The Unofficial Picture Heavy Wildlife Thread.

[Schoolmarm]

Oh! I forgot to pop in this thread and have only just seen FF's snake! Very imprressive.

Hermann, you are just gorgeous. Has he come from a tortoise rescue? What will you feed him?

 

[MdB]

Hermann, you are just gorgeous. Has he come from a tortoise rescue? What will you feed him?

Hermann has arrived with us via the Cinamon Trust. He is being fed dark green cabbage, bind weed, honeysuckle, clover and grass but the all time favourite is dandelion. We are also covering the food with a mineral supplement so this should sort out the bad diet he has been on. I'm not sure how the shell shape will change over time but unfortunately, I don't think it will improve that much. Currently, he is about 20% underweight for his shell length which means he probably won't be suitable for hibernation this year though I will probably take advice on this later in the year. At least he hasn't been blinded through poor hibernation like our other tortoise has been. It annoys me rather a lot how many tortoises have been miss treated through ignorance on how they need to treated. It isn't difficult but it is something that needs to be researched.

The tortoise mansion was expanded this weekend so that Hermann had additional space to run around in.

 

[JoceAndChris]

I am very impressed with this story MdB. Well done. A kind act, for a lovely creature.

 

[Flyfisher]

Here's a rather more cute discovery than my previous snake photo. A temporary bout of madness led me to decide to clear some undergrowth (or should that be overgrowth?) this afternoon and after about half and hour of general disturbance I'd cleared enough to notice this little fawn.

It remained absolutely still throughout all the rustle and bustle and you can even see where leaves and other debris had fallen on it's coat, yet had failed to disturb it. Presumably their instinct is to remain completely still while hiding away during the daytime and waiting for mum to return. Ahh.

 

[LadyArowana]

Presumably their instinct is to remain completely still while hiding away during the daytime and waiting for mum to return. Ahh.

If Mr Wiggs sees that he will be getting out the recipe for venison pie.

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Quite right m'Lady - he does look rather tasty. Best leave him a bit til he has grown a little more though.

He'd go very nicely with free range chicken - anyone know where I can get some tasty chickens from? :twisted:

 

[LadyArowana]

He'd go very nicely with free range chicken - anyone know where I can get some tasty chickens from? :twisted:

That depends how much you are willing to pay, a state of the art prosthetic arm might be quite expensive and there are other body parts that couldn't even be replaced. So I would suggest the supermarket rather than any that you see running around in Lincolnshire.

 

[Penners]

Ahh.

Ahh indeed. What a beautiful creature.

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Ahh.

Ahh indeed. What a beautiful creature.

He is indeed "Ahh, lovely". I also think he is "Ahh, Bisto" too!

 

[MdB]

Not so pretty as the last picture but this little guy made his presence known by making a noise on the window sill behind me. I've no idea how he got into the house but he did manage to find a large pile of dust...

He didn't look that well so I've put him outside in a half open cardboard box which he can either escape from or stay put depending on how he feels. Hopefully he will be ok.

Update - He vanished within 20 minutes of being put outside which we took as being a good sign.

 

[Schoolmarm]

It annoys me rather a lot how many tortoises have been miss treated through ignorance on how they need to treated. It isn't difficult but it is something that needs to be researched.

The tortoise mansion was expanded this weekend so that Hermann had additional space to run around in.

How fab to see someone doing things properly, I hate it when tortoises are kept badly.

 

[MdB]

How fab to see someone doing things properly, I hate it when tortoises are kept badly.

Thanks. The flowerbeds on the other hand are a disgrace....

Hermann spent most of today trying to get out of the pen and ignored the various types of food that we had out for him. I would love for him to put on some additional weight but it isn't happening so far. I think he burns it all off through all the exercise he does. Our other older tortoise spends most of the time either eating or sleeping and is far less active so weight isn't an issue for her.

 

[Schoolmarm]

Could you pen him in a weedy area so he can feed himself?

 

[MdB]

Yes and we have done this to a certain extent on occasions. The biggest problem is making sure they can't escape when on rough ground or when on soft ground (Hermanns are rather good at digging). If either of them managed to get out, we would be lucky to see them again.

 

[Schoolmarm]

:lol: :lol:

 

[JoceAndChris]

Gorgeous fawn, bat, tortoise, above.

And I sympathise with all those monitoring the enclosure of pets, this takes up most of my time.

 

[Flyfisher]

My initial fears of having disturbed 'our' fawn or, more worryingly having scared off its mother, have proved to be unfounded.

I was fairly sure the mother must have been returning and feeding the fawn because it was showing no signs of distress or weakness a week after first uncovering it, but we hadn't actually seen the mother. Yesterday evening though we saw the proud mother attending to her baby, which was up and about and confidently wandering around in the evening twilight. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera to hand and they had gone by the time I returned with it.

I thought that would be the last we saw of them, assuming they'd wander off now that the fawn was clearly mobile, but this morning the fawn was fast asleep back in exactly the same place I originally found it. It'll be interesting to see how long they stay but they are clearly not too bothered by our presence.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Oh how lovely. I think you should encourage their permanent residence by creating a fawn friendly environment. You already have plenty of lush grass, but I'm sure a heap of apples wouldn't go amiss, or a tub of proper deer feed. After you have gained their trust you could lure them in and make a shelter for them so they're visible from your patio area. I'm so jealous!

 

[Schoolmarm]

They stay until they are big enough to jump fences I suppose. You are so lucky.