'Turtle' confusions

At last, I managed to own two terrapines of my own! Yup, I had waited for this moment for quite some time. During my period of 'dilemma' (of whether to buy the terrapins), I had gone through quite a tedious process of finding out the eventual answer to this question.

Apart from the occasional Internet research on rearing terrapins (apparently, there aren't many articles on this kind of amphibian), a one-evening visit to Marine Parade library (after work), two occasions of watching & playing with Rebecca's terrapins at her home, a few instances of persuading my Mum... what was most stressful, was having to struggle with the thought of whether to keep these creatures & whether my home is a conducive place to keep them. There were several thoughts that went through my mind. For example, how many should I keep? What would happen to them when my whole family is out during the daytime till evening? Would I get bored of them after awhile?

In addition, the most perplexing problem that haunted me - What would happen to them when they grow into adult size? My home definitely doesn't have enough space for them to move & live. If I'm not able to keep them, where can I put them? Would I feel sad? Is it legal to leave them at some pond or river? Are they able to take care of themselves, after being domesticated & fed for a few months or years?

I have finally taken the brave step of buying two terrapins, one 'quite-big' fish tank, one small bottle of turtle sticks & one solid piece of wood. Of course, that was after I managed to explain, persuade & convince my Mum, after adopting a calm, rational & fair approach in speaking to her. Within a few minutes, she agreed. I guess some people just need to be persuaded in a diplomatic tone.

Anyway, I bought these two little 'fellas' from a pet shop named 'Sunshine Art' near Rebecca's home. Quite a strange name for a pet store... & quite a strange owner or shop attendent along with it. This man doesn't look like a pet-shop owner. In fact, I seriously wonder how much does he know about terrapins. While in the shop, I whispered to Rebecca, saying that I probably know more about terrapins than he does. I was just asking him a few questions to confirm what I've researched earlier. Apparently, this guy was very hesistant & vague in his answers. I guessed he doesn't know much about terrapins. Maybe he just sells them... but I don't think its a responsible way of selling living creatures. What if the buyer doesn't know how to take care of these living creatures? That's so unfortunate for these little shell-backs...

This guy sprayed a mist of oxygen into the plastic bag which he put both terrapins in. Of course, there was some water inside the plastic bag. After sending Rebecca home, I was so afraid that the oxygen would be used up! I was also very afraid that the plastic bag would burst because this guy put it next to the piece of wood! Oh yes, it was quite sharp at some of its edges! I stood at the roadside, hoping to flag a cab to quickly take me home. I didn't want to bring home two suffocated terrapins. A $4 - $5 taxi fare cannot be compared to the lives of two terrapins!

No taxi came, so I had to board the bus 14 that came along. I held the plastic bag very close to me throughout the bus journey, protecting it from bursting or anything that could possibly hurt my new pets. It was quite a cute experience, holding them next to me, yet lifting the plastic bag high enough so that they can view the passing scenery while swimming in the plastic bag. I knew they were tired, so I was quite desperate to get home to let them rest from all that swimming. I felt quite worried, as they had been swimming for nearly an hour since I bought them! Worse still, the bus was jerky & the terrapins kept colliding against the plastic bag. Passengers who got on & off the bus looked at me, of course... but throughout the duration, I was smiling... I had finally 'found' some pets to keep me from being lonely in my room.

My adventures were not over yet. Soon after I reached home, I quickly opened the tied plastic bag & heaved a huge sigh of relief! Please breathe little fellas! I was glad that they had 'fresher' oxygen again. I'm still quite curious - how long could one spray of oxygen last these two terrapins?

Anyway, my next biggest & most important task is arranging the layout of the fish tank. I still can't believe that I actually spent about 1 & 1/2 hrs, just trying out different arrangements of the wood. This piece of wood is important because terrapins also spend a considerable amount of time out of the water. Well, at least these 'fellas' also need to rest or take a nap. Positioning this piece of wood is crucial because it must be adequately, yet partially submerged in water. Also, it must be positioned such that the terrapins are able to climb up & down, in various corners of the wood. Btw, a newspaper article stated that terrapins can drown, if they are not able to find ground to rest.

After finding a good way to place the wood, I soon realised that it was too low to accomodate 10cm of water for the terrapins. I had to raise the wood by some way. So there I was, trying various objects to raise this oddly-structured piece of wood. I tried using sponges, but it wouldn't work coz it would float when immersed in water. After some search, I settled for a plastic container, but it would also float despite trying to stick it to the tank floor using blue-tack, then trying a black heavy-duty scotch tape to hold it down. Both methods failed because tapes wouldn't stick long in water.

Then a sudden thought came to my mind. Aha! I could use the coloured pebbles from the cactus that Rebecca gave me some years back (Yes, its still alive & growing huge). This time it worked & the plastic container sank to the bottom, allowing me to position the wood in the best position possible, after some trial & error of adjustment. So there! My tank is not relatively conducive for my new pets! Of course, they took almost half a day, just trying to get used & wonder around the new environment. In fact, it took them 2 - 3 hrs, just to move out from their corner, after trying to escape as far as possible from me. Indeed, rearing pets can be a test of patience as they would try to escape or avoid you in the early beginning. Yup, its a test of patience.

I haven't given them names because I want to observe more of their personality before deciding. One of the terrapin only took a bite after many hours of getting used to the tank. The other has not eaten at all. But I'm still glad that within a day, one terrapin has gotten used to wondering around the tank, taking occasional bites of turtle sticks & even daring to climb up to relax on the wood! In fact, this little 'fella' even explored almost all possible ways of climbing up the wood, within a single day! Honestly, I'm very impressed! This is a smart terrapin... It has even discovered ways to climb edges that I initially perceived as quite impossible to scale this wood. Amazing... even for a baby of this size... =)