TurtlesI brought my turtles, red eared sliders, home from school and am loving watching them. I set their tank up in my kitchen. They seem so happy, constantly swimming around. I have really had time to observe them.
MEAL TIME These guys know how to chow down. They get a little feisty when given a lettuce leaf. SNAP! TUG! PULL! They stretch their necks out and chomp their jaws down. Half the time they will bite a piece off, but they open their mouth to swallow and then the piece of lettuce floats off. Then they swim after that small piece. It may take three attempts before they finally swallow the bite. Sometimes they will hold on the the lettuce leaf with their front claws in order to pull it down in front of them. Other times they bite down but the piece of lettuce doesn't break away. Then they use their front feet to pull the lettuce off. Today I found a worm in the garden and decided to give that a try. Speedy swallowed it whole, sucking it down like a long piece of spaghetti. NAP TIME Turtles sleep underwater. They settle at the bottom and close their eyes. Speedy and Speedier will settle down next to each other, often with one foot draped over the other. If they hear me walk by, one will usually half open his eye to look and see, then slowly close it back. BASKING This is my favorite thing to watch. Typically only one turtle at a time will sit on his rock and bask under the light. But sometimes they both want to bask. Speedier is larger and will climb up on the rock, and then Speedy will climb up and on top of Speedier. Speedier will have to hold on tight to the side of the rock in order to not be pulled off. Speedy tries to use his claws to hang on to the scales on Speedier's shell. There is always one of the slipping and sliding. Sometimes they are successful, but often they both end up falling off into the water. But when they do both get settled one on top of the other they look so cute. When the turtles were at school they rarely ate. If they were basking it was while no one was in the room. As soon as the door opened and a light turned on they slid right into the water. I don't know if I will ever take them back to school.
2 Comments
Natasha
3/18/2020 04:40:20 pm
It was so fun to read your descriptions of the turtles and their day! I love the vividness of how you describe their eating (though it was also fun to read about their basking behavior!).
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(Ms Victor Reads) Erika Victor
3/19/2020 04:34:42 am
When we take the time to notice nature it is like magic. These last four days without kids at school a friend and I have eaten outside and marveled at the activity of the birds- who we rarely notice on days crowded with students.
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