Lonely Forever?

"I've noticed my turtle is surrounded by water and rocks. She is surrounded by nothing! I watch her alone in the corner of her tank. I wonder if she ever feels lonely–I know I would." Field-notes 11/08

Photo taken by Nayeli Robles 11/08/14 

Perhaps my turtle needs a companion? She is alone everyday–I bet she gets bored. I try to put myself in her shoes, if I was alone in a tank all day what would I do? (I would probably loose my mind.) What is there to do all day? Perhaps swim in circles. I realize she is a turtle but she does have feelings too.

I decided to research what other types of animals would get along with red eared sliders. I was disappointed to find it is a bit more complicated than I expected. According to "What Animals get along with Red Eared Sliders" Red eared sliders tend to not get along with other animals since they will prey upon them especially smaller animals. The best cage mates for red eared sliders are other turtles although they can sometimes have problems too. (I remember one day when I had another turtle, I found them biting each other's legs.) Most owners keep their turtles with goldfishes and minnows because they are inexpensive and easy to replace. (That is just cruel!) I sadly found the only way my turtle can have a companion is by providing places where the other animal can hide and supplying both of them with plenty of food. (Team).

I know my turtle would be vicious enough to immediately prey upon other animals. She has an obsession with food. I could never let another animal live in torment and constantly avoid being hunted down.

"It seems like my turtle is successful once again–she has tricked my dad into constantly feeding her. The tank stinks and it is clearly dirty (The water is now green.) My dad is no longer allowed to feed her." Field-notes 11/05

It might be a while until I decide whether I want to risk the life of another animal. It seems like for now my turtle will continue to ride solo.

Work Cited

Team, Ben. "What Animals get along with Red Eared Sliders?" Animals. N.p. n.d. Web. 09 Nov. 2014. 

Through her eyes

"I look into my turtle's eyes. They are intimidating and beautiful! I see a dark green color then a black stripe crossing the center of her eyes. They look so deep and mysterious." Field-notes 10/30

The look in her eyes
Photo taken by Nayeli Robles 10/30/14

Looking into my turtle's eyes intimidated me. They appeared so frightening like those of a snake. Maybe it was my turtle's overall appearance that caused my curiosity. What other types of animals were related to turtles? I was sure either lizards or snakes would have close similarities with turtles–I was wrong.

Turns out the origin of turtles is an unanswered question. Studies show turtles are either evolving from the ancestors of snakes and lizards or from the ancestors of crocodilians and birds. Researchers of Boston University confirmed turtles are more closely related to the ancestors of crocodilians and birds. (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120523200301.htm) How surprising right!

Work Cited

Boston University College of Arts and Sciences. "Turtles more closely related to birds than lizards and snakes, genetic evidence shows." Science Daily. N.p. 23 May. 2012. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.

Mix of Emotions

"Lately my turtle has been very calm and peaceful. I see her stay in the same place–her neck stretched out. Observing. I wonder what goes through her thoughts." Field-notes 10/22

10/22/14 Photo taken by Nayeli Robles 

It is so peaceful to watch her, she is so calm unlike other days when she is moving around everywhere in her tank. My turtle's calm mood brings peace to the both of us.

The Peace of Wild Things
When despair grows in me
and I wake in the middle of the night at the
least of sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives
may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the
great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still
water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting for their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

Wendell Berry Famous Poets and Poems

"I spot my turtle in the same place in the corner of her tank. I pull up a chair to observe her–not too close up. She moved away as soon I sat down. She was facing me; now I saw the back of her. I guess she didn't want to look at me. I wonder what I did wrong." Field-notes 10/25

10/25/14 Photo taken by Nayeli Robles 

I thought about what I could have possibly done to upset my turtle. (It seemed ridiculous.) I had been gone for two days because of a volleyball game in Elko. Then I realized maybe my turtle's attitude was due to my absence–perhaps she felt ignored, I had paid a lot of attention to her lately expect for those two days I was unable. My turtle continuously surprises me with her mixture of emotions.

Work Cited
Berry, Wendell. "The Peace of Wild Things." Famous Poets and Poems. N.p. n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.

False Alarm

"At 9:10 p.m. reality hit. I was in my room when all of a sudden I heard my mom scream and I knew something bad had happened. I  heard my sister's voice in the living room. I heard, 'look its dead.' I sat in my room paralyzed–a million thoughts rushed through my mind? How? Why? Is this real? My sister claimed my turtle dead; she was not moving. My mom's voice cracked and I knew she was trying to hold back tears. While I refused to take a look for myself and remained away, still in shock. I was listening to everything that was happening but for some reason I couldn't find my words. Then... my sister said something that returned the life to us all. 'Oh just kidding, she was just asleep.' (I wanted to beat my sister up so bad!)" Field-notes 10/16

10/19/14 Photo taken by Nayeli Robles
(It has been a long day–how she sleeps)

Besides the great urge of smacking my sister upside the head for scaring us like that, she also made me realize something. We all cared for our turtle. (It makes sense we've had her for a long time but no one really showed much love for her.) I guess I just realized my turtle is living; therefore, one day she can die too. She breathes just like I do. Both of us will go through life–of course not in the same exact way. (I would drown in water since I'm a 16 year-old who still can't swim! -.-)

After I also started to wonder a lot of things. I wondered how long turtles have been on Earth? Since all living things must have a beginning and an end. I found that seven species that still live today have been around for more than 110 million years. I also found one of the Earth's most ancient creatures are sea turtles! (http://www.defenders.org/sea-turtles/basic-facts) Turtles have been around for a long time! (How cool!) Now that I know turtles have existed for a long time–will they become extincted one day? How many turtles are there? Are they in any danger? It would be awful for some amazing creatures like turtles who have survived for so long to one day not live on Earth.

She is a Clever One

My red eared slider turtle is quite a trickster. I would have never realized she had made me feel so guilty before until I found some facts about turtles. Turtles notice who regularly feeds them and show affection towards those people by getting excited when they are approached. They also like to trick their care giver into giving them more food by constantly moving around in a desperate way as if they were starving–how clever. (http://exoticpets.about.com/od/aquaticturtles/tp/knowaboutRES.htm)
 
"I spot my turtle doing something really unusual. Her head and body was below the water, her arms were moving quickly and at the same time she would move the little pebbles in her tank. She would lower her head towards a pebble pick it up in her mouth then drop it back down. I thought my dad had just forgot to fed her and she was just hungry. I couldn't help but feel terribly guilty–pour thing was probably starving. (I know how that feels when I get out of practice.) I turned to my dad who was in the living room watching TV  and asked him if he had fed her. My dad told me he had when he had got home and I was then confused with my turtle's behavior, but I decided to feed her again anyways. She devours it." Field-notes, 9/17

"I notice my turtle moving back and forth in the tank, constantly lifting it's head above the water. It caught my attention while watching TV in the living room because I could hear something, but it wasn't loud. I turned and saw the water in my turtle's tank moving side to side slightly. I watched from the couch and saw my turtle moving to one side of the tank and then to the opposite side in a quick motion. My turtle would also push it's hand up on the side of the glass--half its body above the water." Field-notes, 9/23

She had tricked me. Everything makes sense now; my turtle had cleverly tricked me into feeding her again. She had used my guilt in her favor–I can't say I'm upset. (How impressive and intelligent.) It now also makes sense why she would always move in a frantic manner when my dad would walk passed her tank. (She was excited to see him.) My dad was the one who would mostly feed her.

10/14/14 Photo taken by Nayeli Robles
"The Clever one"

I wonder if I was to feed her more often instead of my dad, would she get excited to see me too? Would she like me more than my dad? Is food the key in her liking me?

Turns Out To Be...

I've had my turtle for as long as I can remember, yet I never questioned its gender or what type of turtle it is. (How ignorant, right.) However, now due to my observations, curiosity has struck me! After watching the YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rsa5Zs6b_sM I realized there are so many different types of turtles and how unique some of them look. They are so cool! I've also discovered my turtle is a red eared slider.

10/5/14 Photo taken by Nayeli Robles

Now I know what type of turtle I have but still unknown remained its gender. I also didn't know anything about red eared slider turtles. According to the YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RH_wZ3xjqpw which I found very useful and interesting, these turtles are common pets and grow to be quite big. I also learned how to determine the gender of my turtle after watching this video–by looking at my turtle's claws which are fairly short I found my turtle is actually a female. (I was sure it was a male–oops.)

The Stare

I think my turtle is really scared of me. I've been observing from a not too close distance but today I tried observing more closely to its tank; right away it tucked its head into its shell. I got on my knees so I could be at eye level and I could see my turtle's eyes just staring at me. It still remained with its head tucked in. I'm not sure who was more intimidated between us, it made me shiver and uncomfortable. 

I wonder why the sense of awkwardness was felt between my turtle and I. Did my turtle feel the same thing as I did? It wasn't fear I felt for there was glass separating us. It just didn't feel right.