Wanna See What We Did In '09? - Facebook/Twitter/YouTube

MyBookTube.... What?!?

FaceBook
Years ago, when Nanette and I were monitoring the kid’s computer use and warning them about this MySpace thing, I never expected that we would have a social networking page. About 7 months ago I added a FB page. What a blast. I really enjoyed seeing updates from reptile friends and from family. The ability to jump on and chat with folks is so helpful, although some night I have to go off-line otherwise I just get nothing done!

The bad news is that FB is getting a bit overrun with apps- although I am sure farming on line is a bunch of fun, I find it hard to keep up with my own yard work much less take care of a virtual farm, or duke them out with mafia dudes, or take the "Which 60’s Muscle Care are You Most Like"?

We also added a couple fan page to share additional reptile information and would enjoy your input- Supreme Gecko (1,250 fans) and Australian Geckos

Twitter
While I have not really ventured much into ‘twitting’ it is a nice vehicle to get instant updates on the Chicago Blackhawks games or when someone is cleaning their enclosures. I do hope to use this tool more in the future.

YouTube
What a great way to share information among the hobbyists! We’ve posted some videos on topics such as setting up P. pictus geckos, preparing the Repashy MRP diet, and snippets (I love the word snippets... I think this is my new favorite word) of some of the reptile shows we’ve attended. As this is a new venture for us, we are very excited about sharing more in 2010 (another glimpse into our upcoming post on Friday)

Finally, if you have not already done so, we would really appreciate a friend request or subscription to Wally Kern in Facebook (or Supreme Gecko or Australian Geckos), Twitter, or YouTube if you find the information helpful.
If you are on one of these sites, post an occasional comment. 

Let's be friends on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/WallyKern

Follow us at SG on FB: http://www.facebook.com/SupremeGecko

Let's follow each other on Twitter: http://twitter.com/wallykern

Check out our Videos on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/SupremeGecko



January 1st- 2010 Plans    DON'T MISS THIS ONE!

Wanna See What We Did In '09? - Our Blog

Born in February, 2009 the Supreme Gecko Blog quickly became the #1 Google ranked gecko blog on the internet! I was really surprised to find this out but it is a fact we are now very proud of. Our intent early this year was to create an on-line vehicle to share information (like these 2009 Update entries) about our wonderful hobby with very little influence from the business side. This has been a labor of love and we appreciate everyone that is sharing in this experience.

As you know, I stepped out of the majority of updates in the middle of the year and Nanette took the reigns and ran with the Blog. Her most read posts involve keeping geckos from a non-reptile keeping person’s perspective. They are both fun to read and very informative as she covers areas most of us normally gloss over. Her most engaging Topic was of course the egg contest. With over 100 participants, I am happy to say that this became a fun and hopefully educational couple of months for all of us.

Let me ask a question, what would you like to see from these articles. We've had a lot of requests for a series focusing on what we will be doing in the future and as a result, I've put this thread together. However, I need your input on where we are going with the Supreme Gecko Blog. Let me know.

Finally, watch for a BIG change in 2010 (I have to stop giving clues to the upcoming threads!!!)

Tomorrow- Facebook - Twitter

Wanna See What We Did In '09? - On Line, Web SIte, Emails and Forums

I’m not even sure where to start with what we’ve done on-line this year with Supreme Gecko From updates to the Store, changes to our Email program, delving into the YouTube arena, to our involvement in Facebook and Twitter we contributed to as many different Web 2.0 networking activities as we have time for.

Supreme Gecko Store
A year and a half ago, we spent a lot of time get the Supreme Gecko Store on-line. In 2009, we sat back a little and made far fewer adjustments than we would have liked.
Few know this but you can find all kinds of articles in the Gecko Newsletter and Library section of the Store. You can also see some amazing photos of some of the geckos we’ve sold under Owner’s Gallery. Unfortunately, these  are rather difficult to add, maintain, and especially find by our customers. This will change in 2010 (oops, sssshhhhh!).
We did add P. pictus geckos to the store and have had a great response in sales.

Crested Gecko Food Site
As well, to help those that are purchasing the Repashy Superfood now on a regular basis from us we created the Crested Gecko Food site as a one stop shop for your crested gecko food needs (including the link to the YouTube video on how to prepare the food).

Email
I hope you like our new Email format. We switched over in November to help with Emails- improve their content, manage addresses, and analyze our statistics. I have to say that you have way higher than industry standards for opens and clicks. Thank you and Way To Go! If you have suggestions for improvements to our Emails, please let us know.


Forums
There are some great forums out there, however our participation has slipped a bit this past year as we focus on other areas that just seem easier to use to communicate with other hobbyist. As our time shifts to other more interactive tools (more on this later in the series), quite simply we are just running out of time. I cannot tell you how many nights a week I end the evening on FB chat with “Well, it’s after midnight and I need to get some sleep… gotta go” :)
Saying this however, if you ever want to get a question asked immediately, catch me on FB Chat.

Tomorrow- Blog

Wanna See What We Did In '09? - Shows

This past year, we vended at 34 shows! 34 Shows! That works out to be about 2/3 of every weekend!

We would not be so involved if we did not enjoy discussing animals with you the customer so much. I wish we had more time at these shows to chat with every single person that attends and stops by our table. My sons and wife have done a wonderful job helping out, but I still feel I miss out when someone stops by buys animals and supplies and I do not get a chance to ask about their animals.

One important point I wanted to make about our shows. I try very hard to remember everyone I meet in person and on-line but it is simply impossible. If we do not greet you by name or ask about specific animals you keep, do not be offended and please feel free to let us know who you are and what you keep (or whether you have purchased animals form us in the past). This is a great reference point for us.

If you have never been to a reptile show, you are really missing out! There are so many wonderful animals that you would never see anywhere else. Also, if you are looking for advice on keeping or breeding your animals, a reptile show is the place to be. Come see me at one of the local Wisc/Ill shows ... Reptile Show Schedule


Tomorrow- Internet

Wanna See What We Did In '09? - Supplies

Just a couple of quick notes on our Supplies. Taken from suggestions by you, we continue to expand the supplies we carry. This past year, we included calcium and vitamins, Exo Terra breeding cages, and finally started carrying the Repashy Superfood CGD 1 Part. We delayed this decision until a couple of months ago as we felt offering both 1 part and 2 part diets on the web and at shows would be a bit confusing. We were very wrong as CGD has clearly out sold MRP in the past couple of months.

The demand for the Repashy food moved us to create a completely new page for the food. You can find it at 

Repashy Crested Gecko Diet

If you are in need of any other supplies, let us know and we will gladly take a look at stocking it on our Store and at shows.

Tomorrow- Reptile Shows

Wanna See What We Did In '09? - Our Animals

You know I love talking to each of you about your animals, and always will.
However, now it’s time for a Toby Keith song- "I wanna talk about me, wanna talk about I, … wanna talk about number 1 oh my me my".

Our Animals-

Crested Geckos- What a Year!

The year started strong as we continued to keep up with demand for our Reds, Pinstripes, and other color morphs. Late in March we began to realize that things were slowing down. Eggs were taking longer to hatch. Females that had begun to lay in February had not laid any eggs in March! Well, we were unable to reverse this the entire year. As our stock of young animals decreased our wish list grew and grew. As frustrating as this was for us, all we can say is that 2010 will be different and we WILL BE providing animals for our loyal customers from the wish list.

Leopard Geckos- What a Year!
I believe we had such a decrease in the number of crested gecko babies this last year due to the number of leopard gecko babies delivered in our facility in ’09. Funny how things like this work out.
Our focus for years has been SHTCTS and this year we produced some of our finest. However, we also bred the following- Mack Super Snows, Enigmas (het Raptor), Blazing Blizzards, Reverse Stripes, and Raptors. All these special animals were held back and will be part of our breeding program in ’10.
It was a great year for our leos. Just glad we built those extra racks!

Pictus Geckos- Almost every one that purchased a Paroedura pictus from us this year Emailed/talked to us at a show and told us they were so happy they purchased these fun and entertaining animals. We will continue to offer P. pictus next year and might have some exciting news about our group in a few months. (that was just a quick peek into our Jan. 1 ’10 post)

All other geckos are doing well and continue to provide enough babies to offer to our customers.
We developed an interest in Australian geckos in a big way last year by adding about 10 species. It is a long process with these animals and we will not have any available for sale in 2010.

Finally, one of our hardest decisions this past year was to move away from breeding bearded dragons and chameleons. Our facility is not large and cannot expand without doing something drastic so to make room for other animals, the dragons and the last of the veiled chameleons were sold. I’m already missing the chameleons, the first reptile type I started keeping back a number of years ago.

We are very proud of the road we took with our animals in ’09 but realize we did not exactly end up at the destination we had planned back on Jan 1. This just enhances our excitement for the upcoming year (see our thread in a few days on 2010 Plans!)


Tomorrow- Supplies

.... '09 - Facility Part 2

One quick update to the post today- I would be remiss (or to put it bluntly, in a heap o’ trouble) if I neglected to mention the most significant development in the facility this year.
Since keeping reptiles, my wife Nanette has been of the opinion that they are beautiful animals… and nice to look at from a distance. Not until this summer did she actually start handling the geckos (at least the small crested geckos for now). This is a HUGE step for her and it has not only helped out in the reptile room but also opened up sharing more about the hobby and about the animals between the two of us.
She still uses a long black plastic spoon to ‘control’ the geckos when she is feeding and watering. As long as she uses that big spoon on the geckos only!

Our Best Wishes!!!

Wanna See What We Did In '09? - Our Facility

Our facility has stayed a constant 30 x 20 feet over the last 5 years. Half our finished basement is Nanette’s daycare facility and about half, the facility- divided into the cool side (cresteds) and the warm side (leopards).

The cool side, where we keep crested geckos, gargoyles, days, and insects (including our 2 chests of mealworms, did not change dramatically in 2009. In the Spring, we ended our venture into keeping roaches. Not that they were not doing well, they were doing too well and unfortunately, it became too much work to try to keep control of the little buggers.

So their containers went bye bye and 8 60 qt tubs were added to the baker’s shelf. It seems like they immediately filled with half a dozen female crested gecko hold backs from ’08. This also gave us some ‘extra’ space we desperately needed… which immediately filled up with a couple of purchases and animals we are taking care of for close friends that moved this past fall.

In addition, the area where the bearded dragons were kept (more on this tomorrow), changed over to another adult crested gecko village of 6 more groups! These were the major holdbacks from ’08 and are the animals we are most excited about in 2010. Pictures will be coming as soon as ’10 babies are available!
Finally, as we held back a number of high color gargoyles from last year, we added 5 more aquariums for these females. Hope I can find a male somewhere to help out the other two boys, whew!

The warm side, where we keep our leopard gecko collection, R. chahouas, P. pictus, and Australian geckos, saw a significant change. Out with 2 plastic shelving units and 1 wood stand holding 29 gal. & 20L aquariums. In with two racks that hold 72 15 qt tubs. In addition, we put up another stand to hold 8 arboreal plastic containers. Thank goodness for teen age boys and air hammers (just don’t ask the boys how dad did with the gun)!
This put us up to 7 racks in a very small space. Oh, in addition, I have a wooden stand holding a 30L and two 40 breeder tanks!

We are officially out of room in our famility. Where to expand now?

Christmas at Scott Smith All Animal Show 12/20/09

Thank you Scott for the nice gifts, Santa walking around , and the fun Christmas spirit at the show Sunday. This always makes for a festive mood for everyone.

With our truck in the shop (ok, my wife’s SUV) we crammed everything into my midsized car. This was cool for me as it made the 2 ½ hour trip down a bit more comfy. Jordan did his usual 'load and doze' for the trip. We got a late start and I thought we would have to hustle big time when we pulled in but the car must have another couple of gears the put-put truck doesn’t have… as we pulled in about 10 minutes earlier than we usually do.

Bringing down some cresteds (this is a heavy crested gecko show), a handful of gargoyle and P. pictus geckos, and some very nice leopard geckos we filled up the car with the rest of the supplies, including the tubs of Repashy crested gecko diet.

Interesting show as we met customers looking for a special Christmas present for their family or customers looking for some high end animals. I personally enjoy working with both new hobbyist looking for their first pet and with the advanced breeding searching for that one of a kind gecko. While we sold many leopard geckos in the lower dollar range, we sold our three best looking leopards as well.

Funny thing about our supplies sales. As you may know, we bring most of our reptile supplies to the shows. Vermiculite and SHM (Supreme Hatch Material) sold very well. A couple of products we sometimes sell out of- calcium and vitamins saw no sales at all!

Then there are the paper cups. We use these for crested gecko diet and sell them in counts of 50 – 100 – and 250 boxes. Well we sold OUT of the 250 boxes where we usually sell one or two.  Sorry we were out of the plastic cups again Steve!

The big seller at this show was of course the leopard geckos. Their colors really sold themselves!

It is so great to see long time customers and new customer (like Samantha… wish I knew everyone’s name)

Wishing everyone a merry Christmas, and a happy New Year.

May your 2010 see healthy animals that bring a smile to your face everyday.

Wally

Wanna See What We Did In '09?

So a whole year has passed and what have we done at Supreme Gecko? It seems like it has been a long year but it also seems like we blinked and it disappeared. Our family has grown in a sense with girlfriends (for our 3 sons! I’m no Tiger!)  More cars in the driveway, more contention for the TV on Sunday nights, oh how I hate Desperate Housewives! Ok, so I do want to know who survives the plane crash.

In the facility, things are hopping! Nothing stands still- new racks go up, tanks move, and decorations are constantly being rearranged. Animals move from one enclosure to the next. Babies are raised and find new homes on a daily basis!

On the Internet, well, the internet is changing at light speed and we are right behind it. Our Store page was about the only constant this past year!

Shows- every weekend seems to bring another show… and one weekend this fall two shows the same day! This is where we have the most fun, talking about the animals and sharing experiences with you.

Through the next few days of December, starting tomorrow morning, we’ll add posts on all the activities here at Supreme Gecko and will finish off on the January 1st with our big plans in 2010 (well, we have a few that will be kept in the Secret Envelope but most will be put right out there)

Tomorrow- Facility Changes in ‘09

Wilna and Betty join Carol in making turtle history

In December 2007, MCSS deployed two fast-loc satellite relayed tags with funding from Barclays Banks, Seychelles. Two years later, David dropped off another two tags for Elke to play with! ...these were funded by the 2009 whale shark encounter trips.

Elke organised a 'camping trip' last week to the South of Mahé to find some turtles to put the tags on. The Banyan Tree Resort generously agreed to provide food and accommodation as Xanadu Private Resort, our previous accommodation on the beach, was having water issues.

MCSS sought assistance from previous partners, namely the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MENR) and the Wildlife Clubs of Seychelles (WCS), for additional man-power …or rather woman-power as it turned out to be!

Luxury Banyan Tree Resort accommodation…unfortunately not quite what we got!

MENR unfortunately did not have any staff available for the planned period but the WCS came to the rescue with group leaders, Wilna Figaro and Betty Cecile, volunteering to leave their families for a week to join Elke on the beach…they had no idea what they were in for!

From left to right: Wilna, Elke and Betty, photo David Rowat

The first day was a logistical nightmare! David, having just returned from the UAE had forgotten to defrost the tags and was still rubbing sleep out of his eyes when Elke, Wilna and Betty rocked up at his house at 7am while at Banyan Tree Resort, no one had left instructions with Security about our arrival. By mid-day, all was on track again with Elke’s stress levels had reduced significantly!

Assuming her position from 2 years ago, on a large rock under a small coconut tree, Elke had a panoramic view of the beach to begin the long wait. Three turtles were spotted that day, a very good sign!

Panoramic view of the MCSS satellite tagging beach, photo Elke Talma

The first two turtles returned to sea without nesting after struggling on the rocks which form a barrier at low tide; the third made it to the nesting platform and began to lay shortly after 17:30pm. With sunset at 18:30, it was decided to let her be, as we did not want to be fooling around with epoxy glue and an unhappy turtle in the dark. DeeDee (SCA0860) finally made it to the sea at 18:23 giving the team just enough time to make it to dinner in the staff canteen.

DeeDee the turtle, heading off into the Sunset, photo Elke Talma.

After 10 hours on the beach on Tuesday, there was nothing to report on the beach or from the surrounding waters. David Deny, our man-Friday from 2007 and caretaker at the Xanadu Private Resort, predicted that we would not see a turtle until Friday! In desperation, Elke expanded the search area to a second beach and at 16:50 got a call from an exited Wilna, that a turtle was emerging at Xanadu.

Dr. David Rowat was called from a cocktail with the British High Commission and despite the lateness, it was decided that we would tag her anyway under the glow of a battery powered tube light - an experience never to be repeated!!!!

Just enough light to get by, but never to be repeated, photo Betty Cecile

At 20:10 the 90.5cm hawksbill turtle (SCA0862), now named Wilna after her finder, was released complete with her satellite tag firmly fixed after just 1hr and 30 minutes of being restrained by Elke and all. It was low tide by then, and the tired, scared and confused turtle wedged herself under a rock in a shallow rock-pool on the exposed reef some 10 metres from the sea.

Elke and David, rushed to her rescue, concerned for the turtle's safety but also for the Euro 5,000 tag! Finally, Wilna the turtle and her new accessory made it out to sea and an exhausted turtle tagging team realised that they had missed dinner in the Banyan Tree canteen!

Getting to bed at nearly midnight, Elke took an executive decision to sleep in the following day. After a leisurely breakfast, the team of ladies arrived on the beach at 07:45 only to find a turtle entering the nesting platform. Oh joy!! Elke was still recovering from her injuries after trying to restrain Wilna the turtle the previous night!

However, in daylight things were a lot less stressful making it easier to deal with this turtle (SCA0864), now known as Betty ... it also helped that she was significantly smaller!

By the time Dr. David arrived on site, Betty the turtle had just started laying and David Deny was on hand to assist with logistics. Michelle Martin, also from the WCS, and her kids had been invited and were there to provide moral support for what was an anticipated long wait that day.

The two David's capturing Betty the turtle in the 'box' as she emerged from the nesting platform, photo Elke Talma.

Betty the turtle was also restrained for 1hr and 30 minutes while the tag was attached and with lots of additional hands, Elke could take a breather - funny how it took 6 people to hold the smaller turtle though!

The WCS ladies (from left to right Michelle, Wilna and Betty) and Betty the turtle, photo Elke Talma

After being released, Betty the turtle safely made it out to open water with a bit of guidance and maneuvering to get around the raised reef by Dr. David assisted by Noah, Michelle's son.

Dr. David pointing the way around the reef while Noah Jean-Louis assists in getting Betty the turtle back to sea, photo Betty Cecile

The new satellite tags are already transmitting and both turtles are alive and well; we will keep you posted on the progress of Wilna and Betty, the hawksbill turtles from Seychelles.

Famous Five back in Seychelles

In March 2009, the German customs officers confiscated a number of turtle eggs from a woman who had returned to Germany after a holiday in Seychelles. The eggs were sent to Frankfurt Zoo and placed in an incubator where five of them hatched shortly after and the hatchlings were then carefully reared by the staff. The smuggler was fined Euro 5000 ($7300) by German officials it was reported, and we have to applaud the actions of the German customs authorities in helping stamp out this illegal activity.

Today, nine months later, sponsored by airline Condor, the young turtles arrived in Seychelles accompanied by Mr Dirk Hausen of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation and Mr Michael Schüler of Hessicher Rundfunk TV. They were greeted by Ronley Fanchette of the Ministry of Environment, Dr. David Rowat and Elke Talma of MCSS, Alain St. Ange of the Seychelles Tourism Board, Dr Jimmy Melanie from the Seychelles Veterinary Clinic and a film crew from the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation.

The turtles in their transit box, photo Elke Talma

After an 8 hour flight, with no food nor drink since 5pm Seychelles time the day before, the turtles passed their veterinary inspection. While the original plan was to released them immediately, Elke and David managed to convince the authorities that it would probably be best to allow the turtles to acclimatise to our warmer climate…also at an average length of 20cm it seemed murderous to drop them onto a reef to be fed on by large fish and any resident sharks! Usually turtles of this size would be safely hiding in seaweed mats floating in mid-ocean, far away from toothy predators...

Unfortunately, Seychelles is not equipped to deal with rescued marine animals but luckily there is a Black Pearl Farm on Praslin Island with salt water ponds large enough that would be a suitable temporary home for the repatriated turtles. A few quick phone calls and the owners of the farm confirmed they were happy to accept these new residents on a temporary basis.

But how to get them there, especially with such a large welcoming committee! Captain Donn Du Preez of the Seychelles Defence Force and his Twin Otter, Casper, came to the turtle’s rescue once again. Within 2 hours, Captain Du Preez and his trainee pilot, Private Arshile Uzice, were ready for the island hop, graciously giving up their day off from hunting Somali Pirates.

The turtle box being loaded into Casper, photo Elke Talma

After being measured and photo-ID’ed by Elke, the Famous Five were released into their temporary home. It was heart warming to see them swim off to the other end, and shortly after begin feeding on the algae and invertebrates growing in the pond.

Dirk saying his last goodbye to one of the young turtles, photo Elke Talma

The turtle’s will be under the care of Victorin Laboudallon of the Ministry of Environment on Praslin for the next two weeks before being released into their natural habitat. During his interview with Michael, Victorin thanked the German people for returning our natural heritage and offered to name them after five German cities.

Young turtles inspecting their new home, photo Elke Talma

After a quick Google search, Elke has already picked out some names:
1. Berlin (a.k.a Bernie)
2. Munich (a.k.a Moo)
3. Hamburg (a.k.a Hammie)
4. Cologne (a.k.a Col)
5. Frankfurt (a.k.a Frankie)

Using images to help conserve endangered marine animals

Newspaper article from Seychelles Nation (30.11.2009)

Identifying individual animals over a period of time can provide information on population size, and individual survival amongst other things and as such is a key tool for conservation. But how do you identify animals that basically look alike?

The Marine Conservation Society, Seychelles (MCSS) in collaboration with Ministry of Environment and the Kelonia Marine Turtle Observatory in Reunion, recently held two workshops funded by Mangroves for the Future for scientists and the public, explaining how photo-identification can be used on turtles and whale sharks.

Whale sharks are regularly visitors to Seychelles waters and in 1997 MCSS set up a long term monitoring programme to help learn more about these elusive creatures. Initially, sharks were identified with marker tags giving each tagged animal a unique and easily recognisable number. Later, however, a photo-identification technique developed for ragged-tooth sharks in South Africa that used the pattern of spots on the sides of the sharks was shown to be effective in identifying individual whale sharks also.

The area found to be most suitable, is the area behind the last gill slit on each side (see photo). Photographs of this area, which include the top and bottom of the last gill slit and the edge of the pectoral fin, provide ‘landmark’ points that allow the image to be digitally ‘fingerprinted’. These fingerprints can then be used to rapidly identify the individual sharks using a special computer program (I3S).

The MCSS has built up a database containing over 13,000 images of whale sharks taken around Seychelles and from these they have identified 447 individual sharks over the last 10 years. Of these, 99 sharks have been resighted in multiple years, the longest span being for 4 sharks identified in 2001 and resighted this year. These images and their fingerprints are shared freely with other researchers in the Indian Ocean and also on the global whale shark database and are helping to unravel the mysteries surrounding the lives of this the world’s largest living shark.

The spot patterns on whale shark can be used to identify individual animals in a population, the box shows the critical area needed to get a usable fingerprint. Photo Luke Riley.

In turtle conservation throughout the world, most individual identification is by the use of marker tags and in these species, the easily accessible part of the population is nesting females who come ashore to lay their eggs and can thus be tagged on the beach.

In some places, such as the Aldabra Atoll World Heritage site in Seychelles, juveniles can also be caught on the reef flats for tagging and weighing. Mature adult males, however, are pretty much inaccessible not only because they occur in deeper waters, but also swim much faster and weigh significantly more, making it hard to catch them for weighing, measuring and tagging.

Given these limitations, a number of organisations around the world have looked at ways of using photographs, rather than marker tags, to identify individual turtles. Claire Jean, Project Officer at the Kelonia Marine Turtle Observatory, in association with the Information Technologies department at the University of Reunion, have recently devised a method which uses the number, location and shape of scales from the left and right side of the turtle's head to identify individuals in a population.

Results from Green turtles photographed by divers around Reunion, Mayotte and Glorieuse islands have shown that individual animals can be reliable identified in their foraging grounds using this method.
To date, 60 Green turtles have been identified by researchers at Kelonia, with at least 14 individuals being re-sighted a few months later. Photographs of turtles in Seychelles, submitted by MCSS, have added an additional 36 Hawksbill turtles to this Indian Ocean database.

One of the many Hawksbill turtles photographed in Seychelles waters, the box shows the critical area needed to get a usable fingerprint. Photo David Rowat.

HELP US KEEP TRACK OF OUR ENDANGERED SPECIES:
If you would like to assist with these programmes, please feel free to send us your photographs of whale sharks and turtles. Simply include: your name, the date and location of the photograph and the animal’s behaviour at the time (i.e. feeding, resting, swimming etc.) and we will include it in the rapidly growing database.

MCSS,
PO Box 1299,
Victoria
email: info@mcss.sc
website: www.mcss.sc

Thinking about '10

As I sit my rocker near the fireplace, my mind wanders off to the much anticipated breeding season of 2010.

Most '09 babies have either been designated as holdbacks or have found new homes with other first time keepers or fellow breeders. Empty baby containers abound and glisten as though they were brand new, awaiting the pitter patter of tiny little toes.

New New Year will hopefully bring many exciting young animals to our facility. We plan to try some very interesting combinations of leopard geckos, some tried and true color forms of crested geckos as well as a little first time dabbling with our australian geckos.

What are you planning on working with next year? Will you try to develop a new morph/color strain? Will you refine the beautiful colors of your line bred Carrot Tails? Will you redesign your crested gecko enclosure?

With temperatures cooling down this time of year, now is the time to think about and make plans for next year.

Breaking records with GVI

Since her turtle talk with volunteers of Global Vision Internal (GVI), Elke has been taking GVI volunteers on beach patrols as part of the awareness raising campaign under the MCSS project on “Conservation of turtle rookeries on the developed island of Mahé through increased public awareness and community involvement.” funded by Mangroves for the Future.

To date, 18 volunteers have joined in beach patrols with a number a turtle records being broken.

Brendan Galloway proved that he was NOT an American Superpower after all, when a Hawksbill turtle showed him just how strong Seychellois girls could be! His buddy Vincent Vandergheynst filmed the whole thing! It took over 3 minutes for Brendan to restrain the turtle and in the end Elke only deployed one tag and had to forgo measuring, as she was feeling sorry for the poor turtle.

Proof that turtles are stronger than Americans, photo Vincent Vandergheynst.

Edvan Loh and Yvonne Phillips met the stupidest turtle of the season, who nested on Anse Forbans. She laid her 158 eggs in the open, mid-beach and near a busy road. Being clearly visible from the road, she drew quite a crowd which Elke kept at bay, armed with her recently laminated Turtle Watchers Code of Conduct.

Turtle tortures conservationist by nesting mid beach on a hot, humid day, photo Elke Talma.

Kevin Jackson and Jill Howell had the highest number of turtle tracks recorded to date during the 2009-10 Season, with 20 tracks in total being recorded on a single day.

And last but not least, after 5 years of monitoring Elke finally managed to get a shot of two turtles emerging at the same time! Curtis and Richard Horne were there to enjoy the experience and while they watched one turtle, Elke dealt with the other before coming over to tag their turtle.

In five years of monitoring, this is the 3rd time that Elke has seen two turtles on the same beach at the same time, photo Elke Talma.

Christmas Gift for your Reptile Keeper- 6 Great Ideas

I'ts beginning to look a lot like Christmas
You may be in panic mode already. Been there! Christmas is just around the corner and you don't have any idea what to purchase for your reptile keeping loved one. Not to worry. I have 6 great ideas on what you can find to keep them or their reptiles happy over the holiday season-

# 6-  A reptile setup. You can never have too many reptiles :)  or reptile setups. If they have one already, get them another one. For under $40 you can pick up an nice tank, top, light and a few decorations at your local Reptile Show.

#5- A thermometer. What a great stocking stuffer. Imagine their surprise when they get past the mentos, socks, and oranges. Also, their animals will benefit from them knowing the exact temps in their enclosure. You should be able to find a nice thermometer for around $12.

#4- Magnetic Feeding Ledge.  For any arboreal (climbing) animal. This will give them a high resting area as well as a little shelf to put food/water dishes so your reptile enthusiast does not have to reach all the way down to the bottom of the enclosure. Priced around $18 - $20.

#3- Does your reptile friend enjoy talking about their animals? I bet they cannot wait to show off their prized boa or crested gecko to friends and family. Well make sure Santa brings them a YouTube camera and they will be able to share their enthusiasm with the world! Spend a little more and really make their day (and your day when you borrow it for the family). Look around and you can find one under $99.

#2- If they are a reader, you cannot go wrong with finding them a great reptile book. Here is a trick to find books at sometimes 1/4 the cost! Go to http://amazon.com and look under used books. I found two Australian Gecko books last year about this time. Yes, I bought myself a couple of presents  :)   Julie Bergman (click on book to the left) has a great day gecko book.


And the #1 gift you can purchase for your reptile loved one.....

A Supreme Gecko of course!  We have some wonderful animals and would enjoy helping you find one that would make the perfect present. In fact, someone is getting a pair (male and female) of P. pictus for a loved one. Of course they will not be in this person’s stocking- we will be shipping out after Christmas but I am sure they will be pleasantly surprised.

Maritime School joins in turtle conservation effort

Year 1 students from the Advanced Fisheries class at the Maritime Training Centre joined Elke on the beach for a half day Clean-up activity. The field trip was organised by their Marine Organism lecturer, Vanessa Zialor, who being a local plankton taxonomy expert, has been assisting MCSS for a number of years with their whale shark monitoring programme.

Shareefa Cadeau instructing her class mates about the Turtle Watchers Code of Conduct from the MCSS “mobile class room”, photo Elke Talma.

After a short briefing about turtles, the team of 13 students, 2 Environment officials, Vanessa and Elke began collecting rubbish while hoping desperately to see a nesting turtle - none showed up! They were, however, unexpectedly rewarded with some Hawksbill hatchlings, found while collecting rubbish in the bushes. The nest had hatched a few days ago, with hatchlings emerging from the sand the night before.

For reasons yet to be determined, most of the hatchlings headed inland, despite no obvious signs of light pollution on the deserted beach, with many being killed by a picky predator with a taste for turtle brains!

Grey matter, a tasty snack for some! photo Elke Talma.

Fifty seven dead hatchlings were collected from the bush and of the 28 live hatchlings found, only 22 made it safely to the sea, with the other 6 dying from their head injuries.

Rubbish collecting abandoned while MTC students enjoyed their first hatchling encounter, photo Vanessa Zialor.

A total of 100kg of rubbish was collected from the beach, making the beach just that little bit safer for hatchlings and their nesting mothers.

From left to right, Samia Meme, Shareefa Cadeau, Yannick Chang-Tive, Maritza Jeannie and Trevor Vidot proudly show off their bounty, photo Elke Talma.

After a hard morning on the beach, many complaining about the heat and lack of shade, the students settled on a neighbouring beach for a well deserved lunch in the shade.

Students taking a well deserved break, photo Elke Talma.

A parting gift for Claire, MCSS style!

Turtle hatchlings, a welcome surprise after a long walk, photo Elke Talma

MCSS would like to extend a well deserved “thank you” to Claire Jean of Kelonia for joining us in Seychelles and presenting her project on photo-Identification of turtles in two local workshops entitled “Using images to help conserve endangered marine animals”.

During her time in Seychelles, Claire spent a few days with Nature Seychelles, under the Seychelles/Reunion regional corporation agreement, showing the rangers of the Cousin Nature Reserve how to deploy nest temperature logger. While on Cousin, she saw more than 5 nesting turtles!

With the limited nesting population on the developed island of Mahe, due to over-exploitation, poaching and loss of nesting habitats, MCSS could not compete…or could we?

Not to be outdone, Elke invited Claire and some of her friends on a turtle patrol in the South of Mahe and managed to surprise them with some Hawksbill hatchlings - 198 in total and a first for Claire!

Claire with her first hawksbill hatchlings, photo Elke Talma