Iron Wolf Farm Sanctuary

Here at IWFS as soon as the weather gets nice I am out cleaning up after old man winter. That can mean anything from picking up sticks and branches to making enclosures larger.

The grass is getting green and the maple trees are tentatively pushing their leaves out in hopes of greeting warm weather. I have been anxiously checking on the new trees I planted last fall hoping they made it through the winter, all but 2 have started to bud.

I will be re-seeding all of the enclosures with a fescue and clover mix and since the weather has been nice I’ve started cleaning the torts houses, walking each enclosures fence line to make sure they are secure and calculating the cost for enlarging exsisting enclosures and putting up new ones.

I have also been cleaning and setting up filters in the ponds, getting them ready for the Map turtle and Blench the Red Eared Slider. I have also started clearing brush and moving a dirt pile in hopes to start working on two new ponds.

Because of the nice weather I was able to put a few of the torts out in their enclosures. The 2nd. day Dave was out he had discovered the den he and Marilyn has started last summer. Marilyn was too busy eating to help with the digging. Bully was busy checking out his soaking pool and Moarla was content soaking up the warmth from the sun. And Winston was doing what he likes best…napping in his house. The other torts weren’t put out yet because of the large areas in their enclosures that had to be re-seeded and fencing that needed to be replaced.

It was brought to my attention that there are so many unwanted and handicapped pigeons in need of homes. Because of this we have decided to give a few a forever home. A friend of IWFS has generously donated a garden shed that we will be renovating into a loft for the pigeons. We will have 3 seperate inside/outside flights for the birds, the first will house pigeons that can fly and the other 2 will hose the pigeons with handicaps.

We have already given a home to 2 handicapped pigeons. Bob is a retired racer who on his way home during a race was attacked by a hawk, he has a small bald spot on his wing. When his original owner didn’t want and the family who took care of him could no longer afford to keep him, we were asked to take him. He is a lovely guy, very healthy and very talkative. His photo is in the ‘Sleeping Dove Loft’.

On the 26th of this month Beanie, another pigeon who had been attacked by a hawk, came to live with us. The hawk had scalped the top of Beanies head, pulling the skin away from his skull. Luckly Beanie had a savior nearby who’s name is Dave E. Dave cared for Beanie until the pigeon was healed, doing a wonderful job and in fact saving Beanies life. Hats off to you Dave! Dave wanted Beanie to be free again and join his flock but because of the head trauma, which has left Beanie with a depth perception problem, Beanie would be hawk bait. Because of the ordinances where Dave lives he cannot have a loft and felt he wouldn’t be able to properly house Beanie. We decided to let Dave know about us and see if maybe we could help and the rest is history. Look for photos in the ‘Sleeping Dove Loft’ album in the future.

I want to send a big “Thank You” to Dave and his wife for donating a 50 lb. bag of pigeon feed, it helps us out tremendously.

The young Ringneck Doves are molting their baby feathersreplacing them with adult plumage. The parents to these young doves laid another clutch but because I don’t want the hen and cock to raise any more babies I replaced the eggs with wooden ones.

I now share my computer room with one of the dove babies who we named Raven. He was being picked on by his clutch mates so I decided to seperate him, he now lives in a large cage and gets plenty of flight time in the room to stretch his wings. Look for his photos in the ‘Sleeping Dove Loft’ gallery.

Unfortunately the weather has too cold for the tortoises to stay outside, they have been brought back into the house but as soon a possible will be back out for the summer.

I will be going back to monthly updates now that the weather is getting warm and we all will be enjoying the outdoors again.

Take Care until next month.

Robin & the IWFS gang.

In November we decided to rent a brush hog mower to cut the tall grass, small saplings, and brush down in our field, with plans on enlarging all of the sulcata enclosures next spring.We will also be adding two more ponds. Blench will be moved to larger, deeper accommodations, while the other pond will have various water plants and be ready in case of a new resident. I also hope to start renovations on a shed to house the animals in year round. This will be an on going project, because at this time the building is just four walls and a concrete floor.

Hi Jordon, I’m so glad to see you are checking in on Winston. He’s doing great and weighs 10 pds. When we weighed the tortoises he behaved the best, the sulcata’s didn’t want to be bothered.

Twice a year- fall & spring- I like to weigh the tortoises and turtles. The younger, smaller torts and turtles are weighed once a month through out their first year. I find that weighing our shelled residents makes it easier for me to keep a step ahead of many possible problems. The weights are then added to each animals folder, making it easier for me or the vet to see where the problem might have started.

Because of the prompting by a friend, who also owns the web hosting site, IWFS has a new look. Joe did a great job too! We have included links to some of the best tortoise & turtle care sites on the web. If you know of someone who owns or is interested in having a shelled friend please recommend any or all of these sites to them.

We purchased a new camera that takes excellent close-ups and as soon as I figure out how to use it I will be posting more photos. I haven’t been able to get clear photos of some of the other residents, so check back to see those.

Since the winter months tend to be dull and boring around here, I will be posting every other month, but I will be adding photo’s to the albums in the gallery.

Don’t forget to sign the guest book and add your comments or questions.

Wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

Robin and the gang at Iron Wolf Farm Sanctuary.

Hello to all,

October is the month for changes. Not only does nature prepare for the deep sleep, here at IWFS we are also busy getting ready for the cold months ahead.

All the tortoises and turtles have been moved to their indoor enclosures, and we are just as busy getting the outside animals settled in.

The grass in the torts enclosures has been mowed one last time, bare spots reseeded, tort pools emptied one last time and put away, houses closed up and the new plants and trees mulched.

You can see new photos of Winston, Louise, Moarla and Wheezy in the photo gallery and new albums have been added for the Cherry Head tortoise pair ,the Red Eared Slider hatchlings and for the birds we have taken in.

Please sign in at the guest book I am very interested in knowing who visits and if you enjoyed seeing our residents. If you have a question about any of them leave a comment and I will answer it to my best ability.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Robin.

Hello All,

As the seasons change, so does the work here at IWFS. Gone are the lazy days of being able to sit and watch the tortoises graze and nap in the sun. Or sitting by the map turtles pond waiting for him to peek up through the lily pads. And of course I can’t forget my dear friend Blench, who eagerly waits for our morning coffee clutch, she’s always ready to hear whats on the days to do list.

I have been busy planting trees , bushes and perennials in the enclosures. Most of them in Winston’s pen due to the fact that yellowfoot’s prefer a shady undergrowth type environment. All the plants that selected are non-toxic.

Winston spent a few days and nights in the house because of the cool weather, but as of today he is back outside enjoying the warm sun. He was brought in because yellowfoots don’t tolerate the cooler temps. very well, unlike the sulcatas who don’t seem to mind if it cools down abit.

We are busy building new indoor accomidations, enlarging existing ones and generally getting ready for winter.

We have also adopted three new residents, the first being a russian tortoisenamed Wheezy. A lovely eight year old girl whos owner decided he didn’t have enough time to spend with her. Since her arrival here she’s been in her outdoor enclosure, learning very fast about going into her heated house at night and coming out to enjoy the sun during the day. I want to thank Wheezy’s owner for giving us her light and the other items for her. Take at look at photos in the gallery of sweet little Wheezy.

The other two newbies are hatchling red eared sliders, they are about the size of half dollar coins. They were bought in China Town in N.Y.C , but after doing some research on how to care for themand learning red ears can grow to 12 inches in length. It was decided that he couldn’t care for them. They were given to Turtle Rescues of Long Island, and since this species is flooding the rescues we made the decision to give them a home.

As of now they are set up in a 20L tank in the house, but in time they will grow and live in the same pond as Blench.

IWFS is running out of indoor space, so I am sad to say we can not take in anymore large tortoises. We are calculating the cost of remodeling our shed and hope to start on it this winter.

Check out the gallery for new photos, I will be adding more of the long time residents.

Don’t forget to check back next month for the fall weigh in and the torts favorite treat…. PUMPKIN.

Tke care and Harm None.

Welcome to our new webblog. I decided to have this site to make it easier on me and those few caring people that made the huge leap and gave their animals a better home. Now all you have to do is log on monthly and find out what all the critters are up too. Check out the gallery to see some of our residents, I will be adding more photos.

We have 3 new kids on the block. First up is Moarla, a male sulcata. Poor Moarla had a rough start in life due to illnesses, but without the loving care of his former owner he would not be here today. Moarla is slightly handicapped, but you would never know it. He is a very happy tort in his outdoor enclosure.

Blench/Speedy, I hope you don’t mind Janice that we changed her name, arrived at our door step Aug. 1st. When my daughter and I opened the box then the container, we heard a loud HISS and found a big Red Eared Slider! Needless to say she was very happy to be put in her quarentine tank. Poor Blench also has a handicap, all four of her feet were badly burned. Thanks to Janice who saved her from the person who did this terrible thing. She is a little piggy and loves to eat! I’ve decided she needs a special pond to suit her special needs. Blench is doing great and not showing any signs of stress.

The newest arrival is Winston, a lovely adult male Yellowfoot tortoise. We picked him up today from a loving owner who could no longer keep him. When we arrived home I put Winston’s carrier in his enclosure, opened the door and waited for him to come out. It wasn’t long before he was checking out every nook and cranny of his new home. When I went to check on him again he was in his house at the door way watching the world go by. I will check on him quite a few times during the day and make sure hes in his house tonight.

I hope this helps to ease your mind and hearts when you read these up dates. Its feeding time here and I have many hungry mouths to feed.

Good bye until next time. Robin.

Fifteen years ago we opened our door to unwanted and neglected animals.

Because Iron Wolf Farm Sanctuary is privately owned and operated, we can only accept a limited number of special animals.

Many of our residents are geriatric, handicapped or just non placable.

Our commitment to these animals means they will never be adopted out or sold.

I will be updating the blog every month, letting former owners know how and what the animals are up to.

We invite you to see a few of our residents in the gallery. I will be updating it with photos of the “new kids” and the animals that are long time residents. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.