Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Hey, Deb, what's up with the turtles?

So, maybe you've been wondering what our turtles are up to lately.
Or maybe you haven't wondered but now that I mention it, you're curious.
Hm?


If you were around here last winter you might remember that our four-year old box turtle Rexy never really hibernated. It was his first winter with us, and Doug and I were really concerned about him. Our turtle source {hi Dana!} said that all of her turtles had dug themselves under and were down for the count, but we continued to see Rex every couple of weeks throughout the entire winter. And it was cold! Well, by box turtle standards it was cold enough that he should have hibernated.

Rexy didn't hibernate, but he was definitely not himself for the winter. He ate nothing for a few months, and moved in e x t r e m e S L O W m o t i o n when he did come out - and so we worried. Come spring time last year, he was out and about and back to his ol’ normal self.

But this year he has decided to officially hibernate. And you’d think that’s a good thing, right? Nope! Because there is a possibility that we will be moving from this house at the end of February and what do we do about a turtle that is in the middle of his winter sleep? {Dana, I may have to call you!}


Turtle number two is our baby box turtle, Casper. Now that we're fairly sure she's a female, and if everything goes according to plan, she and Mr. Rex will be really good friends one day, and we’ll change her name to Mama Cas. :o) {Oh my gosh you guys, how cool would that be if I could blog about a brand new baby turtle?!?!}



These photos were taken a couple of weeks ago after Doug constructed a new hut because Cas had outgrown the last one. We’re thinking that she may be big enough to become an outside turtle once we move, but that will depend on what kind of habitat we can come up with in the new house. {Again… Dana?}



Here’s a photo that was taken right after we adopted Casper, back in November 2012. {Little turtle at the top didn’t make it. So sad.} It’s crazy to see how much she’s grown since we brought her home. She's as wide as her turtle pond now.



It’s funny to think about choosing a new home and how we’ll accommodate box turtles – it’s a first for us. But I trust that we’ll figure it out.

And that’s what’s up with our turtle friends.
Thanks for asking. ;o)

14 comments:

Abi said...

Oh they are so lovely. Thank you for filling us in! I hope you find an answer to the hibernation problem- it sounds like the start of riddle, "how do you move a turtle whose hibernating!" he he!

Beverly said...

I have no doubt Rex and Casper will have lovely accommodations in the new home. Glad Rex decided to do a full on hibernation.

Susi said...

I love those little turtles! And yes it would be so cool if you and Doug become turtle Grandparents. :) Thanks for the update.

Ruth said...

Your turtles are super cute!

scrappyjacky said...

Hope you solve the Rexy problem.

Jo said...

It's lovely to see how the turtles are doing, I hope you manage to find a lovely home for all of you x

Stephanie @ La Dolce Vita said...

Thanks for the cute update! I bet if you contact your local zoo, or even a university bio dept they could tell you the best way to move them. Maybe you'll get lucky and the timing works out OK.

Margaret said...

Do you know how long your box turtles will live? My daughter wants a turtle, but I understand some live for like 40 years and I don't think I want to handle that kind of commitment.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the update on them. I hope you find out how to move Rex without disturbing him a lot.

Sian said...

So Rexy might be waking up in a new home? I'm sure he'll be up for that - he sounds like a man with a sense of adventure

Amy said...

I really hope Cas becomes Mama Cas ... how cool would that be?
Rex is just being a difficult teenager no doubt ... I mean really, hiding like that when you need to move ;)

PS Word verification is numerical based - has been on the last two posts ... soooooooo much easier to see, sometimes Blogger is kind hey?!

Unknown said...

I love them!!!! What fun, interesting, adorable pets! I only have furry pets now, but I used to have ducks that I adored and still miss, a sweet bird that we just lost, numerous toads, frogs and a wonderful Leopard Gecko named, Karl.

alexa said...

Gosh, growing so well, aren't they? Mind you, when I think of moving house with our children, I would have been delighted if they had been hibernating :).

Maria Ontiveros said...

What a fun, fun post. It will be so interesting to see you create yet another new home for you and Doug (and Whiskers Jay, and Lucky, and the turtles . . . )
Rinda

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