Page 9 - magazine the rock fall 2016

Friends oF red rock canyon 9

Thanks to everyone who helped with the
exams and who donated to the Tort Medical
Fund; the torts appreciate it!

The vet had some ideas for “tortoise en-
richment” to basically make things a little
more interesting for them. One suggestion
was to attach greens to a vertical pipe to
make the tortoises work for their food. We
told Super-Tort-Volunteer Mike Evans and
he promptly built five “kale trees.” They are
stands made out of PVC pipes with holes
for inserting greens. Several volunteers have
commented that Max especially seems more The newest habitat resident - Max’s Buddy

active and alert since we started using the
trees. So it’s working! We’re also hoping to
put water in large shallow containers so the
torts can walk through it. That is still in the
planning stage.

There is a new web camera in the habitat.
It focuses on Max’s favorite burrow and
part of the girls’ habitat. You can also see
the volunteers! To view the live stream or
archived footage, go to http//:www.Mojave-
max.com. Now we’ll really know what he’s
up to!

We’re going to stop feeding the torts at
the end of September. It takes them up to
thirty days to digest their food, and it is
best if they enter brumation with an empty
stomach. They’ll start brumating in October
and November and will stay in their bur-
rows until February or March. This season
50 volunteers spent more than 1,400 hours
taking care of the torts.

Maxine and Willie with breakfast Thanks for all of your help!

Fall 2016