Bones is a Grumpy Turtle

I know I haven’t posted for a while, but today, I caught Bones sleeping in an oddly hilarious pose, which was really unfortunate because I was drinking something at the time.

So, I present to you my very happy, somewhat flamboyant turtle:

Aww, yis. Dis is de life!

And while I’m at it, I figured I’d upload a few other photos for you guys, just to make it worth your while:

Oh! This is noms?

Am I…

Can you see me?

Ooh, pretty red things. …No, that’s just a weed.

Momma!

I’m floating!

MOMMA!!

Nooooo. Come back!

Hide!

You will save me, yes?

What is all of this squishy stuff?

So much squishy stuff!

Saw signs of a wounded animal

I was walking through the woods today and this is what I found:

What the. What is this stuff?

OMG. There’s more of it and it’s changing colors!

It sparkles! …OH NO. IT MUST BE UNICORN BLOOD!

Where is it? Where is it!?

Sure hope the unicorn escaped. Didn’t see any signs of her in the forest, so she must have gotten away from whatever attacked her.

Looked like one hell of a scuffle, though. Stay…

The things I’ve seen

So, I just passed by my tank only to notice that there was quite a commotion going on in it. Bones the Turtle and Spock the Pleco were chasing each other around.

Normally, this is because Spock is trying to get up on Bones’ shell and Bones doesn’t want that, so he tries to run away. This time, though, Bones was not running away. In fact, he was trying to get closer to Spock.

Now, I have witnessed…

Bones scared the poop out of me

Yesterday, I got home from my regular jewelry-making trip to my parents’ house. This is the time that Bones gets his tasty food, which is usually some combination of shrimp, mealworms, carrots, and frozen juvenile turtle food (“tasty” is subjective).

At least, it is normally the time that Bones gets his tasty food. Problem was that there was no Bones.

WHERE IS THE TURTLE?!

No matter how much I…

I borrowed my dad’s old camera so I could take some photos of Bones and Spock. My phone is a POS, and therefore so is the camera on it, so this is a big improvement!

I also wanted to show how much bigger Bones has gotten! He almost fills up my palm now, which means he’s just shy of 2.5″ (6 cm). He was just over an inch when I got him, so he’s more than doubled in size! I’ve had him for 10 months,…

Ever seen the inside of a turtle?

I stumbled across a really amazing Japanese artist who preserves and dyes tiny creatures to make them like rainbow, transparent skeletons. They’re absolutely amazing. What really caught my eye was his turtle:

Look at all the detail!

Though it’s sad that this little turtle died, he’s been turned into something so beautiful. You can see how his ribs turn into his shell and all the tiny vertebrae in…

Spock is a Clean Freak

So, Bones has a little floating platform in the corner of the tank that he likes to bask on when he’s not freaking out about various things. It’s his relaxation spot, like a beach for him to stretch out on and fan his toes out, as you may remember from a previous post.

Now, the problem with this floating island is that it also gets algae on it. I have seen, on occasion, Spock trying to climb up…

Back in the Swing of Things

It’s been a long time since I posted on this blog. There just didn’t seem to be much point since I lost Grimm, but things are looking up.

Bones has been insanely healthy since then. He’s now 2″ (5cm) long and still loves to eat like a pig. His favourite foods are dried shrimps, coleus leaves, grapes, carrots, bananas, mealworms, and blueberries. I’m trying to get him interested in dandelion…

I may as well be blunt about it: Grimm died on Friday.

It still grieves me.

He’d looked like he was getting better. He wasn’t gasping as much, he’d started eating on his own. In fact, the day before he’d died, he’d eaten allthe red worms out of the food I…

Leonard McCoy’s Guide to Sunbathing

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1. Ensure that you have a decoration, floating shelf, piece of driftwood, or other turtle to stand on.

Fig. 1

2. Position yourself on the other turtle (standing on another turtle is the best option – see fig. 1) so that your shell is angled toward the light source. Perpendicular to the light source is best, as this will grant maximum exposure of your shell to that wonderful, warm heat lamp. Step on the other turtle’s head every time you need to re-position yourself.

3. Optional: Stick both of your back legs out straight, turn your feet sideways, and spread your toes (see fig. 2). This will make sure your feet get warm, too. That is important. This might actually be for heat venting. I’m really not sure why I do this. It feels good, though.

Fig. 2

4. Constantly turn around in circles. This serves two purposes: it makes sure that your shell is evenly warm and it also annoys the hell out of Grimm.

Huzzah! Grimm has started eating on his own again, which means I don’t have to give him a mash of worm guts and blackberry by syringe any more! He ate some of his frozen food and he ate the innards of half a mealworm, so that’s really good news. It means…