It consists of a large mound of very loose soil in full sun\, because it's the warmth o f the sun that causes the eggs to hatch. The soil in the rest of the garden is hard-packed clay\, which would be very diffifcult for turtles or tortoi ses to dig through\, so they lay their eggs in the warm mound of loose soil . The mound is never allowed to dry completely\, because the eggs need a da mp environment to develop.\n\nThe females laboriously dig the nest hole wit h their hind legs. The eggs are dropped in one by one\, and rearranged in p osition with the hind legs. At this time the eggs are soft-shelled and frag ile\, so the female has to work very carefully. The eggs are then covered w ith soil\, and the surface is smoothed with the hind legs so that potential predators see no clue where edible eggs might be. The entire process can t ake an hour or more. The female sees none of it\, and even walks away witho ut looking back to admire her work.\n\nhttp://photos4.meetupstatic.com/phot os/event/e/6/e/c/event_1859116.jpeg\n\nThe eggs can be left in the ground t o hatch naturally\, but today's unusual extremes of weather make hatching u ncertain. Soon after the females abandon their nests\, Peter carefully digs up the eggs and places them in the simple incubator he designed. It assure s the hatching of virtually all fertile turtle or tortoise eggs. They're ma rked to show which side should remain up\, because a baby inside could have its developing blood vessels burst if the egg is turned over.\n\nThis meet ing's attendees can examne the incubator\, and learn how its temperature an d humidity can be regulated to be ideal for hatching each species. If any e ggs have been produced by May 3\, they'll be displayed in the incubator. La st year one clutch of five tortoise eggs generated one new hatchling on eac h of five consecutive days. One of the babies hatched out during a turtle s ociety meeting\, to the fascination of everyone attending the event.\n\nhtt p://photos2.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/e/6/e/e/event_1859118.jpeg\n\nSuz anne and Peter's tortoise babies are raised indoors in a well-planted terra rium. When they're mature enough to live outdoors\, young tortoises are mov ed to the large 'tortoisarium' Peter constructed in the garden. It's covere d with wire mesh to protect the youngsters from crows and other birds that could eat them.\n\nhttp://photos3.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/9/4/e/9/eve nt_1238121.jpeg\n\nTurtle babies are raised in a 500-liter aquarium\, shari ng their home with many fish. When they're mature enough\, the young turtle s are moved to the two water-lily and goldfish ponds in the garden. They gr ow quickly in the 29\,000 liters of water\, eating the food nature provides in the ponds.\n\nhttp://photos4.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/a/c/5/3/even t_944115.jpeg\n\nBreeding turtles and tortoises is not the only subject to be discussed at this meeting. Attendees can ask any question about keeping these fascinating creatures as pets. Herpetology experts and others at this event will give answers based on their own experiences. Full details are o n the club's web site at http://turtles.meetup.com/44/calendar/7445205.\n\n Visitors are always welcome at our meetings\, so invite any interested frie nds and neighbors to come along. Let them know that all animal lovers can i nstantly join the club for free right on the web site. Have them log on to http://turtles.meetup.com/44/about to learn all about the club and how to n avigate the many informative pages of the web site. They can then join by s imply clicking on the red link marked 'Sign up.' Everyone's welcome.\n\nNyo n - Switzerland\n\nSaturday\, May 3 at 3:00 PM\n\nPhoto: http://photos1.mee tupstatic.com/photos/event/b/6/0/e/event_226606.jpeg\n\nAttending: 19\n\nDe tails: http://turtles.meetup.com/44/calendar/7445205/ LAST-MODIFIED:20080507T204138Z UID:event_7445205@meetup.com CLASS:PUBLIC CREATED:20080302T140510Z DTSTAMP:20080515T224703Z DTSTART:20080503T130000Z DTEND:20080503T150000Z GEO:46.21;6.14 URL:http://turtles.meetup.com/44/calendar/7445205/ END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR