Check out these cute little Squirt (from Nemo) cupcakes I found via Pinterest! Check out the recipe on the Disney website!
If you’ve been following the post series on selecting a healthy reptile, you’ve reached the final list! With the holidays fast approaching, many parents will be looking at giving their kids pets as gifts and turtles are a very popular first pet. I hope this guide will help those out there as a guideline of what to look for when picking up a new reptile for the house.
So far, we’ve covered what to look for in the body of the reptile, in the head, eyes, ears, nose and mouth and the general appearance and movement of the reptile before purchasing. Lastly, we’ll look at things you should check related to the head, eyes, ears, nose and mouth of the reptile:
Welcome to Part III of a four-part post series on selecting a healthy reptile. With the holidays fast approaching, many parents will be looking at giving their kids pets as gifts and turtles are a very popular first pet. I hope this guide will help those out there as a guideline of what to look for when picking up a new reptile for the house.
So far, we’ve covered what to look for in the body of the reptile and in the head, eyes, ears, nose and mouth of the reptile before purchasing. This week we’ll start by looking at things you should check related to the head, eyes, ears, nose and mouth of the reptile:
Last week, we started a post series on selecting a healthy reptile. With the holidays fast approaching, many parents will be looking at giving their kids pets as gifts and turtles are a very popular first pet. I hope this guide will help those out there as a guideline of what to look for when picking up a new reptile for the house.
If you haven’t read the first part of the series, you can catch the list of what to look for in a reptile’s body before purchasing. This week we’ll start by looking at things you should check related to the head, eyes, ears, nose and mouth of the reptile:
Next week, we’ll look at general appearance, movement and other things related to selecting a healthy turtle or tortoise…
Normally on Mondays, I run the turtle or tortoise video posts. I thought we’d take a break for the month of November and bring back the Advice Column posts from way back when. With the holidays fast approaching, many parents will be looking at giving their kids pets as gifts. I hope this guide will help those out there as a guideline of what to look for when picking up a new reptile for the house.
If you’ve ever walked into a pet shop to purchase a turtle for educational purposes, they probably looked all the same. It’s hard picking a healthy pet when you don’t know what to look for. To make your job easier in picking a healthy, happy turtle, you should really take the time to inspect the turtle you want to take home.
Since the list of what you should look for can be fairly long, I’ve made this a four-part post. This week we’ll start by looking at things you should check related to the body of the reptile:
The pen should be as large as practical, and should contain a variety of microhabitats–areas of shade as well as areas of sun. It is very important that the turtle pen have at least some areas of shade at all times during the day, as unprotected tortoises can overheat quickly in a full midday sun. At the same time, basking spots must always be available. The turtles should be able to thermoregulate by moving from sun to shade as needed.
Several large, flat rocks can serve as basking spots and as heat retainers. You will also need some rock caves where the turtles can retreat for shade and whenever they need to feel secure. If the bulk of the pen area is left in its natural state, with several inches of soil, some leaf litter and vegetation, the turtles will spend most of their time happily digging and foraging for invertebrates and edible plants. Make sure there are no toxic plants anywhere in the enclosure.
A colony of aquatic turtles can be kept outside in an artificial pond. To produce an artificial pond, an area the size and depth that you want the finished pond to be must be dug out. A good pond should be a minimum of ten feet across anfrd at least two feet deep, with no rocks or other protruding objects left at the bottom of the hole.
Once you have excavated a suitable hole, line it with a strong waterproof material, such as butyl rubber, that serves the same function as a swimming pool liner. This prevents leaks and keeps the pond water from draining away, and should be as thick as practical to prevent tears. The liner should overlap the edges of the pond by about a foot with the overlapping edge covered over by several inches of rocks and soil to hold it firmly in place.
Next, fill the interior of the liner with four or five inches of clean sand, to push the liner flat against the bottom and to protect it from rocks, branches, turtle claws and other potential sources of puncture. Once the liner is firmly in place, add enough water to fill the pond.
Shallow areas near the shore of an artificial pond can be planted with cattails, pickerel weed and other aquatic plants that provide cover for young turtles and attract insect life to the pond. The turtles can use a number of flat rocks scattered along the shore as entry and exit ramps and as basking spots. Another good idea is to place a large tree branch or trunk in the pond, so it forms a long basking platform that can be reached from either land or water. Most aquatic turtles prefer to bask on logs or branches that extend out into the water so they can dive to safety at the first hint of danger.
If you live in an area of the country where winters are cool, it is best to stock your pond only with native species, or at least only species from temperate zones that normally hibernate in the winter. The turtles will bury themselves in the sand at the bottom of the pond or in the mud at the shores to hibernate through the winter.
If you live in an area that is warm year-round, you will be able to maintain tropical species in your pond. Any nonnative species of turtle must be kept securely in your pond to prevent them from escaping and becoming established in the local ecosystem.
The perimeter of the turtle pen can be made from wooden planks, bricks or stones. The wall must be at least several inches higher than the length of the longest turtle you will be keeping. If you make the wall just high enough that you can step over it, the turtles will be prevented from climbing out and you will be spared the necessity of making a door or gate for the pen. If you are keeping turtles that are good climbers, it is best to have an overhanging lip around the inside top of the wall to prevent escapes.
Since tortoises are excellent diggers, you will need some provision to discourage your pets from tunneling their way to freedom. Sink all the walls of the pen a foot or so into the ground. Although the turtles may repeatedly attempt to dig their way underneath the fence, eventually they will tire and give up. If you intend to keep the turtles in their pen year-round, there must be enough dirt and leaf litter available for the turtles to get beneath the frost line so they can hibernate in winter.
Excerpted from “The Turtle: An Owner’s Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet”. (c) copyright 1997 by Howell Book House.
Christmas is around the corner so it’s time to look at Friday Finds that would make great presents! To start off the list, here’s a nice looking tortoise puppet with movable legs and a retractable head!
From the amazon.com website –
This 13-inch-long tortoise puppet has a soft green reptilian body, gleaming brown eyes, and a smooth, beige suede tortoise shell. With your help, Tortoise can creep along at her leisurely pace (about a mile every 9 hours, according to the tortoise fact sheet printed on her label), or, if she senses danger, quickly retract her head and front legs into her shell, a skill which makes her particularly well-suited for games of peekaboo. A mature and sage-looking creature, Tortoise makes a terrific trouper for your puppet show, or simply a fun take-along friend (talk to her in the car, she’s a great listener). Be sure to check out Tortoise’s label for fascinating facts about tortoises as well as the Hottentot version of the famous “Tortoise and the Hare” folktale.
Buy Tortoise Puppet on Amazon.com >>
Here are some easy to follow directions for cleaning your pond once it has been set up:
So far, we’ve featured kids & toddler turtle costumes, adult turtle costumes ,the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costumes and sexy Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costumes. Today, we end our turtle costume series of posts with the obscure for those of you who like costumes out of the norm… the mascot turtle costumes!
Finally if you’re looking for a costume for your favorite four legged friend, check out the dog tortoise costume below!
Well that’s it! Those are all the turtle costumes I was able to find online. I hope you’re able to find a turtle costume that suits you and your needs!
This is post 4 in a 5 part series related to turtle costumes. So far, we’ve featured kids & toddler turtle costumes, adult turtle costumes and the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costumes. I have to say, being a geeky girl, this week’s post is my favorite so far. Check out these sexy Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costumes!
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TMNT – Sexy Raphael (Red) Deluxe Adult CostumeIncludes: Dress with turtleshell backpack,wristbands and eyemask. Does not include ninja sais or boots. This is an officially licensed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles product. |