Over the past few weeks we have had a huge amount of lost Tortoise’s handed in by members of the public. Mainly Hermann’s (Like the google image above) they have been found walking along in the middle of the road,  seemingly unaware of the cars travelling above them.

 I say huge numbers, 3 have been found in as many weeks, which still considering the area in which I live is a decent sum.  What’s more, they’ve all been found a good 5 miles from their original homes. I may be naive in this, but surely that’s a good marathon for the little critters? Its a myth that they are very slow animals, they can get up to a fairly decent trot if motivated enough, which we’ve sure as hell noticed as they’ve tried to launch themselves off the prep room table. I don’t know, if anyone is an avid Tortoise fancier, do pick me up on this. Either way I’m fairly sure a Hermann could complete the London Marathon in a better time than I could ever hope for.

We’ve only found three, but have had a lot of calls this month regarding lost Tortoises…

Do we have a Tortoise thief in the West Sussex area?  

Highly unlikely. If I’m honest I don’t think the people in my town are capable of realising how valuable some Tortoises can be. They’re too busy breeding “Irish Staffies”, and regaling me on their new “pedigree” mongrel’s toileting habits. To take it one step further, I don’t think if you showed one to the chav’s in my town whether they’d know what it is. I’ve already had one asking me whether I’d seen their mum’s Stir-fry (Spur- thigh)…

Just to clarify.

Its just a bit curious as to how so many have gone walk about in a short period of time. No doubt its someone having a great time, I wouldn’t be surprised if we get a couple of spray painted ones, you know, just for a bit of variety. Either way, all this bother could be resolved by just micro-chipping them. Its done into one of their back legs, and registered the same way as dogs and cats.

Thinking of hibernating?

As its coming up to hibernation time for our Testudine friends, I thought I’d mention this just on a serious note. Tortoises aren’t always large or old enough to hibernate during the Winter, so please do talk to more experienced owners, and follow the Jackson ratio when thinking of bedding him or her down for the colder months.  Also, depending on the breed, age and size, safe hibernation periods will vary considerably, as will the amount of energy used and the temperature needed.

Happy Tortoise hunting everyone.

The reality is that some people aren’t meant to have animals of any description. Whilst this isn’t bad in itself, unfortunately the most common way people realise this is by getting a pet on a whim, then having to put them up for adoption when things don’t go smoothly.

On the off chance someone in West Sussex comes across this page, I thought I’d put up a couple of pictures of our local “residents” at the practice, with the hope I can get someone to fall in love with them.

Clemmie

Clemmie is approximately 6 months old, and was found dumped in a box full of other kittens in a car park. She gets on well with other cats, and could be re-homed with other animals, children you name it. She’s a very uncommon colouring,  and although the picture doesn’t show it, appears much more “blue” than grey.

Jonno

Jonno is 5 months old and was dumped in a garden when his owner couldn’t afford to keep him. He has a slight radial paralysis in one of his front paws, but this doesn’t affect him in the slightest, and is getting better day by day. He has been with us since he was 12 weeks old, and none of the staff can understand why no one wants this cheeky little boy. He was born without a tail but is such a character at the practice that we will be sad to see him go.

Phoenix

Phoenix was signed over to the RSPCA when her owners couldn’t afford to keep her any more. She is a cheeky 4 month old kitten and likes nothing better than playing with the other cats in the cattery. Like all our kittens she can go to a home with other animals, and would be perfect with children.

I’ve only put up pictures of the kittens we have with us at the minute. If anyone is interested or would like to see photos of all the other cats up for adoption please click on the Sussex North Cats for re-homing link in the sidebar – This will be updated regularly.

Thanks, hopefully I’ve tempted someone into at least thinking of taking one of our cats on!

For those of you who haven’t heard of Alterbridge, they are well worth a listen.  They’re made up of the remnants of Creed with just basically a new front man. My boyfriend got me into them, and although I’ve only really listened to them properly for about a year, they’ve already made a big impact on my music tastes.

Myles Kennedy & Mark Tremonti

These pair as always shone through. Tremonti is an unbelievable guitarist, whilst Myles’ vocals stole the show

May I just say they were amazing. Their stage presence blew me away, and being in the crowd, especially as close as we were, was an experience to remember. They were supported by Theory of a deadman and Blackstone Cherry, each of which were awesome too.

Theory of a Deadman

As expected there were a number of weirdo’s at the gig, but none of which spoiled the night in anyway. In fact they probably added to it, having my hair stuck to someones lip piercing wasn’t the most fun however…

It did annoy me however that some of the people in the crowd didn’t seem to be supporting any of the acts, or completely shunning the first set. If your going to a live rock gig, bring your personality along, don’t just sit there looking  angry and constipated.

Black Stone Cherry

Check out my favourite song on youtube here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7332DMP-iUE