torts holiday camp

[bikerchicspain]

I have started a torts holiday camp.. I look after peoples torts/reptiles whilst they go on holiday. I am booked up from middle of this month and thro summer...And yes before anyone rightly asks "yes all are vetted for health and parasites before hand and are kept seperate from my collection, of which i am proud to say Mini has now 4 eggs, "so excited" my partner not so much.oops

 

[CtTortoiseMom]

That is a great idea! I could never do that because I don't know anyone else with torts in my area.

 

[Angi]

Yvonne this is WAY off topic , but I just noticed you are from Spain. And I had to tell you I am sooooooo excited to be going there in May.

 

[bikerchicspain]

Yvonne this is WAY off topic , but I just noticed you are from Spain. And I had to tell you I am sooooooo excited to be going there in May.

I am on the costa blanca, But a bit more south is the natural habitat for the Testudo Graeca, From Lorca to Almeria, You can actually see them in the wild,it is fascinating..

 

[tortoisenerd]

So do you have extra enclosures so the people just bring their torts over? Interesting! I'd worry about parasites still though...sometimes they don't show up on a fecal test depending on where they are in a cycle, so one tort could bring in parasites, that tort leaves, and then the next tort gets them from being on the same substrate. What about the stress from being in a new enclosure and such?

Our last two trips we've brought my tort in a travel enclosure to a friend's house to be watched. Now that I think any travel enclosure would be too small for him, we're going to try having a pet sitting service come over every other day (friends live too far for me to ask them to come over regularly enough to care for him for a week). I see this as the least stressful on my tort. I also don't know anyone with torts in my area, although I've noticed a few on the forum are nearby.

 

[bikerchicspain]

Each tort or reptile is wormed before they come anywhere near my installations, At the moment all torts that ive had have been fine, no stres to mention they eat and bathe and just do torti things. All enclosures are desinfected and cleaned and new earth put in as soon as that animal has gone back to its owner.
I have also what i call my ICU for reptiles that are brought to me to cure them.
It is not the first time i have done this, And torts and owners go home quiet happy,

I weigh and measure torts, they are wormed just before i take them home, Food and water dishes cleaned and bleached then left in hot water,just to get rid of any bleach.

The cages are sprayed first with supona then washed with hot water and bleach then rinsed. Even the light and heat systems get a once over, Mainly to protect my collection and the animal in my care.

They are also kept in a completely different are to mine, so no contact by air or contact....

It came about because i have had so many torts brought to me to cure them from all sorts of ailments,that the customer will not trust anyone else with her torts...

 

[Isa]

That is a very very good idea Yvonne You will have to show us some pictures, wow that would be a dream to have plenty of torties in my house !

 

[tortoisenerd]

Wow thats a lot of work!

 

[bikerchicspain]

I know but its something i enjoy doing. Its not a quick turn around so i dont have to do all the cleaning as soon as the torts go, They are in large bunny cages with full spectrum lights and ceramic heaters. Everything inside the cage is washable, I have a booking for the 25th of this month till the begining of April.
I have now made a contract up, because last year i had one come stop for 3 weeks and its still here, She never came back for him.

The last tort i had in ICU, Died. He came to me with RNS and mouth rot, The first couple of days he picked up but on the 3rd day he just started to slip away and finally after a week he died.
I got the vets at work to do an autopsy and his kidneys were shot to pieces, So our school of thought is he had kidney damge before he came to me and then when he started the antibiotics it was too much for his kidneys..

His name was rocky and he belong to a little girl, She got him as a christmas present. Her sister also got one, both torts were about 8 years old.

So what i did was give her one of mine, Aida, She was being bullied by my other torts and this little girl lost hers,

So I wrote a letter saying
" Hello my name is Aida. I am a Testudo Greaca and im about 40 years old. Mummy and i have been chatting about your tort rocky and what happened to him. Anyway mummy asked me if i would like to go and live with you, And that you would love and spoil me for the rest of my life,
I aggreed with mom and said that i would be really happy to go live with you.
Also i spoke to rocky before he went and he told me to tell you that he loved you very much, and he is sorry he had to go so soon, But he is happy and wandering the green pastures in heaven with lots of other torts,
I know i cannot replace Rocky, and i would not want to, You will always have a place in your heart for him and i hope that so will i"...

Then i wrapped her in a box with a big bow and when her and her mum came to pay for rockys treatment i gave her the letter and the box.
It was so grattifying seeing that little girls face, Both her and her mother fell to their knees sobbing with happiness and sadness.

They still call me to let me know how Aida is and she sounds very happy....

 

[tortoisenerd]

Thank you for sharing that story--so sweet.