aisforamy

So, Trixie went to the vet yesterday. Skip this if you have no interest in the lives of my turtles, because it's all about turtle stuff.

That was an adventure! I lost the lid to the box thingie I usually transport my little guys in, and so I just took her in a tall plastic box. One that I discovered she could climb out of, while I was driving. I got to hold a pissed off turtle with very sharp claws all the way to the vet.

She was an unhappy girl, but behaved pretty well. She had a lot of flake-age on her shell, but Dr. Driggers did not seem overly concerned about it, other then that there was algae under some of the layers. He used a dental pick to gently flake loose layers away, and I must say that a LOT came off, in my opinion, but she looks much better, now.

He agreed that she was swimming crookedly (listing to the right), and gave her a shot of anti-biotic. *sigh* She did NOT enjoy that, and the sound of her snapping was really loud. I am dreading giving her the remaining shots on my own. She is very strong, and I have a feeling I am going to get bitten. The first one I have to give her is tomorrow, and then every other day for twelve more days after that.

He examined her further and made sure there was no eggs inside of her. He showed me how to check, and I was surprised that Trixie let him do it, but he stuck his index fingers up under her shell just in front of her hind legs and felt around in there. He said I would feel small round lumps in there if she had eggs. I don't know that I would check that on my own, unless I thought she was sick or bound our something.

We have been over feeding her, but she was not overly fat or anything, so he said no harm done...the last owners probably did not keep her under proper lighting, and so that was why her shell was so flaky and now that she has the UVB light, she should be a lot better. That and she is growing quickly from the over feeding. I think the boys have been feeding her extra because she begs shamelessly for food, and eats like she has been starving for days. He told me what portion size to give her (about the size or her heads' worth of pellets), and said that it was all right to give her greens every day. I put some in this morning, be she seems unimpressed with them; she shredded a bit, and is now using it to hide under.

Anyway, she is on her road to recovery. The doc encouraged the outdoor pond we were planning for the back yard ASAP for the best environment for all the turtles. I am only worried that she and Godzilla will breed, and I won't find the eggs before I have tons of bebe turtles running around.

( This is Trixie, taken about a month ago. )

When my brother in law mentioned last night that a friend of his' sister in law needed to find a new home for their pet turtle, I asked a couple of questions; "How big is it? Is it a boy or a girl?" They said it was about six inches, and it was a girl. I agreed to take it off their hands, and went to pick her up this morning. She is HUGE compared to my babies! I know, they are hardly babies anymore, but they will always be my babies. I will take and post some pictures, soon.

Her name is Trixie. She is a red eared slider, like Godzilla, but easily twice his size. He seems a bit freaked out by her at the moment. Torkle is more curious, and I hope that he doesn't fight with her. She has snapped at him once or twice, and he backed off, but then went back for more. She is used to being the only turtle in the tank. So far, she has just bowled them over, or bulldozed her way through where she wanted to go.

I dumped another dozen feeder fish in the tank with them, and they seems to be having a good time chasing them around. I don't know if Trixie has ever had any to chase before, but she seems to be enjoying the stimulation. Seeing them all in the tank together makes it look small, though, and the sooner we get the pond put into the backyard for them, the better. I'm sure they will established a pecking order, but I will be keeping a close eye on them to make sure that no one gets hurt.

The people who gave us Trixie also gave us a good sized tank, too, so if they get too aggressive with each other, I can always take her out and give her her own space again.

In other news, I was going to take the kids to the zoo today, because it's only supposed get to 93F and is overcast. Unfortunately, the kids slept in WAY late, and then we had to go and get Trixie. When we got home, it was to find that the doggie had had an accident on her bed, so that had to be cleaned up, and now it's too late to hit the zoo and avoid the crowds. Instead, we are going to stay home and I will work on helping to teach the boys to ride their bikes without training wheels.

I hope I have enough band aids in stock.

That's my news, for now. I have a long to-do list for the next few days.

Alicia, if you are reading this, I have not forgotten about visiting you. Every time I think of calling, it is either insanely late, or early in the day. Let me know if you're going to be home this week, and if the boys are out of school yet.

**Hugs to everyone!**