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Spring 2009

Index
- New comers
- Old Friends
- Moving on
- Birthday Update
- Workshops & Parties
- Breeding Projects
- Funky Facts
- Jungle Jokes
- Summary Letter

New comers,
This spring has overwhelmed us with animals, as you will see ...

Snowy & Natterjack
Snowy and Natterjack are a pair of chipmunks. Natterjack is coloured naturally and Snowy is albino (white with pink eyes). They came to the sanctuary in cages far too small for them, and as they are both males they had to be kept separately or they would fight.

They were showing signs of stereotypic behaviour, and had far too much energy for the space they were in. Stereotypic behaviour is when an animal displays a repetitive motion out of boredom or restlessness, such as rocking or pacing.

As soon as we could we ordered aviaries, and put them in nice spacious enclosures, which they could run and climb about in. We scatter their food on the ground to replicate foraging behaviour, and make them exercise a bit more. They have settled in well, although they do sometimes relapse into their stereotypic behaviours. This is common in animals who have been kept in unsuitable conditions for extended periods of time.

Sting
Sting is an Imperial Scorpion. He was brought to the sanctuary from a pet shop who were getting rid of their animals. Sting is a very feisty character, and likes to stomp around guarding his home. Sadly, as he was still quite young, he died soon after arriving at the sanctuary. In many species the mortality rate for invertebrates is often very high.

Lily
Lily is an Indian Ornamental Tarantula. She is very big and very beautiful, and was brought to the sanctuary with Sting. As she is much older, she settled in well and has truly made herself at home!

Isis
Isis is a 5 foot long Nile Monitor. She has had an unfortunate start to life as she used to be beaten and mistreated, leaving her with burn marks on her left side. She was re-homed to a pet shop through Beaver Waterworld, where she quickly outgrew her enclosure. She was then brought to the sanctuary, and even though she had many homes previously, still didn’t have a name. We named her Isis after the Egyptian Goddess, as she is from the river Nile! She is very beautiful and very aggressive towards humans (with good reason, given her history!). We are letting her settle in, and plan to start target training her. We will update you on her progress in the next newsletter!

Dorak
Dorak is an Argus Monitor. He is very big for his species, measuring 5ft in length! He was brought to a pet shop after his owner emigrated to Australia. Dorak then outgrew his enclosure and was brought to the sanctuary. He used to be harness trained but has had limited contact with humans and is now not as tame as he used to be. In spite of this he is still very friendly for his species, and even though he has a hide he feels very comfortable sleeping either in his water bowl, or out in the open! We have also started target training him and we will keep you up dated on his progress.

Slink & Gemini
Slink and Gemini are a male and female pairs of Berber skinks. They were brought to the sanctuary because the owner no longer had any room for them. They are very friendly and even though they are naturally a very fast species they like being handled and are very calm. In the mornings they warm up and bask under their heat lamp, then they spend their days and evenings buried under the sand.

Sol & Luna
Sol and Luna are 2 terrapins they came to the sanctuary as they were making too much noise, and they needed a bigger enclosure. 1 month after their arrival, Sol had an accident where she got stuck below the water. We found her not moving and put her in a recovery tank were she got her breath back, and luckily survived! We have since redesigned the enclosure, so that we won’t be having any more accidents again!

Madam Octa
Madam Octa came to the sanctuary due to lack of space. This is understandable, as she is the biggest tarantula in the jungle room. As she is a salmon pink tarantula, it is possible she will reach the size of a dinner plate!

Cockroaches
A breeding group of Madagascan Hissing Cockroaches have been brought to the sanctuary. We named the boys Nigel, and the girls Nellie. These harmless animals are actually very fastidious cleaners, grooming themselves after coming into contact with people.

Dudett
Dudett is a female terrapin who came to the sanctuary as the terrapin she was being housed with was attacking her. Due to this she has a stumpy tail, but her bad experience doesn’t seem to have affected her relaxed nature around the other terrapins.

Heather Satan
Heather is a Californian Giant Rabbit. She was brought to the sanctuary because her owners were moving house and did not think it fair to house her without a garden. She is very territorial in her enclosure but once she is out she is quite friendly (provided you don’t have food in your hand!).

Fluffy
Fluffy is a lionhead rabbit and was brought to the sanctuary because the pet shop she was being cared for could no longer afford to keep her there. She is very friendly and also (as her name suggests) very fluffy! She shares her home with Natterjack the chipmunk and they have become very good friends.

Mrs Malcolm & Eva
Mrs Malcolm and Eva came to the sanctuary with Heather Satan. They are two female gerbils, Eva is albino and Mrs Malcolm is beige. They live in a big rat cage full of tubes, levels and toys!

Swirly and Curly
Swirly and Curly came to the sanctuary as they came as part of an unwanted group of offspring. Giant African land snails like Swirly and Curly are both male and female, meaning you can very quickly have a lot of baby snails which need a home!

Gorgie and Cordelia
Georgie is a Silver Fox Rabbit and Cordelia is a brown Rex rabbit. They came to us as they were escape artists in their old home, often burrowing out of the garden to visit their owners nearby school. This mischievous character, along with their friendly and exuberant nature, has made them welcome additions to Jungle Fortress!

Old friends

Renton & Begbie
These two naughty youngsters are growing bigger and bigger everyday, and just as surely as they grow they’re learning too! They love eating, cuddles and giving lots of kisses! They truly show another side to the misunderstood rat that is often overlooked. They’re proving to be an intelligent, feisty and loving pair!

Obituary

As you will know the good comes with the bad, and unfortunately we had to say goodbye to a few of our friends.

Mr Scatty Imerial Scorpion
Mr Scatty was the chubbiest scorpion we housed in the Jungle room. He was also very friendly and harmless, he never stung or pinched. He unfortunately died of old age.

Feisty Mc Feist Imperial Scorpion
Feisty Mc Feist had quite a character. He was very quick and, as his name would suggest, feisty! He unfortunately died of old age.

Sting
Shortly after arriving at the sanctuary, Sting died. It is believed this was due to complications before shedding, a common cause of death in scorpions.

Ab
Ab the pink toe tarantula died after nealy a year at the sanctuary. She gained weight very poorly, often a sign of a naturally weak spider. Her sister, Fab, continues to do well and has moved into a large new tank.

Biggles
Brought to the sanctuary as an unwanted pet, Biggles was a wild caught gecko. Malnourished and nervous, he was badly adapted to captivity and died shortly after coming to the centre. Sadly this is the fate of many wild caught animals, so please check your sources if you are buying an exotic pet.

Birthday update

As you may know, Jungle Fortress Animal Sanctuary’s first anniversary was this January. We celebrated the night on the Rootmaster Bustaurant, a vegan restaurant in East London.

On the night we played a fund raising game, where people looked at a grid and needed to guess which box had a hidden cross behind. We raised £50 playing the game! We spent the money on:

- a ceramic heat emitter for Rocky, £24.49
- fish for the terrapins, £1.00
- vegetables, £10.00
- substrate e.g, wood chips £5, shavings £7, soil £5
Total £52.49

Here are some pictures of the night ...

Workshops and Parties

There has been a lot of interest in our workshops and parties, with our animals meeting lots of new friends! However, due to this interest, if you are thinking of booking with us you must book early to avoid losing your spot!

Breeding Projects

We have set up two breeding tanks for Crickets and Locusts. We want to make sure all the animals at the sanctuary are treated with respect and love. As well as this breeding crickets and Locusts at the sanctuary means we lower our weekly costs, which results us in having more money to spend on enrichment for all the animals at the sanctuary!

Funky Facts

- A rats teeth never stop growing
- An elephant only has 4 very big teeth, and through out its life it uses 6 sets of teeth!
- For every hair that a person has on their head a chinchilla has 50!
- A frog drinks through its skin
- Locusts have ears in their knees!

Jungle Jokes

What happened to the leopard who took a bath 
three times a day?
After a week he was spotless!

How do porcupines play leapfrog?
Very carefully

Summary Letter

Hello!
This spring has been very eventful and we hope that this will continue with every season! We never stop improving the animals’ enclosures and finding new ways to improve their welfare. This means we are constantly updating our website with how your efforts are helping the animals, so check back soon!

This year in particular has started well and we have made huge leaps towards what we want to achieve. Especially as we have been looking for a permanent home for a year now, and we have finally found the perfect place for the animals!

If you would like to help us we have set up many projects for our supporters to sponsor, they are all equally very important. Feel free to have a look at what we are working on, and don’t forget we are always doing something new so keep checking!
We hope you enjoyed reading about what has been going on in the Jungle Room in this seasons News From Atlantis, because we love writing about it!

Thank you so much for your support,
Jamie and Lucie :)