We Had A Pet Turtle or Two

This is Wax.

We agreed to baby-sit him and his sucker-fish pal for a summer.

Bill loves pets. Bill really likes turtles. But mostly Bill loves dogs. But clearly, Wax is not a dog...but my husband would gladly take on a pet turtle to fill the void in his heart caused by a lack of a dog in his LIFE.

We (and when I say we, I really only mean Bill) made him a home out of a giant gray tote. He even made him a stand to crawl on so that he could bask in some UV light! I was pretty proud of my husband and his deep concern for Wax.

Then school started and no one wanted wanted to take Wax back. We couldn't abandon the little guy to the wild! So we doubled our aquatic family once more. We were now the happy owners of a fish, a frog, a sucker fish, and a turtle.

Bill began working at Bear River Charter School as their IT Manager around the end of the summer. At BRCS, they had a giant tank that belonged to a single turtle. According to Bill, the turtle was dark and sickly. Perhaps even a female! Maybe he could bring Wax to the school for a play date with her and cheer her up a bit.

But instead of Wax going to school to play with the little turtle, the little turtle named Speedy came to play over at Wax's. Much to my surprise/disbelief/chagrin! But Speedy was in bad, bad, bad, bad shape. Bill placed Speedy on Wax's platform to bask in the light. She stayed there for a really long while.

The next day, Bill took Speedy to the turtle-vet. Speedy wasn't a girl. Speedy was a boy. Speedy wasn't even a red-eared slider like Wax. He was something Russian. And his bubbling-at-the mouth was a sign that he had some terrible respiratory issues which made it really hard for him to swim. Wax is to Michael Phelps as Speedy is to me. A rather awkward and clunky sight to behold.

But my Bill has magical turtle powers and nursed Speedy back to health! He scrubbed his shell, fed him antibiotics, and made sure he ate food. Speedy was gaining strength!

Now there were two turtles and a gianormous sucker fish all living together within the confines of a single tub...needless to say, there was little room, and a lot of stench. And as much as Bill loved his turtles, his nose certainly did not.

Bill packed both of them up in a box and took them to live in the giant turtle tank at the charter school that Speedy once had to himself. Bill was no longer simply the IT man, but the designated Turtle-Caretaker of the school. All the kids loved the fact that now there were magically two turtles in the tank! And so, seeing it fit that they truly belong there, they reside in that tank to this day.

But you see...we still are the owners of a giant sucker fish (which I believe was given the name Alfred by the girls who cared for it prior to us). We would have put the sucker fish in the tank with the turtles, only one of the turtles bit a chunk out of its fin when Bill tried to transport them all together. Bill felt it may be best to separate them in order to avoid bloody water at the school...that could give any little kiddy a nightmare, for certain.

So we once had a turtle. Then we had two. Now we have none.

As far from a pet-lover as I am...I think I miss them...