These would be the new additions to our happy home!
Caroline has had hermit crabs for the past several years and with our weather, they just don't seem to last, which breaks her sweet little heart! So a few weeks ago, they last one went to crab heaven, and she pleaded for more. Good grief...again? We said that if she just had to have more hermit crabs, then we would go pick some new ones out. But we were trying to point her in a different direction, like more fish.
When we got to the store, my wonderful honey decided we should look at everything, but all she wanted were the ferrets, rabbits, mice, rats, or hamsters. Ummmm.....no! I wanted something fairly low maintenance, Like the crabs! So we are walking along and Caroline gets to the reptiles {I do not do snakes!!!}and sees a frog, which she immediately wants. Tab's like sure, we can get a frog. Fine with me, frogs don't bother me. Then he sees the turtles. He rushes her to the turtle tank and declares that we can get her a turtle too.
Now I have no issues with either of these, so I'm thinking okay, these will be easy to take care of...boy oh boy was I wrong! Tab wanted to get a younger turtle because these were already pretty big, so I got online, found some babies and got her 3. They would be here the next day since they have to ship them overnight. So I keep researching these little guys so I will know how to take care of them. I had a minor heart attack after I was through. First, these darn things are illegal. ILLEGAL! Great, now I'm going to jail for buying my daughter turtles! It's illegal to buy/own turtles less than 4 inches in length due to Salmonella. The pictures looked like these were going to be a little smaller than 4 inches...great! I knew reptiles carried Salmonella, so I wasn't shocked by that, Caroline is super good about washing her hands, so I wasn't too worried. Then comes the care these bad babes require. And the fact that they will grow to be a foot long and require a 4x4 area for each turtle! Okay, we have a nice little amount of acreage, but I certainly didn't plan on raising turtles on it!
I finally get over all the shock and just suck it up, ready to see our new family members. Imagine my surprise when I get home to see these:
Just so you get an idea...they are about the size of one of those gold dollar coins
with some added arms and legs!
Please Lord, I didn't know they were illegal........
3 comments:
LOL! I sure do know what you are going through. We turtle-sat a turtle named Pokey about a year ago, and we have since adopted him into our family.My girls actually call him their brother. It's hilarious. That frog looks really cool too. Welcome to the world of reptile ownership! Congrats to Caroline and her new little critters!
Pet's come in threes, obviously, for you and I! Enjoy your little fellas!
Those are adorable! I sure hope they do well for you. Sounds like you're going to have a challenge for space in a few years as they get bigger!
If you ever DO decide to get hermit crabs again, there are some great websites that can help you learn to keep them alive longer. They die because pet stores and most people do not realize they need a strict habitat to survive. They are cold blooded animals and need a home with warm (up to 82*F) and cool (no lower than 72*F) temperatures so they can regulate their body heat. There is so much more, so if you do decide to go the hermit crab route again, visit http://www.hermitcrabparadise.com or http://www.crabstreetjournal.com and set up their home BEFORE you get them. :)
Post a Comment