My uncle left for vacation for a few days and left me to hold a water turtle he has. It's small, at the size of my hand and lives in this small plastic container. And really feel sorry for her (or him?) spending her life like that.
I was really bothered by the fact that I kept seeing it swimming, at the edge of the container with the head stuck against the plastic. I really couldn't believe it was so stupid or wanted so much to swim.
Until he brought it here. I realized that the water was too high and it couldn't rest with the head out. So I removed some of the water and saw it relax for the first time. I don't know how their breathing works, but I believe it can sit under water for a certain amount of time. I also don't know if it can hear sounds and whether it's a male or female.
Sleeping... Notice the stretched legs 😊
The second day started to let her out. My cat freaked out of course, mostly from the loud sound it makes when walking. Usually it goes around for 10 minutes and then finds a safe place and sleeps there.
I'm supposed to feed it once a day with just a few milligrammes from this special food they sell on pet shops. But was shocked with the quantity and asked my uncle what it would eat in the wild.
Fruits, vegetables and meat he said. I bought once a little turtle he said to have some company. In the morning he was horrified to see that the big one ate the small one. Only the bones were left.
So, started to give her little pieces of tomatoes, grapes, carrots etc. Now the turtle recognises me and will follow me around when I let her out. Or trying to climb the container when in it.
Anyway, that's what I wanted to share. If any of you knows more about the subject, please let me know.
