UPDATE'S, Where are you in life, and your move to Maine (Gouldsboro: oil, land)

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by boonskyler

Just got a called from the contractor in Ellsworth yesterday, he said the posts are up and hope to get post & Beam structure up by this week if the weather permitted.

Our small Post & Beam house is build on concrete slab will have styrofoam under slab, walls and under the roof.

Will have natural light coming from sky lights and windows.

Where?.

This is back an forward so many time, on Graham Lake in Waltham or on 1A in Ellsworth.

My heart want to build on the lake, we have the home site clear the septic design is in place. BUT

to bring the electric in from the front of the property to home site will cost about $ 40-50k base on Bangor Hydro Electric.

Solar is so expensive, even with willing to cut back on electric usage.
We used to use average 4000 kw per month in Miami, here in VA i managed to cut it back to about 1000 kw per month.
In Maine i plan to cut it down to about 600 kw per month, 20 kw per day. that will be very difficult to do.
to generate and store the electric for that usage, the minimium system i will need is 5 kwh system , that about $50k.
< the number on solar system is my understand from reading may not be correct>

well some day i will have a house on the lake.

We build on Ellsworth, drive way is about 100 feet from 1A and they said 1A is keep snow clear in the winter.

? basement or no basement.
from this Maine forum, i want basement. BUT

The house is build on top of Ledge, to build a basement there would be very expensive, i would love to have stone basement, if some one can give me a fixed price and with out have to come back with concrete to level the floor or plump the wall. It would be a nice Vegie/wine cellar.

? how to heat Maine house

This is the most difficult decision for us, from i gather from Maine forum, the heating oil could cost from $4000-8000 per season. That is a lot money, our electric bill in Fl for AC, hot water, pool pump and all other electric stuff is at the low end of the heating oil.
In VA here we cut back a lot, drop down to about 1/4 - 1/3 of that number for heating and cooling and all other elec stuff.

This is what i have plan for Maine house;

Wall fan heater in the bed rooms, the installer said it should maintain 58-60 F,
and it will NOT run none stop.

wood stove for the living area, and duct less heat pump for the lazy day.
The manufactory claim it will work when outside temp is 0* F. It also serve at the aircond., wife insist that.

I thanks, MW on motivate me to split wood faster, it used to take me 20 mins to split a log, in an hour i may get about 12 peices.
one day i read her post she went out for an hour or two got a cord of fire wood.

Glad your place is coming together boonskyler!

[mrs1885]

Why do you have them? Why don't you donate them to a zoo? I've never heard of anyone having such humongous turtles in their home!!!! lol I'm awed mrs1885!! Truly!!!

They are only indoors in the winter. Can't tolerate anything below 60*. They're actually very similar to dogs in personality. I enjoy them more than my dogs.

Oh - they are very, very over-populated in the US. All three of mine came from a rescue group. No zoo will take them. If I lived in a warmer area I'd do rescue for them actually. It's quite sad. People breed them and have clutches of up to - and occasionally over - 100 hatchlings. They sell them at the size of a quarter to people that don't realize how big they'll get. Then when they are too large people just let them go in the backyard. Seldom do they ever live through their first winter; just freeze to death.

This tortoise thing is amazing to me. I guess because I've never had one as a pet, perhaps? How aware are they as far as being a pet? Are they completely oblivious to you other than getting food, or do they react sort of in a trainable way? I don't know what I mean... I guess sort of like, coming to you when you put food out or lifting their head up so you can pet it? Stuff like that. Fascinating!!! I've never had one and never known anyone who had them. When I was a kid, I knew other kids who had those little baby ones in fish tanks. My parents wouldn't let us ever have them as they said they spread germs. ??? As I became a parent, I read about the little ones have salmonella and little kids playing with them and not washing their hands would contaiminate them and make them sick w/ salmonella poisoning. Very interesting topic!

Yep, the water turtles can give you salmonella. I guess if you came across a wild tort it might be able to give you salmonella as well?? All of mine have annual trips to the vet, just like the dogs. They get wormed and are kept in very clean environments. You're less likely to get sick from them than you are the dogs. Fewer diseases or parasites are transmittable from them to humans than from dogs to humans.

They're really all different, just like other animals. My oldest female is incredibly social. She follows us around the house or yard, where ever she is. Eats out of our hand. Begs for attention and to be petted. She loves to have her head and neck rubbed.

The other two aren't as social. They'll both eat from your hand if you have something they want. They follow you out of curiosity. The youngest one lets you do whatever you want to him, as we've handled him since he was a tiny little guy, about the size of a baseball. The oldest we just adopted and was horribly neglected by a previous owner, so he's still getting used to people. But they don't beg for the attention and affection like she does.

For anyone interested in what they look like:








Anyway.......... to move up there long term we'd need a place for them. And I'm not sure how possible that is. We were hoping to have a fenced area for them there like we do here but we'd have to head back south sooner than we'd hoped. And transporting them back and forth when all three are full grown presents some interesting problems.....

So.... back to topic I guess!! LOL! Didn't mean for my monsters to hi-jack the thread. Sorry to everyone else. If anyone else is interested in them more, feel free to DM me. I could talk about them for ages. I just don't want to kill the thread for everyone else......

[island mermaid]

Originally Posted by Maineah

I have heard you can train them to play the piano! Their shells make interesting bathroom sinks too!

And sunglass rims!

[Fern435]

Thank you for posting pictures of your tortoises, mrs1885! I can show them to my daughter so she knows what they look like.

If you are a weird tortoise lady, then I was a weird tortoise kid! My grandma and aunt drove out to the Mojave Desert and picked up a few tortoises for my sisters and me. This was back in the 1960's, before it was illegal to um, well, steal reptiles from the wild! They would not have done it if it was against the law.

Mine was named 'Little Joe,' after the youngest brother in the TV show "Bonanza." He lived for many years in an outdoor hutch. During the slightly cooler winter months in coastal California (yeah, I know, it doesn't get really cold there!), he hibernated in a cardboard box with an old baby blanket wrapped around him. Had to be sure you labeled the box well so he didn't get accidently tossed out!

My sisters' tortoises dug their way out and took off for Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, or wherever tortoises make their fortune. But mine stayed at home, because I loved him so much!

You have much-loved tortoises. If you cannot keep them when you move to Maine, you might find a reptile place that would adopt them. Tortoises live such a long time!

[CoastalMaine]

Very cool 1885! I had no idea they had the intelligence to 'be' pets. I guess I think of them like I do the iguanas on my dock in Florida.... wild. Thanks for all the info and the pics. I learned something today! I do like the shells. I don't think I'd like to have any as pets though... I actually prefer furry kitty cats, but don't tell my dang dogs!!!!! lol ....'weird tortoise lady?' lololol

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by mrs1885

They are only indoors in the winter. Can't tolerate anything below 60*. They're actually very similar to dogs in personality. I enjoy them more than my dogs.

Oh - they are very, very over-populated in the US. All three of mine came from a rescue group. No zoo will take them. If I lived in a warmer area I'd do rescue for them actually. It's quite sad. People breed them and have clutches of up to - and occasionally over - 100 hatchlings. They sell them at the size of a quarter to people that don't realize how big they'll get. Then when they are too large people just let them go in the backyard. Seldom do they ever live through their first winter; just freeze to death.



Yep, the water turtles can give you salmonella. I guess if you came across a wild tort it might be able to give you salmonella as well?? All of mine have annual trips to the vet, just like the dogs. They get wormed and are kept in very clean environments. You're less likely to get sick from them than you are the dogs. Fewer diseases or parasites are transmittable from them to humans than from dogs to humans.

They're really all different, just like other animals. My oldest female is incredibly social. She follows us around the house or yard, where ever she is. Eats out of our hand. Begs for attention and to be petted. She loves to have her head and neck rubbed.

The other two aren't as social. They'll both eat from your hand if you have something they want. They follow you out of curiosity. The youngest one lets you do whatever you want to him, as we've handled him since he was a tiny little guy, about the size of a baseball. The oldest we just adopted and was horribly neglected by a previous owner, so he's still getting used to people. But they don't beg for the attention and affection like she does.

For anyone interested in what they look like:








Anyway.......... to move up there long term we'd need a place for them. And I'm not sure how possible that is. We were hoping to have a fenced area for them there like we do here but we'd have to head back south sooner than we'd hoped. And transporting them back and forth when all three are full grown presents some interesting problems.....

So.... back to topic I guess!! LOL! Didn't mean for my monsters to hi-jack the thread. Sorry to everyone else. If anyone else is interested in them more, feel free to DM me. I could talk about them for ages. I just don't want to kill the thread for everyone else......

OK the photos got me! I want a tortoise!!!
AlisonL needs to start a tortoise rescue in New Mexico!

[moughie]

I know I am off topic here but....

Hey mrs1885- we own 3 desert tortoises. Out here they are a protected species and you cannot buy them. You have to adopt them and subject yourself and your backyard to an inspection to ensure a safe, toxic free environment.

Very similar looking to your fellas though ours are darker. They live out back and eat leaves, grass, flowers and poop. That's about it!

No special care needed ( my kind of pet!) They brumate ( tortoise version of hibernating ) for 4 months, then wake up hungry and thirsty.

Ours are not social, though once they reach puberty they become extrmeley interested in the opposite sex. So much so, that we "adopt" them out to mate. Our biggest one, Noisy, was so horny that we married him off to a female 3 years ago twice his size and age. Last I heard, hey had 2 litters

[AlisonL]

Originally Posted by Maineah

OK the photos got me! I want a tortoise!!!
AlisonL needs to start a tortoise rescue in New Mexico!

Now now, I do not need to do that. At least, not while I am living in a rental house. Besides I keep busy making kitty blankets for a local rescue shelter.
I see quite a few ads out here for tortoises. I am sure my grandson would love one. Not so sure about my husband.

[mrs1885]

I'm feeling guilty about hi-jacking this thread, so I created a tortoise thread in the pets section for anyone that's interested. I put in more info about the species and about each of my tortoises.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/pets/...ml#post6517354

So, back to topic!!!

BTW Alison - you're in an excellent area for rescuing them.

Cool Moughie!! We've got box turtles that people constantly drop over our fence line thinking they've 'saved' them. Last count we had 5 out there. We've tried to keep them in an area as natural for them as possible and interact as little as we can with them to keep them wild. The sulcatas don't hibernate though. Ugh!! My life would be so much easier if they did!!

[MeganAK]

Back on track...... We are feeling super discouraged on our move to Maine and need encouragement. We are on hold with the economy the way it is. We decided to use our nest egg to pay off our land in Alaska, but that means we can
t move until we sell the land in AK. Well, I restate that, we can move, but can't buy land in Maine until we sell the land in Alaska. And the way things are going, I am just feeling down and not at all optimistic that it is going to work out. If all else fails, we will go ahead and build on our land here, but we were so ready to leave...... ANyway, just feeling discouraged. We had really set our minds on Maine, and now are feeling sad, disappointed, and discouraged with the state of the economy and its affects on our lives, our plans, our future.........