Confessions of a Turtle Mom

Ever since moving, there has been a ton going on with the turtles. After Mr. T's incident..you can read about it here. Poor little guy. I am pretty sure he is all better now. Well, when we got into our new house, the boys Mr. T and Max were living in big plastic tubs. We added docks and heat lamps and water heaters to their water but they just were not happy. They were not eating, and like any turtle mom, I was worried about them.  Jake and I were having a hard time deciding what to do for the turtles and how to arrange their living situation. We want to have a pond built in the back yard for them, but that is going to cost a ton of money.....so until then...what do we do!? I had been thinking about it for weeks! I didn't want a ton of tanks all over the house, and thats what our only option came down to for now. haha. So yes, I am one of those people with 3 aquariums in my house now ;) The boys are each in their own individual tank and the girls share one. I never realized how much commitment, money and responsibility turtles take. I think one would be cake, but 4 is a lot of work and time. They are worth it to see their little smiles on their faces.

Max in his tank.

Mr. T in his tank. Right when we put the boys in their own tank, they were loving it. They loved their heat lamps, and plants and love to swim around. It was crazy how right when they got into their new tanks you could tell they were so much happier! And, they eat like crazy now! I love seeing them happy and swimming around. I dont like having all the turtles separated though. I think its important for them to have interaction with each other, but ever since what happened to Mr. T...I think they are to young right now and need some space. And I do love that they are no longer all fighting with each other. I did enjoy them sitting on top of each other though in big turtle piles. That was always so cute seeing all four of them on a dock sitting on top of each other with their legs stretched out getting some fake sun rays. Well, I am glad the turtles are happy for now and doing well. They make me so happy with their cute smiles! Now we need to save money to build a super cool pond in the backyard. 

Turtle Talk with Mr. T

Last Monday, Mr. T had his little episode with getting bitten really bad. He was doing good Tuesday, but not eating. Wednesday late evening, his tank got full of blood again. Poor little guy :( So we took him out of the water, made him a cozy bed till it was morning to take him to the doctor. Thursday Jake had a half day so we could finish up packing and get ready to move so he got to go to the doctors with Mr. T and I. Wow, I cant say enough about how awesome Mr. T's doctor is. She is the neatest lady ever!

We got Mr. T some medicine to hopefully kill the pain and help his infection heal nicely. Also to get his appetite back. I never knew turtles could have medicine. The doctor showed us how to give Mr. T his medicine  I actually think he kind of likes it :) He is really good for Jake every time he gives it to him. (2 times a day) I am so surprised with how affordable turtle doctor visits and medicine are. I was nervous about that, and the prices were really affordable.

Jake giving Mr. T his medicine.

This Monday I had another scare with Mr. T. I thought he was dead. He was not moving and his water in his tank was really frothy. Dont worry, he is totally ok. I think he was playing dead on me. Silly turtle :) Well, the turtles are all doing great! Mr. T is eating again and seems to be himself :)

Turtle Talk with Mr. T.

Wow. This has been quite a week thus far with the turtles. I thought it was quite a week with packing up the house and moving (I have been a stress case), but the turtles were the icing on the cake. I feel like I can somewhat understand how a parent feels. Well, Monday evening, Jake and I were getting ready to go to dinner. I heard lots of noise coming from the turtle tank so I ran to the tank. Then I saw the saddest thing in my life....

So, Its mating season right now. Mr. T is a boy. He got "worked up" and boy turtles dont have room for their "stuff" inside them, so they stick it outside of their body. Sadly this is something they cant help, or fix really quick. It takes time for the blood flow to go down and the big ball that looks like poop to go back in the males body. Well...normally out in the wild the male can run away till this ball goes back in them. In a tank...they are limited. Well, one of the girls in the tank Alfredo, bit Mr. T on this ball (they eat poop all the time). Right when I walked in the room, I saw Mr. T trying to get away, and Alfredo chasing him and bit the ball. Wow.....lets talk about blood everywhere (turtle blood is red), I was screaming...yes this was really scary.

I have never felt so horrible in my life. My cute helpless turtle literally got bitten on his "privates" and blood was everywhere. I cant imagine the pain. Poor little guy. I was so grateful Jake was home. I was also so grateful we were home when this all happened so we could get Mr. T out of the tank from everyone. Jake called the pet hospital right away. They told us what to do to get him through the night, and made an appointment with the doctor for the morning. This was my first experience with a pet doctor so I was nervous. This was new to us all. I mean..what do you do for a hurt turtle?

Well, the Vet said to keep Mr. T out of the tank with his tank mates (for sure!). They also said to help stop the bleeding, make a bath of 1/2 hydrogen peroxide and 1/2 water and keep the turtle in it for 30 minutes. Poor Mt. T did NOT like this at all! Jake was so sweet and held Mr. T the entire 30 minutes and just held his bum in the water so it wasn't to horrible for him. Then we were supposed to keep him dry all night, but have a wet warm rag for his bum to sit on during the night. Mr. T I think was in shock, and hurt so he was running around all over the big tub we put him in. We wrapped him in blankets and turned the lights off and he calmed down. That was good. He was peaceful the rest of the night. We checked on him all night, and he did just fine.

Bright and early, we went to the pet hospital. It was kinda funny filling out paper work for my turtle :) I was shocked at how brave Mr. T was. Normally he only lets Jake and I hold him, and he tries to bite anyone else, but he was so good for the doctor. He also was walking around his tub and hanging out, and the doctor said that was so good.  She also said it was good bleeding stopped pretty quick. She said there is nothing you can do for a hurt pee pee unless he sticks it out again. If it happens again where he gets bit, it would be surgery time. Wow, now thats a lot to think about. I loved the pet doctor! She was a specialist for turtles and wow she was a hoot! She was so fun to be around to. I would like to be friends with her in real life :) She gave some great advice about the turtles and helped me feel better that Mr. T would be ok.

So for now, Mr T. is super vulnerable  He is in a tank by himself. I also took out Max our other boy and put him in his own tub. I dont like them to be separated  from everyone because I think they feel like they have been bad if they are alone, but its good for them. The boys finally are not hiding their tales for the vicious girls. I know its just a defense mechanism but its hard when the turtles are in a tank and not in the wild.

The turtles and their environment was weighing heavy on my mind before, and now even more so. Jake and I are just so concerned and what do we do? I mean, this whole incident can happen again, and I dont want it to. I never realized turtles could be mean pets. Not intentionally, but they just are feisty little guys. Some times is hard for me to watch. So, Jake and I were already planning on getting a bigger tank, but we are thinking thats not going to cut it. We either need to separate the turtles, or get 4 tanks, or something till we can build a pond in our back yard.

With moving it will be great because now we can build a big pond in the back yard. I talked to the vet about it, and turtles can surprisingly live in the snow just fine! If there is running water, the water will not freeze. So, we just need to heat the water and have a serious filter and the turtles will be totally great outside. But that means a huge money chuck again. I dont think people realize how expensive turtles can be. (I never did....I feel I am going broke to turtles) They are quite the task and commitment.

I thought about giving them away, but the same thing would happen again. Or the turtles would be split up. And I would feel horrible giving them away. I have had them for 3 years, and would feel bad giving them away to someone else that might not care for them super well.

I have been monitoring Mr. T to see if he is eating. If he doesn't, then I will need to call the doctor and get some medication for him for pain and healing. Poor little guy. I hope he starts to eat. Hes only eating a little and I hope he gets his appetite back.

For now the turtles are all in separate tanks, the house is a mess and I cant wait to move :) What a week! PS. Lifes great! We are all happy and well. Its just been intense!

the children

Ah, the turtles are getting so big! They just keep getting cuter to! I am so happy that they are mine and Jakes turtles! I love seeing them everyday! They make me so happy :) Here is Max (top) and Herbie! The turtles have all been being so good. They have such happy little attitudes. I want to be like them.

 Max

 Max, in back, Mr. T on top, Alfredo under Mr. T, and Herbie on the right.

 Mr. T, Alfredo, Herbie, Max

 I feel Max is becoming more himself lately. I feel Mr. T was picking on him a bit to much and it ruined some of his confidence. I am happy to see he is doing better lately and is being his happy little self.

Herbie

During the move, the turtles were one of the last things we moved. They dont like change that much, so we wanted it to look like home when they moved in to our new place. Every time I hold the turtles I cant believe how big they are getting! I remember when all of the turtles used to fit on one of my hands. Here is a picture of me and Herbie! Oh I LOVE my Herbie. He is so dang cute! He always brings a big smile to my face. 

Here is Herbie again. I always love to pet the turtles head. They love a good head massage. I do to.

The turtles waiting for their new home to be done! 

This picture is for a trip down memory lane. Here are the turtles in the same container in the picture above on the left. Now only two of them will fit inside that container. Wow. Jake and I have had the turtles for over 2 years now! Can you believe that? Jake and I have 4, two year olds :)

 All moved in!

Max

Herbie and Alfredo. I love that the turtles have really been enjoying their log hide out.

Herbie getting some sunlight.

Turtle Hut

We had an awesome floating dock in our turtle tank, but I think Alfredo is teething and started to eat the dock, so we had to find a replacement until we figure out what to do. We needed something that was big, and the turtles could climb on top of to get dry in the sun. When I saw the turtle hut, I knew it was perfect because the turtles love to play hide and go seek with each other! I also found out to help with Alfredo's teething that, turtle bone is a good solution. It will help him get his beak down and get that teething going on. I also got a new treat I saw called "Turtle Chasers." We fed them to the turtles and they were a hoot! It was so cute to watch them chase the food around and break it down. I think I was a good work out.

Here are some pictures of the turtles enjoying their new hut. All four of them are in here!

I LOVE MY TURTLES! They really make me so happy! They are so cute! I feel sometimes they are so easy to neglect because they dont need much attention (or want it) but every time I come see them, and they come meet me at the glass, it is all smiles all around. The turtles have the cutest smiles ever. I love them. I am so happy I can be there turtle mom.

children grow up way to fast...

Happy November! This week has been an interesting week of weather! It has been fun! Tuesday was super rainy all day! I started reading a new book called Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes. I found it at Barnes and Noble when I was looking for a new book to read. I really liked the book. Some parts were kinda gruesome, like a little boy getting his eyes pecked out by a raven, but it explains everything in the end and it adds more realness and excitement to the story! I would totally recommend it for a fun fantasy adventure book. Jake brought home yummy Rubios fish tacos for dinner and a lobster burrito! He wanted to try it out and it was pretty good. I think the fish tacos and chips are my favorite thing on the Rubios menu. After dinner we went to a snowboarding meeting. Jake has been so sweet and has helped me every night this week with snowboarding stuff.

Jake and I have been sick all week so we have been trying to take it easy! So all Wednesday I read and finished up Peter Nimble and started on #4 of Artemis Fowl! Here is Jake being so sweet when he went around for four hours with me taping flyers, and taking them door to door! We stopped and put flyers at Jdawgs and even got some yummy hotdogs for dinner! Staceypants came and joined later in the evening! It was great to see her and have her help!

This by far is the best Artemis Fowl book of the collection so far! I LOVED it. I am so excited to start readying number 5! I finished it Thursday afternoon, and was feeling really good, so started to clean up the house!

Thursday night for dinner we ate at Cafe Rio and had a yummy exploding pork burrito! Then we headed to the Scera Theater for a snowboarding movie premier! The sun setting was beautiful tonight.

To our surprise, Jakes brother Cameron walked in with his friends while we were there! It was fun to meet his friends. I really enjoyed seeing a lot of snow friends and seeing people I have not seen in awhile.

 Jake found a large diamond on a pirate display! He put it back though incase it was cursed!

Wouldn't a diamond this big be lovely? haha or some serious over kill

When we got home it was time to clean the turtle tank! Jake did such a good job cleaning out a gunky filter! He is the best! I was dying at how big the turtles are now. They have gotten sooo big! To the left is Herbie very very tiny and little. To the right is Herbie tonight and how he barley fits in my hand anymore.

I can't believe how much Herbie has grown. Don't tell anyone he's my favorite. I know you are not supposed to have favorite children, but Herbie and I grew such a bond from the start when we met each other for the first time, I can't help it. Jake and I actually got the turtles from my mom when we first started dating. On the left is Herbie and I at Christmas 2009, and on the right, Herbie November 3, 2011. I can't believe this is the same turtle! All the turtles still have their same cute faces though!

I am just reminiscing looking at these pictures of the turtles when they were so young. I remember how Herbie was so little I would take him with me everywhere. Go to the movies together, go grocery shopping, go for car rides together. I guess him and I could still do those kinds of things, but I think he likes it better in his tank.

I can't believe Jake and I will have had the turtles for two years this Christmas. We need to take new family pictures to show how much our family is growing. Just kidding, but I do want to get updated pictures of the turtles. The turtles have brought us tons of happiness. I love always coming home to turtles who are so excited to see us! I am glad we cleaned the tank tonight so the turtles have a nice clean tank to sleep in tonight! Now time to go start my new Artemis Fowl book!

a great weekend

Friday night Jake and I got to go to a farewell party for a coworker/friend Brian. He was leaving to go to Law school! So awesome! Some of Jakes coworker threw the party for Brian. It was so cute with balloons, cute tables, great food and company!

This is Brian in the middle with his cool PENN State pinta, that is soon going to burst full of candy! Then we had yummy cheesecake! It was a great evening, but always sad to say goodbyes.

Isn't this the cutest picture of the turtles? I love how they all love to be so cozy! Here is all four of them hanging on a little bar in their tank. I thought it was so cute they were all crammed together. I love the turtles! They make me so happy! I am glad they are all getting along.

Saturday Jake and I went on a bike ride! I am loving this bike riding thing! So fun! It was great weather out and perfect for a nice ride! Then we came home and I went straight to the kitchen! Jakes family was coming over for dinner the next day so I wanted to get the kitchen ready! We also had a ton of fresh zucchini, and people we needed to take things too, so once again, made chocolate zucchini bread!

Then I made sugar cookies for our Sunday School class! I am already wanting to put out halloween decor, so I did orange frosting! This is the first time in a long time I made sugar cookies! I forgot how fun they are to make!

I felt like I was in the kitchen all day today! But it happens when you hand wash dishes! haha its not to bad :) Then it was late and it was time to finish up our talks for Sunday we were working on. We got asked to speak in church on Sunday! I was actually kind of excited!(until I got there and my nerves kicked in).

Sunday went great! Jake and I got to speak on service. It was fun and nerve racking. Glad it is done! After church we got home and got things ready for dinner!

For dinner we had beef stroganoff, rolls, spinach greens and veggie salad, and fruit pizza for dessert! It was so fun to have Jakes parents and Cameron over! I love having people over to our home! Then we played "Ticket to Ride."I could play that game over and over I love it so much! Later that night I got to talk to my dad on the phone for a few hours. I love talking to him. It is the best! I have been thinking to, I want to start keeping a gratitude journal. I feel like so many people always do such nice things for me, and there are so many things to be grateful in life, it is time to start a gratitude journal. I have one I did as a child and it is so fun to look back a read. I think that is going to be a new daily goal to start working on is writing one thing a day I am grateful for.

And best news of the weekend..... one of my best friend Heather called! She is engaged to her new fiancé Tanner! Wahoo! Way to go H.P! Wonderful news! Cant wait for the wedding!

Turtles :)

First I must start off with this super cute duck tape! I wanted it so bad and Jake surprised me and got it for me! He is the best! Now I must find some excuses to duck tape everything!

Today has been an exiting day for the children! It was tank cleaning day! Sometimes when the filters need a changing, the tank can get pretty smelly when cleaning it out.. but the turtles are worth it! We took the turtles and put them in boxes with a cozy blanket. Our turtles love to be cozy and snuggle. That is one of my favorite things about them! Then Jake and I drained the the tank and took it out side for a wash down! Its nice bringing it out side then you can scrub the algae out better! I was glad we wore our swim suits to clean the tank because it started to pour rain! It actually made it really fun cleaning the tank! A good adventure!

 Here is Max and Herbie enjoying snuggle time together. They are such good kids.

 Before we put the turtles back in the tank Jake scrubbed their shells clean with a tooth brush. Here is Max inside his shell. He is soo juicy! I love seeing his cute little chub coming out!

 Wahoo! Here is the clean tank! Jake did such a fantastic job scrubbing this baby down! The turtles seemed so happy to! We literally watched them play in their tank for at least an hour! They are so fun to watch, I could watch them all day! Herbie was cracking me up and swimming laps back and forth in the tank and weaving in and out of the pirate dock. He is so creative!

 Here are some cute pictures of the turtles swimming around. Mr. T on top, Alfredo, bottom.

 Max, Mr. T, Alfredo, Herbie

I love the turtles! They seriously make me so happy! I love seeing them every time I walk in to the family room. They always get so excited and come up to the glass and press their cute faces on it. I can't believe I have had them for a year and a half now. They have gotten so big! Love you turtles!

Have you ever wondered what turtle poo looks like? Here is it. Weird to say, kinda cute?