Our Story:
I mentioned several times that I wanted a pet turtle. Unfortunately, due to the salmonella scare in the 70's, it is still illegal to sell turtles in North Carolina. It's a short drive from where I live to SC, where selling turtles is legal, but I never went through with it. Finally, I mentioned wanting one in front of the right person who told me her family was wanting to give theirs away! I was told that they were easy to take care of. All I'd have to do is drop in a few sticks, and change the water in the terrarium and everything would be peachy keen!
I wanted to name my new pet "Donatello" after my favorite Ninja Turtle, but I found this site and discovered that my turtle appeared to have female characteristics! When I told my grandmother about my new pet, she told me I should call her Donnatella. I decided to just go with Donna. I soon discovered, through this site, that this poor turtle had been mistreated from day one, not just by her previous owner, but the previous owner before them! I questioned them as to her age and what she had been kept in. The best I could piece together was that she was about five years old, and had never been in anything but the foot long terrarium! Five years without basking!? Five years without anything to eat but Reptomin!? FIVE YEARS WITHOUT SWIMMING!? How had she survived? I immediately began making preparations to set up a tank (once again using this site), and took her to a herp vet (an hours drive one way!) Amazingly, the vet said she looked very alert, clear nose, clear eyes, only problems were slight pyramiding, and a bit of a soft shell on the back plates near her tail. The vet also said her size looked more like a 3 year old than a 5 year old! I then set up her tank complete with basking lamp, and moved her in. At first she seemed in shock over the difference, but swam like she had been doing it forever! Nature is so amazing! I'll never forget the first time I walked in and saw her scuttle down, back into the water, and I knew she had been basking! I was so happy! Now she lives in her 55 gallon tank, eats a diet mostly consisting of Turnip Greens and Reptomin Sticks, with the occasional carrot shreds and the rare treat of dried krill and/or dried shrimp. She is now about four inches long (her shell, she is actually longer) and appears very healthy and energetic. I love her!
Here are some pictures:
She lets me pet her head
Basking on her rock
Making a break for the water!
Playing in bubbles
Basking and LOVING IT!
Thanks guys!
Fryman86
