Ginger and Fred

Ginger and Fred are my baby land turtles (tortoises). A friend of mine mentioned, they were giving away baby turtles as they had too many in their garden and I agreed to help them find new homes for them. But.... when I saw the tiniest one, it was love at first sight, so I kept  one, and later on adopted another one from the same garden. I couldn't wait for them to wake up in the mornings. They don't play with me or anything, but spending time with them relaxes me. They take the time to wake up, to come out, to feel and smell the air, to look for a shiny spot in the morning... and I think I can learn a great deal from them... slowing down will be my motto for 2010. I was like "ok, now we won't need to mow the lawn" as we have 2 turtles. I still don't have to as this is hubby's job, but boy, was I wrong all the way! You see, these turtles don't eat  the ordinary, manicured grass so I feed them dandelion leaves, plantain leaves, wild ruccola, hibiscus flowers, salad, radicchio, tomatoes, some fruit form time to time and some tortoise complete food with the proper ration between fiber and protein. I also add some calcium powder to their food for the healthy growth of the shell. I got them in 2007, while I was studying for the State law exam and they helped me stay sane! Pupa (cat) is not even slightly interested in them as they are too slow for her, but you wouldn't believe it how fast can they go! I often let them roam freely in the small park just on the other side of our street but I watch over them as they can be gone in 15 minutes. They just keep going, they have their home with them and if I let them out of my sight they'd never return home. In the first year I was afraid that some bigger bird might get them so I was extra careful. They are both bigger now (i think both are girls) but I still keep them inside over night. They hibernated throughout the winter and woke up in March. I missed you girls:))

June 2007

 

August 2007

June 2008

October 2009

April 2010