Rescued from the glass collection centre
Tortoiseshells are great
They are not stones - they have character
When animal keeper Steffi talks about her tortoises, her voice becomes gentle.“Each one has its own character,” she says. “Some are curious, others reserved. They are primordial rocks, but not walking stones; and they are personalities with a lot of feeling.”
After hibernation, our tortoises are now awake again. They will soon be allowed to move into the spacious outdoor enclosure. Their little houses and hiding places have already been prepared. But before they can move in, they still need a health check – and the slow integration of five new tortoises into the existing group. Because even tortoises need time to get used to new friends.
Saved from the glass collection centre
Gobi, Sahara, Atacama, Sonoca and Miro – these are the names of five lucky Greek tortoises. They were abandoned in a wooden crate next to a glass container in Munich. Without water, without food – survival would hardly have been possible.
An attentive woman discovered them there by chance. They were lying close together – motionless, but alive, she said. She took the turtles home, but they didn’t want to eat. The rescuer didn’t know what to do, so she enquired at Gut Aiderbichl.” And so Gobi, Sahara, Atacama, Sonoca and Miro became Aiderbichlers – with a new lease of life under the sun.
200 million years of wisdom
Turtles are real time travellers. They have lived on Earth for around 200 million years – significantly longer than humans. There are over 300 species, many of which are threatened with extinction.
Greek tortoises, like our five new flatmates, are popular pets. But their needs are often underestimated. Yet they can live to be over 100 years old if they are given the right environment. The oldest tortoise on earth was a tortoise in India called Adwaita. She died in 2006 at the age of 255. Harriet, a tortoise on the Galapagos Islands, lived to be 177 years old. Such aged tortoises are not the norm, but they show humans who has more staying power.
What turtles really eat
A lot of space, sun, protection and a species-appropriate diet are the be-all and end-all. Turtles are gourmets – and herbivores. What should be on their menu? Wild herbs such as dandelion, plantain, nettle, yarrow or mallow. Kein Obst, kein Gemüse, kein Hundefutter!
The wrong diet can lead to serious illnesses: Gout, liver and kidney damage or deformed carapaces. That’s why the food is distributed in the enclosure – so that the animals can forage for themselves. And once a week? There’s nothing – a fasting day modelled on nature.
Important: Always have fresh water to hand – and avoid poisonous plants such as yew, boxwood or angel’s trumpet.
Ein neues Leben im eigenen Tempo
You will soon be able to visit Gobi, Sahara, Atacama, Sonoca and Miro in our lovingly designed outdoor enclosure. Perhaps you will see one of them sunbathing – or slowly but determinedly heading for a fresh dandelion leaf.
And perhaps you will understand what animal keeper Steffi means when she says: “When you meet a tortoise, you meet peace itself.“
"Everyone who works with love and insight has a kind of armour against people's opinions, especially in their sincere love of nature and art. Nature is also strict and to a certain extent harsh, but it never deceives and always helps us to move forward."
– Vincent van Gogh
By: Gisela Pschenitschnig, Gut Aiderbichl
