**update** "dipper" made an escape attempt. tuesday we came home after lunch and found him under the neighbors car. we have no idea how he got out of the pool or yard. my son put him right back in the pool - and yes he used the grandma's gardening gloves. my son decided if dipper got out again, we would have to take him to a nearby pond. if he came back (don't you think it's cute he thought it could come back?), we would take him back to grandma & papa's. yesterday after my son ate lunch he was going to feed dipper. he went to check on him and saw dipper had escaped again. however this time, dipper was about 10 ft. away and laying on his back. we think one of our dogs may have "helped" dipper out of the pool. my son realized it was time to release dipper. the officer, my son, and my daughter took dipper to a nearby pond and released her. it's a good thing i guess. does having a turtle for a total of 4 days count as "having a pet turtle"?
yesterday day was my mom's birthday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! i went to her house today to celebrate. before all the family arrived, my son asked me if he could have a duck. i told him if he could catch a duck we'd see about letting him keep it. he tried but was unsuccessful. my nieces arrived later. my kids love playing with them. my nieces caught a turtle - several in fact. it was not long before my son forgot about his longing for a pet duck and moved onto a pet turtle - especially since there was a big one sitting on the back porch.
my son asked me if he could take one home. i kind of surprised myself and said yes. he waffled for some time about which of the turtles he would take home. he had decided the biggest turtle was a boy and the turtle that didn't act crazy when you picked it up was girl.
i told my son he would have to take care of the turtle if he brought it home. he needed to be able to pick up because mommy isn't going to take care of it. he would have to do everything. he had to show me he could pick it up before we brought it home. it took him about 5 minutes to get up the nerve to pick it up. it started out with just petting it .... with one finger..... with my mom's gardening gloves on.
then we moved on to picking it up about 4 inches off the ground. it took several attempts to get the hands around the shell.
we were then ready to pick up above the level of the box. the look on his face is great.
he proved to be brave - and no he has not handled the turtle without he gloves because their claws are very sharp much like a cat's.
so we brought the turtle home. he wanted to know all about what to do with the turtle, how to feed it, where we were going to put it. he wanted in the 5 gallon paint bucket in his room. umm.... no. he suggested we call cousin aaron. cousin aaron is cool. he knows all about reptiles. he's even come to our house and given a homeschool lesson about them. he brought turtles, frogs, and snakes. it made a very big impression on my kids. anyhow, we brought the turtle home. the officer was pretty surprised by the size of the turtle. he thought it was going to be a small (my son's hand size) turtle.
conversation overheard in the car on the way home with the turtle:
son: how much water do you think we need for the turtle?
daughter: a BIT!
son: i think i know what turtles eat. they eat lettuce, carrots, maybe worms and baby ducks.
me: we're not feeding him baby ducks - or worms.
son: if he dies, i will bury him. i will take a piece of paper and staple it to a piece of wood. i will write on the paper "STOP! DEAD ANIMAL! STAY AWAY"!
daughter: because it will stink so bad?
cousin aaron gave us a lot of good information. he said turtle would eat just about anything, she needed a good place to swim, and she needed a place to "bask" in the sun.
he has been looking at all his books with turtles in it to find out more information. he has decided her name will be dipper. when we got home, he cut up the carrots and lettuce for "dipper". he helped find the rocks to go into the kiddie pool. we'll see how long "dipper" lasts. for right now, we have a new pet turtle.
yesterday day was my mom's birthday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! i went to her house today to celebrate. before all the family arrived, my son asked me if he could have a duck. i told him if he could catch a duck we'd see about letting him keep it. he tried but was unsuccessful. my nieces arrived later. my kids love playing with them. my nieces caught a turtle - several in fact. it was not long before my son forgot about his longing for a pet duck and moved onto a pet turtle - especially since there was a big one sitting on the back porch.
my son asked me if he could take one home. i kind of surprised myself and said yes. he waffled for some time about which of the turtles he would take home. he had decided the biggest turtle was a boy and the turtle that didn't act crazy when you picked it up was girl.
i told my son he would have to take care of the turtle if he brought it home. he needed to be able to pick up because mommy isn't going to take care of it. he would have to do everything. he had to show me he could pick it up before we brought it home. it took him about 5 minutes to get up the nerve to pick it up. it started out with just petting it .... with one finger..... with my mom's gardening gloves on.
then we moved on to picking it up about 4 inches off the ground. it took several attempts to get the hands around the shell.
we were then ready to pick up above the level of the box. the look on his face is great.
he proved to be brave - and no he has not handled the turtle without he gloves because their claws are very sharp much like a cat's.so we brought the turtle home. he wanted to know all about what to do with the turtle, how to feed it, where we were going to put it. he wanted in the 5 gallon paint bucket in his room. umm.... no. he suggested we call cousin aaron. cousin aaron is cool. he knows all about reptiles. he's even come to our house and given a homeschool lesson about them. he brought turtles, frogs, and snakes. it made a very big impression on my kids. anyhow, we brought the turtle home. the officer was pretty surprised by the size of the turtle. he thought it was going to be a small (my son's hand size) turtle.
conversation overheard in the car on the way home with the turtle:
son: how much water do you think we need for the turtle?
daughter: a BIT!
son: i think i know what turtles eat. they eat lettuce, carrots, maybe worms and baby ducks.
me: we're not feeding him baby ducks - or worms.
son: if he dies, i will bury him. i will take a piece of paper and staple it to a piece of wood. i will write on the paper "STOP! DEAD ANIMAL! STAY AWAY"!
daughter: because it will stink so bad?
cousin aaron gave us a lot of good information. he said turtle would eat just about anything, she needed a good place to swim, and she needed a place to "bask" in the sun.
he has been looking at all his books with turtles in it to find out more information. he has decided her name will be dipper. when we got home, he cut up the carrots and lettuce for "dipper". he helped find the rocks to go into the kiddie pool. we'll see how long "dipper" lasts. for right now, we have a new pet turtle.
2 comments:
Awww... How cool! We love turtles!
We have a few dozen more turtles in the pond if Dipper needs some friends! mom
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