Other Turtle Discussion :: The tale of Mr. Turtle vs. Anacharis

[tissigirl]

Ok, so I got Mr. Turtle some new things for his tank today. I've been wanting to get him some plants for him for a while, and I finally got around to it today. I was concerned that he would tear up any fake plants I put in there, so I had the idea to get both real and fake plants at the same time. That way he could have something to munch on that was real.

Remember that Mr. Turtle is almost 19 years old, so his size, appetite, bite size, path of destruction, etc., is larger than most of the turtles on here. That's important to remember for the rest of the story. LOL

I took Mr. Turtle out of the tank to roam around as he likes to do while I did a tank cleaning and arranged everything in the tank. I put him back in on his dock as usual. Immediately he noticed the Anacharis and dived in. Then headed straight for the fake plants on the other side of the tank. Before I knew it he had chomped down right on it! I tried to pick him up, thinking that when I startle him he usually opens his mouth wide, then I could show him the real plant to munch on. But not this time! He had a hold of that sucker and wasn't letting go! So here I am holding a turtle over the water with a huge weighted fake plant dangling out of his mouth, and yelling "this is why we can't have anything nice Mr. Turtle!" LOL. I put him back in and he finally lets go. So, I push him over to the anacharis. Immediately he goes to the longest, prettiest stem and chomps it right in half!

At this point the thought occurs to me that I probably should have fed him BEFORE I cleaned out the tank so that he wouldn't be hungry. So I go to the fridge to get his greens. When I get back to the tank (maybe 10 seconds past) he has a huge bright green piece of fake plant broken off in his mouth. He looks right at me as if to say "this crap isn't real, is it?" then spits it out. So I dangle a piece of collard greens in the water and coax him over to his feeding corner.

After a large meal of greens he has calmed down on destructing the anacharis. He is now enjoying sticking his head in the fake plants and moving them around, but has learned the hard way not to bite into them. LOL. I so wish I had my camera for all this, but unfortunately it's not working right now. It was quite an entertaining turtle evening! I think he's going to like the new additions just fine now.

[Safdar]

That was awesome
Mr.Turtle sounds adorable

[tissigirl]

Yes he's very amusing and always has been!

I also sent that story to my friends and family that are familiar with him. It's cracking them up!

[Safdar]

How big is he?

[tissigirl]

Just over 5 inches.

[urbancleopatra]

You sound like such a typical parent. "This is why we can't have anything nice!!!"

5 inches... sounds a little small for 19 years old. Was he the turtle that was treated with some kind of shell conditioner for years by his old owner?

[tissigirl]

I've had him since he was a baby, and no turtle conditioner. He was in a small tank for quite a while, which may have kept his growing down. When I say over 5 inches i'm talking closer to 5.5.

But from what i've read on here and other places he's not that far behind. There are people on here that have turtles 10 years older and they are only 9 inches.

[megcornell]

9 inches is full grown, so after that they don't get larger regardless of age.

[steve]

Sheba's full grown at only 9". I'm almost positive my male will never be in the 7-9 inch range.

Hey Marisa, how old and long is Tilly?

[industrial_girl_2000]

If your turtle ever needs an "understudy" for the "Mr. Turtle vs. Anacharis" movie, let me know.....!

[tissigirl]

If your turtle ever needs an "understudy" for the "Mr. Turtle vs. Anacharis" movie, let me know.....!

Will do!

Of course by the time I got up this morning he had "redecorated" his tank. He has to do that any time I clean his tank and move even 1 rock god forbid! This time he just has many more exciting things to move around.

[kaimarion]

Mr. Turtle sounds quite cute .

[lotsofpets]

I wonder if Monet is "full grown" then. He's 5.5 inches also and has not grown any since I bought him in late November of last year.

[kmichael55]

very cute story! I especially like "This is why we can't have anything nice, Mr. Turtle"

[industrial_girl_2000]

Will do!

Of course by the time I got up this morning he had "redecorated" his tank. He has to do that any time I clean his tank and move even 1 rock god forbid! This time he just has many more exciting things to move around.

Your story made me laugh because I have mentioned several times on this board why I don't decorate Sheba's tank more fancy...because she eats everything, bites things, and generally just destroys everything in her field of vision. I have had glass tube underwater heaters destroyed, plastic objects with tons of turtle-mouth shaped bite marks, filters overturned, digging, shoving, moving, you name it. She is a regular bulldozer!

This week's project involves her trying to move her underwater plastic tree-root to the other end of the tank. It's funny to watch her do it....she jams herself underneath it, then stands up (with the root on her back) and walks with it!!! Hilarious.