Be sure you know how much work a small pet will take!

My sweet little turtles, Yertle and Myrtle, do no require much daily work. They don't need to be walked or played with. They don't need any training. There are no litter boxes or dishes to be cleaned. You don't need to sweep around their tank (well, actually, I do, since Kiki lives in the same room). I just need to check on them and feed them.

But when I have to clean out the tank- it is the most time consuming pet-related thing that I have to do. These are the steps I must take:

1. Take out the turtles
2. Convince my brother to watch the turtles
3. Scoop out/ siphon as much of the water out as I can
4. Take out all the gravel
5. Dump out the dirty water
6. Rinse out the tank outside
7. Rinse out the gravel outside
8. Spray the filter foam/cartridge with the hose until clean
9. Clean out the filter and run water through it
10. Pore the gravel into the tank and spread it out evenly
11. Dump water out of a kettle into the tank (this takes three trips)
12. Put the turtles back in the tank
13. Put the filter cartridge/foam back in and put the filter in the tank
14. Plug the filter in (and prime it most of the time)

Gone are the days when I could just rinse out a fish bowl and some marbles.... the point of all this is that you need to know how much time a small pet will take. Many people do not research this, and that it how small pets end up abandoned, or in a shelter, or suffering in dirty cages.

By the way, my turtles are very much worth it! :)

The Great Escape

Today something incredible happened!

It all started when I noticed that my turtle tank had a leak. I desided to move the hermit crabs into the leaking tank and put the turtles into the other tank.

I asked my brother to watch over the turtles (which were in a small container with out a lid.) He desided that it would be a better idea to put a heavy book over the container (leaving a crack for air.)

At least half on hour later I was shocked to find a turtle in the hallway! I found the other one crawling under my desk!

Some how, the turtles had pushed the book off the top of the container, climbed out, and some how survived falling off my desk!

My desk is nearly 2.5 feet off the ground and it is incredible that they could have survived falling that far with no injuries at all.

The moral off this story: Make sure your pets can never escape! They are better at it than you might think.

The Feeder Fish Experiment or Why I Shall Never Become a Farmer

I decided to do something I have wanted to do for a long time: feed small goldfish and minnows to Yertle and Myrtle. I bought five comet goldfish and five rosy red minnows. They were 13 cents each. I put the fish in a five gallon tank (it used to be for the turtles but I moved them into a ten gallon).

After a short time I put the smallest fish into the turtle tank. Soon the chase was on! We all crowded around to watch. The fish was caught and eaten. I felt sorry for the fish.

Since I didn't expect the fish to live long, I had no filter for the fish tank. In order to aerate the tank, I poked holes in a container, filled it with water, and placed it on the top edge of the tank.  When the water drips into the tank, it mixes air into the water.

That evening I dropped another fish into the turtle tank. I left the room for a minute and when I returned, the fish was gone.

Before this, I had been watching the fish. They each seemed to have a different personality, and I was learning to tell them apart.

The next day my brother found the minnow in the turtle tank. It was unharmed. The minnow had been hiding somewhere in the tank. The turtles ignored it, so I returned the minnow to the fish tank.

Today I fed another minnow. There was not even one lunge at it. The minnow eventually found a hiding place. When I put this minnow where the turtles could see it they still ignored it.

It looks like the fish have taken up a longer residence here than I thought. I have gotten attached to them. I like one red and white goldfish with orange on its long tail best. My brother likes a black and gold fish. I have even gone so far as to give them names!

My Pets

                                       
On New years one of my plans was to buy a bird. I was able to get one that same day! My brother and I had already picked out the name Kiki (named after the bird in the Enid Blyton children's book series). Kiki is a beautiful violet factor budgie. Budgies are often called "parakeets" but the correct term is "budgerigar" or "budgie" for short.
  Kiki was tamed very quickly and loves to perch on my finger, shoulder, or head. So far Kiki has been a wonderful pet.
  Budgies are great pets for people who want a pet that is small, adorable, and easy to care for.

                                                
Yertle and Myrtle are my baby painted turtles.  I think they are the western sub- species. They love to eat. Especially when crickets are on the menu!   They are not afraid of people, having been caught probably the day they hatched. They eat out of my hand or out of a small lid.
  I caught them crossing a bicycle road mostly dried out. Since then they have grown far bigger and will probably outgrow their tank soon.
  Painted turtles can live up to 55 years in the wild and longer in captivity! I hope that they live a long, happy life with me.




I hope to post a lot more pictures soon!