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"We own a yellow mud turtle Kinosternon flavescens flavescens named Scooter; he came here as a hatchling in 1996, he'd been caught by a herp hunter, dumped on me and I didn't know where he came from so I kept him. He is very shy and docile, a great pet. Scooter looked like a female for a couple of years, but when she grew a "spike" on the end of her tail, we knew for sure that he is a boy.
Fluffy is our western painted turtle Chrysemys picta belli. He was a captive-bred hatchling when he arrived in 1994. He is not at all shy but is a very active little guy. He is a great pet, too. They don't live together but they have seen each other."
The above was our story on these two boys when we created this web site for fun back in 1998. As the years have passed and I've learned so much about them, through working for vets, through the study of veterinary textbooks, through participating in online turtle and tortoise communities, through attending veterinary continuing education seminars, and through blind luck; I'll apparently forever be a keeper of the shelled creatures.
I don't know how my husband and I became a local weigh station for the needy-shelled creatures but somehow it happened. We once played the part of broker for the adoption of seven three toed box turtles that were sent to us from Dallas. They had homes lined up and were adopted out to a veterinarian, a veterinary technology student, and a college biology teacher.
Later Shell E the desert box came along then Destiny the sulcata, and finally Hope the ornate box. We've even adopted Crusty and Cletus the two other shelled creatures (hermit crabs) and all are now permanent residents at our home.
Fluffy and Scooter were meant to be our pets, the others were not but our original boys, our babies are adults now and hopefully will live for several more decades. We are still as proud of them today as we were in 1998.
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Scooter |
Fluffy |
Jan McArthur, RVT