Suizo Report -- Speedbump and Gus


Howdy Herpers,                                                                               10 January 2013

As I'm sure none of you remember, back in January of 2010 I sent out some images of a desert tortoise with some carapace damage--as if it had been run over by an ATV or other vehicle. I have been faithfully visiting its burrow ever since. It did not appear to return in 2011 or 2012.

That is, it was not there during my visits. I'm pleased to announce that on 8 January of this year, it was back.

It is amazing how this resilient tortoise survived what had to be major trauma. I have attached images from 2010, and 2013.

Also amazing is one of our Black-tailed Rattlesnakes, CM11, "Gus." He has been visible with every visit this winter, and completely out basking on 6 January (See image 3). While this behavior could be a bad sign, I somehow believe that Gus is like one of those studs that you see in the stands at football game with his shirt off in cold weather. Time will tell. For now, I'm going to keep my thoughts righteous and pure, and presume that all is well with Gus.

Everything else is sitting tight out in paradise. We're about to experience some VERY cold weather this weekend. It will be interesting to see what Gus does in extreme cold.



Image 1: Speedbump, January 2010

Image 2: Speedbump, January 2013


Image 3: The mighty Gus, 6 January, 2013
Best to all, roger