turtles

I'm fascinated by turtles.

1999 was the year I bought my very own pet. A red-eared slider, 3 inches long. Cost me 150 bucks. I named him after my favorite musician, Ludwig (never knowing the turtle's sex at that time). Good thing it's a HE.

You can't go wrong with having a pet turtle. Provide some space, a little water, food, interaction and that's it.

I always thought turtles were herbivores. Well, they're not. Ludwig ate the tails of 75% of his aquarium-mates, the angel fishes, during his growing years.

He was a year old when our helper gave me two more turtles(local ones, brown and ordinary). I named them "daku" and "gamay".

So there they were. Three turtles imprisoned in a small aquarium. For three years I kept them there, playing(turtle marathon) with them once in a while. Most of the time forgetting about them.

Then one morning I decided to set them free. Free to roam the backyard, that is. They were everywhere. Near the well, under the "dapug", all over the grass, floating when the backyard is flooded. It's quite fun to watch them crawl and snap at the dogs during mealtimes. One time, Ludwig (he's the more adventurous of the three) crawled out and crossed the street. Good thing our neighbor saw him and gave him back to us. He was quite grumpy after that (Ludwig, not our neighbor).

Turtles are useful too. I brought Ludwig during our zoology class' show-and-tell as our group project. He was quite large after 4 years, about the size of my palm. Everybody was gushing on how cute he is (second only to the other group's baby goat, but i digress). He responded by nipping and cutting my classmate's finger. The class then learned that turtles do not carry RABIES. The discussion was funny actually. Stupid but funny. My classmates never forgot Ludwig.

Last month, I bought another turtle. It was an unplanned purchase. We were on our way down from Mambukal resort's "7 Falls" when this child came up to me asking if I wanted a turtle. I asked the child what he'd do to the turtle if it wasn't sold. He answered in a matter-of-fact way "I-adobohon kag kan-on magdaku sya e." *gulp* So that's how I went home with another turtle. A small, malnourished turtle worth P20. I keep telling myself the deal was a steal plus I "saved" a turtle's life. His name's Mambu, btw.

So what's the point to all these stories? Nothing. I just felt like writing about my growing pet turtle collection.

Here's a photo of Ludwig taken last year when he graced me with his presence. He needed a bath.