I'm Maggie, turtle mommy to Myrtle, who is a 5 year-old painted turtle. I'm a 32 year-old who works from home for some parenting sites, and am married with one human child, 2 dogs, 2 betta fish (in 2 tanks in my daughter's room), and the beloved Myrtle who was named by our daughter, who was 2 at the time.
We were on a camping trip when my husband and daughter found her, and my husband asked the 2 year-old if she wanted to bring the turtle home without consulting me. Said child obviously said YES!, and here we are 5 years later. I should add that I was not happy because I knew it took a heck of a lot more work than he realized, and I'm not a huge fan of ripping creatures out of their natural habitats for no good reason. But it was a battle I could not win, and here we are with the most awesome pet a person could have. She eats out of our hands, she swims up to us and gets so excited that she'll splash us when we approach her, and it's been great for our daughter to learn about the natural cycle of things, such as watching her rip a fish to shreds and devour it. She resides on our sunporch in a 125 gal tank. And here's some pics:
When we first found her as a new hatchling:
At about 2 years old, stalking her favorite treat:
About 3 years old:
And now, age 5, in her brand new above tank basking area (which has a screen that you may not be able to see well in the pic):
Bill - RES
