Turtles don’t like Cheerios
Nov. 21, 2008 4 Comments Posted under: turtles, wildlife
In our new neighborhood we have lots of ponds. I love them. I love the way the sun sets over them in the evening. I love the way the moon shines on them when I get up waaaaay too early in the morning. (Thank you, first child, who just had to go to school this year…but I digress.) I love to drive past the ponds and see the turtles sunning and the big huge blue herons fishing.
Shortly after we moved in, my daughter and I decided to feed the turtles. I don’t know what turtles eat, but I figured they’d be like ducks and eat just about anything. So I got the stale box of Cheerios out of the pantry and my daughter and I trekked across to the pond to feed the turtles.
I have to tell you that they’re a little scary up close. They have pointy noses and beady eyes. And they’re bigger up close than they are from my car when I’m driving by. And they looked hungry. And just for the record, turtles don’t like Cheerios.
This entry was posted on Friday, November 21st, 2008 at 9:50 am and is filed under turtles, wildlife. You can leave a comment and follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Sierra Donovan said:
Nov. 23, 2008
From personal experience, I can tell you that desert tortoises like fruits and veggies — lettuce, tomatoes, bananas, apples and stuff. I’m not sure if pond turtles would have similar appetites or not. And it could get pretty messy, tossing produce into the water!
Stephanie Newton said:
Nov. 24, 2008
A smart person would have Googled what turtles eat. But not me.
So here’s another question…where do turtles go when it gets cold? Cause now they’ve all disappeared!
Sierra Donovan said:
Nov. 24, 2008
Probably they’re hibernating. Again, speaking from my experience with “dry” desert tortoises, they’re really good at finding places to burrow and camouflage themselves.
Owning desert tortoises is illegal in California, but my mom (shh, shh) successfully raised a couple. I think we found one when I was little, and bought the other at an outdoor swap meet. Turns out one was male and one was female. Their mating habits were … uh … disturbing, and not particularly friendly. But Goliath and Gibraltar did eventually have a family. So maybe in my mom’s case, owning illicit turtles wasn’t so bad.
(Looking over my shoulder for the Reptile Police) Is there a statute of limitations on contraband turtles?
Stephanie Newton said:
Nov. 24, 2008
Whew! I’ve been interrogated all afternoon about the whereabouts of a certain illegal tortoise farm somewhere in California. I think I managed to throw them off the trail.
I figured that the turtles were hibernating or at least hunkered down somewhere. They disappeared too quickly once it got chilly. And I’m guessing the frogs do, too. We had thousands…and all of a sudden none. But that’s another blog entry. ;o)