Turtles on the loose!

[Regel]

The strangest thing happened this past Christmas. My note book was left open and many of my photo's started popping up as a screen saver function kicked in. A couple of my son's friends saw some pictures I had taken of Painted Turtles sunning themselves and asked me if I like turtles. I smiled and said "Yes I think they are kind of neat. Why do you ask?" They responded with "Because we are going to get you a pair for christmas." "Ok" I say. I didn't think for a minute that they would. A few days before christmas they showed up. Little did I know that my own son Chris as well as Theresa and Dave would actually spend close to fifty dollars on making this come true. They came in and went to work on an aquarium I already own that had been sitting in the basement lifeless. Dust and two years worth of neglect had made it a dirty task but within minutes they had it fit for habitation.

 

I half filled the 20 gallon aquarium and allowed the young people to set the sunken destroyer into the tank and spread out the gravel. I made sure the water was warm so the little guys would feel comfortable. They placed the two red eared sliders in the tank and left soon after. Their parting question to me was "Do you like them?"

I smiled and after a short silence I said "I love it. Thank you."

 

I was a biology student in university and studied many different animals and eco systems, but honestly I knew very little about these tiny creatures. So I did what any responsible pet owner should do I Goggle searched the subject matter.

 

I found out many things about the pair I had received. For one thing with the proper care and living conditions they could easily live thirty years or more and grow to an amazing 12 inches across the length of their carapace. They eat a variety of things vegetation as well as animal protein (meat). I spent the better part of an hour an read article after article on the care of Red Eared Sliders.

 

The next day I went an bought a full spectrum light bulb that would give the little terapins the UV-a and UV-b light they need to properly develop their shell. It was easy to get the filter pump and heater going again. Bit by bit I created an interesting enviroment for these two with a sunning spot I had created out on flat rocks. Out of necessity I had to bring the water levels up to within two inches from the top so the heater would function properly.

 

Over next few days Dave and Theresa would come over an enjoy the two as they swam around chasing the guppies I had introduced (feeder fish). All was well and the turtles had settled in or so I thought. One of the turtles "Crazy Legs" they had nick named it was extremely active. The other slighty smaller turtle would dive to the bottom and tried to bury itself in the gravel when ever anyone approach the tank.

 

One thursday morning around 5:55 am I rose turned on the light in my office and offered them some food. I left the top open and watched as the two swam up and greedily gobbled up the dried pellets. I was taking my youngest son to a 7:00 am hockey practice so I had to hurry. I left the top up and left for the area. A couple of hours later I returned and looked in the aquarium. One turtle was visible the other was hidden. A searched from various angles and still one turtle. Some of the structure in the tank looked like it had shifted and suddenly the thought crossed my mind that the stones and gravel may have shifted and trapped one of them. I was panic stricken. I rolled up my sleeves and started removing rocks one my one. Sifting through the gravel with my fingers I kicked up a fair bit of debris. With almost all of the structure out of the tank I could no longer deny the other possibly. One of the turtles was gone.

Edited January 14, 2006 by Regel

[Regel]

"CHris!!!" I bellowed like a mad man. "Did you move one of my turtles?" My nineteen year old son was not even out of bed yet at 10:40 am. "No" he said weakly in his froggy morning voice. What the hell is going on here? I thought to myself. The water was two inches below the top of the aquarium even standing tippy toe on the platform I had constructed the turtle would have to stretch up and still make up the half inch he was short. Can turtles leap? An even better question was could it do a chin up?

 

I couldn't see any logical explaination for its disappearance. My anger and frustration was clouding my thinking, just like the view in the tank all murky and disturbed. I had asked my son Joseph if he would help me look. I knew Joseph's eyesight was better than mine not to mention his knees.

 

To find a turtle you have to think like a turtle. My office is aprroximately an eleven by fifteen foot room and within three feet is the door leading to the rest of the house. "If I was the size of that turtle and I fell to the floor I might be days just trying to get out of this room." I told Joseph. "Help me look" I paused "...please."

"Sure dad."

 

Over the next sevral minutes we moved boxes and bags full of samples and then the couch. I had started out of the room and walked through the laundry room into the kitchen, when suddenly I hear "Found him!"

 

"Don't pick him up Joseph". I went over and gingerly picked up the little frightened creature. No head, no legs no tail, it was if he had not only left the aquarium but had also managed to escape his shell. As I raised him to eye level I realized that he was still in there and quickly placed him back into 20 gallon tank.

 

He drifted lifelessly down to the bottom and came to rest. I was looking carefully to see if he was distressed. Within a few seconds he began to poke out his head and swim about.

 

I breathed a sigh of relief. I took the bottle of Purel and squirted some of the antibacterial cleanser on my hands as well as my sons. "Seminella (or Sam and Ella) are a nasty couple." I said to my son with a smile.

"Good job Joseph and thank you. Now wash your hands wih this."

Edited January 13, 2006 by Regel

[WrenWind]

*smiles* This story reminds me of the turtles my bother had when we were kids. Thanks for sharing.

[Regel]

"Wow! They got huge!" my son Chris said. "Yes that's what happens when you keep the temperature over 90 degrees give them a full spectrum light bulb and feed them all they can eat." I said with a smile and a wink.

 

The silver dollar sized pet shop turtles I had received at Christmas had indeed grown. The now are approximately the same size as the opening of my morning coffee cup. Did I mention I like coffee?

 

"You sure have a lot of guppies," Chris continued "...did you buy some more?" The feeder fish I had bought had been breeding rapidly. The original fifteen that I had bought had twindle down to seven and then slowly rebounded to number seventeen. "No Chris since I put the plastic plants in the tank they have better cover, plus they reproduce like crazy." We both smiled and continued to watch the aquatic antics.

 

The turtles continue to follow us back and forth from one side of the tank to the other. The days of diving for cover when ever a person entered the room had passed. Now it seems that they anticipate a feeding any time someone enters my office and they were currently dog paddling at the surface churning up the water. Dam guppies also seem to know its feeding time and greedily rush to pick up the bits and pieces the turtles leave them.

 

Turtles are messy eaters. The dried fish pellets I feed them are often snapped into smaller crumbs. The fish seem to be thriving living off the left overs that these two submersible tanks leave them. Prehistoric is the best way to describe them.

 

"They aren't cute anymore." my wife commented as she entered the room. "How can you say that?" I said mockingly. "I bet their mother would disagree."

 

"They are ugly now, before they were cute and now they are huge." she continued. "WHat are you going to do when they get too big for that aquarium?"

 

I already knew what I wanted to do but selling the idea of a backyard pond would not be easy. " Not sure." was my response and a bald face lie. "Maybe we'll have soup one night and the answer will be served to you." The shove I got was not unexpected. I smiled and used the momentum to leave the room.

[Sweetcherrie]

O_O Cruel!

 

You make us follow the lifes of these buggers, and then you plan to cook them? Bad Regel!

[WrenWind]

*giggles*

[Regel]

Well Franklin and Elvis could be Francis and Elvis. Perhaps even Franklin and Elvina, but its obvious that courtship behaviour has begun. This strange face to face ritual where one turtle flutters his front claws in the others face can only be that. They have grown to trust me and get very excited whenever they see me approach. Gone are they days when they would dive to the bottom of the tank and try to burrow into the gravel. Strange how the two aquatic reptiles have adapted to the limited space. They are almost a year old and I have to decide on what to give them for their birthday. What do you give turtles for a treat? The floating platform I made out of wooden blocks could be vastly improved perhaps I will start there. A stable and dry platform for them to sun themselves would be it.

 

These two continue to grow in a steady perceivable march. Their diet has not varied much but I am surprised at just how big they are. I haven't measured them recently and in truth I don't believe I have handle either of them since the infamous escape. This summer perhaps I will start a small pond, just for my own amusement. I will need to locate it somewhere in the backyard that gets some sunlight but also some shade. They will soon be too big to be left in the one tank and seperation would not be acceptable.