Adam has some relatives visiting from out of town, so today all of us got together for a meal at his grandparents' house. Well, yesterday, the relatives found a small turtle, and kept it, realizing that it might be fun for the kids to look at. As you can imagine, they were thrilled with it. They looked at it, held it, put it in a bowl with water, named it, and begged for mommy and daddy to allow them to keep it.
I was hesitant, but outnumbered. I've agreed to keep it temporarily. Basically, until the novelty of having a turtle wears off. I realize that I'll end up being the primary caregiver for this little animal. I've put him in a fishbowl that we already had, along with some seashells, some colored rocks, and an octopus with a sign that says "No Fishing." We stopped by Walmart and spent $2 on turtle food. (He hasn't eaten a bite.) I've also put a piece of lettuce in his bowl. (He hasn't eaten a bite of that either.) Great. Now I have another picky eater on my hands. Just what I need.
But...the kids are happy. That's what everything boils down to anyway, right?
(P.S. If any of you out there have successfully kept a turtle alive for more than a few days and have some suggestions for me, feel free to let me know!)
Ohhh...he's so cute!
ReplyDeleteThis must be turtle weekend. On Friday my hubby stepped on something hard in the yard. When he picked it up to see what it was, it was a turtle! A red slider too, but much larger than Tuck! The kids had a good time playing with it in the yard an trying to gently coax it out. He spent the night in our kitchen, but only because I just so happened to know of a friend who was looking for a male to join her female. She came and picked him up on Saturday, off to his new home and wife to be spoiled on shrimp!
Apparently turtles are primarily carnivores, and especially enjoy shrimp. Also something I read is that like most reptiles they are temperature sensitive and need to have a regular place to warm themselves like a rock under an incadesant light bulb. They breathe air and need to have access to it while they sleep so having a perch they can climb and cling to or keeping the water level low enough for them to stick their nose out while they rest on the bottom is good.
There is lots of good info online. Have fun!