The Death Of A Fly

Here comes a detective story in which my two "nasty" turtles play the major role!!!

It was a sunny early spring day! Sunshines, breeze~~~

The window affiliated to the room my turtles are in was open for a while during the daytime so that they can sniff and breath the warm spring air.

A fly just found something that seems very pleasant to his taste and he filed in!!! 

Having snooped all over the room, he found nothing else but two turtles soaking in a sort of pool full of their pools and pee and shrimp leftover!!! 

Maybe the detective thing drained his energy, the fly decided to take a break in this room that smelled "fragrance"  to him!!! 

When he woke up, the fly found the window was closed and himself stucked in this cubic! 

And the fly just intoxicated as the smell went dense!!! And, finally, he never wakes up again!!! 

So!!! This is the story or anecdote about how a fly was killed by the reek of the mixture of shrimp leftover and turtles poo and pee!!!!!! 

I'm deeply convinced that it's the reek/smell produced, directly and indirectly, by my two turtles committed the murder!!!

The End 

(See my Timon in the picture above: she is checking whether there is any food popping in that corner with her eyes tilted upward!!! 

She prefers handfeeding from me! And every bite she takes is very gentle and careful so as to avoid hurting my fingers!!!

As the more playful one she is, Timon will, when she is 80% full, drop what is in her mouth and comes to try to rob what I'm feeding Pumbaa!!! When she gets the target over Pumbaa, she just chews for one or two bites and drops it!!! This is how the leftover comes from!!!

Anyway, they are sooooo cute!!!)

Something During My Turtles' Winter Sleep

As I am always claiming that animals have something!!! They have emotions and they can understand what human say or mean sometimes at least!!! 

Take my two not-so-little turtles as the example, they understand what I say to them and know what I mean!!! 

Though they are in their hibernation, they still have their paws/claws exercised sometimes!!! And I let them soak themselves in the water at several days interval for they may intake some water and wash something filthy out!!! 

Due to their current size and the basin available to them, they have to dip the water one by one!!! 

My preference let Timon go into the water first!!! 

After her, I found Pumbaa has already niched himself at the corner!!! 

It goes like this:"Would you like have a bath before your napping?" 

Pumbaa seems hear it and understand it!!! 

He showed himself, after a certain period of time due to the nature of turtle's reaction, and stretched out his head as if saying:"It's OK!!!" 

So Pumbaa got some water and back to his winter sleep along side Timon!!! 

They do get each other side by side at the corner!!! 

Sooo cute!!!

Going Less Reptile

As you can see in the photo above, my Timon and Pumbaa are growing rapidly this year, especially Timon(the light yellowish one) who is catching up Pumbaa in size!!! They are almost 18~19cm in diameter now!!!

They have good appetite these days for they have to store enough fat to pass the coming cold winter. 

Timon and Pumbaa can recognize me as the one who feed them and distinguish my finger from their food now!!! They will give a small bite, (though they can bite hard and never give up till the food is safe in their mouth when they fight for food) when I hand feed them^^ After all, it's not fun if being bit by such turtles at this size!!!

So, my turtle is going less reptile now!!!

 Below is Timon's new-born claw or finger bit by herself last year!!!

Bubbling Turtle

It'a autumn again, which means my two turtles will go into their hibernation soon!!! And they eat less and less now!!! 

You can see from the picture above that Pumbaa is dozing with his head buried under the water and his nose bubbling!!!

The picture below is how Pumbaa sleeps!!! He even remembers to stretch his leg while dreaming!!! ~~ Haaa~~~

While I want to say something about Timon here because she is soooo cute!!! 

I usually let her out of the container every night so that she can get to her niche to have a sound sleep. What's unusual is the next morning, she will craw out with a eager attempt to find some water!!! As if saying:"Hey, Agnes, I want to poo and pee and have my morning drink!!!" I know that because every time I put her into the water, she poos immediately!!! See, she is a turtle who pays much attention to her tursonal hygiene!!! Just like dogs and cats who are trained to poo at certain place, my Timon does it without my training!!!

 Another thing about Timon which stands her out is that she seems know that she can sleep in her niche every night!!! One night, I bid goodnight to them, and I thought I would pick her later after my finishing my own things. Timon might think I wouldn't pick her that night, and decided to make noise by strenuously crawling in the container!!!

As I've said in my previous posts, my turtles have something, especially the Timon!!!

Here is the Timon vs a shrimp!!!

See, she has no appetite for it!!!

Two more photos for Timon!!!

This is Pumbaa!!!

Timon Got Injured

When I checked my two turtles this morning, I found one of Timon's front paws was bleeding!!!  When I checked the other front paw, the nails were gone!!! The thought that she was bit by Pumbaa who might be very hungry last night jumped into my mind!!! And Timon has no appetite today at all!!! She is injured!!! So I transferred her from the contagious water to a clean container, and applied her some medical cream!!! 

See~~~ Turtle's blood is red!!!

One nail was gone from this paw!!!~~~

This paw is swelling!!!

 My neighbor who has 10+ years of raising turtles suggested that my two little turtles mated last night and Timon will lay eggs soon!!!!!! So exciting news!!!!!! She is still about 12 centimeter in diameter!!! 

She is not in good mood now. Because she hiss a lot when I hold her!!! Usually, she is relaxed and stretching her limbs on my palm.

The truth is she bit herself and bit so hard!!! Advice from online told me that it's because she is growing and her shell is shedding which causes her itching and which, in turn, makes her want to bite herself!!!!!! 

I'm shocked by her hard bites!!!

My Well-read Pumbaa

 This is the funny story I captured about Pumbaa one day on which he determined to be a well-read turtle!!! 

I think he was reading the newspaper, or trying to learn something!!!

"Let me see the right part~~~"

"Oooh, I don't get that!!! I will try the left part~~~"

"What about the lines up there~~~"

"Or there~~~"

"Ooooh, I just need some rest!!!!!!"

Then Pumbaa closed his eyes and fell in sleep!!!

This is how is Timon going recently. She has a round bigger and gained a lot of weight!!! I weight her on my palm!!! 

She just does her usual things like eat, crawl, sunbath on Pumbaa's back!!!

Sometimes, when she is bored, she will bite her own arm for fun!!!

Going Vegetarian

My two turtles are going vegetarian!!! They started to bite corn as their snack yesterday!!! Usually, they are fed with shrimps in the morning, but, as their appetite grow bigger, they need some snacks during the rest of the day!!! 

I put corn near to their noses to see if they would like to eat it. They did bite it!!! Both Timon and Pumbaa!!! They are picky when eating it---they squeezed the corn meat and ate it and left the skin as if eating the corn is in their DNA!!!

So, I decide to feed them in a more healthy way---Feed them with corn or maybe try some rice at first, and then, the shrimps!!!

My Failure To Get Them Close To Their Natural Habitat

Supposed they would like the sand I prepared for their coming hibernation period, I filled the container with clean wet sand just as the same as what is recommended online. But, my Timon and Pumbaa don't like it!!! 

I dragged them out of their niche and let them enjoy the last warm water and sunshine. Then, I put them on the sand I prepared for them. It's not strange to me that they felt little strange to this (maybe they have ever seen sand since their birth, let alone set their paws on it!!!) 

So, I put some sand on their shells, thus making them get familiar to it. But they still wanted to get rid of it and crawl out!!! 

My next step was closet them in the sand container to see if them could get used to it. Well, they got quiet with their eyes open wild discerning the world outside the box.

Till down, I didn't bother them a little. When I got to them to see if they were used to sand, I decided I should let them out and set them where they favour the most. Standing on her two back limbs, Timon tilted her head against the little bars on the lid of the container as if complaining:"I don't like sand!!! It gets me dirty!!! I can't sleep in it!!!"

And Pumbaa, the one that spends the most of time sleeping, also had no sign of sleepy eyes!!!

Ok. I have to say: my turtles are much more used to human environment now!!!

This is when they were just put on sand

 This is Timon who was trying her utmost to get out of it!!!

A Successful Escape

This is what I catch just now--Timon and Pumbaa successfully escape from their cubicle area which is fenced by paper containers!!! Yes!!! They did prisonbreak again and they made it!!! Give them a big round of applause!!!

This is how Timon did it!!! Easy and smooth!!! And you can see Pumbaa is on her tail!!!

This is how Pumbaa did it!!!

Timon Can Play Dead

I'm not very clear what the reason of it--laziness or naughty. 

Timon kept this pose for at least 1min after her falling from a chair!!! She was reluctantly turning herself over!!! "Ooh, I eat too much!!! My chubby head and neck which are full of fat can do no help to my turning over!!! My limbs are chubby too--the consequence of greedy gulp, though I tried my best to stretch them very often!!!" 

Timon also nourished a new hobby looking into the mirror!!! She grasps every opportunity to set herself in front of the mirror and enjoy her own image!!! She will not leave that until being moved!!!

Timon Has Something To Say

Every morning, the first thing I do after I open my eyes is to say Hallo to Timon and Pumbaa. This morning was no exception to me, but big big difference to Timon!!! When I approached them, Timon looked at me and, then, rolled up her eyes as if instructing me to open the lid and complaining:"Open it!!! Pumbaa is stinky!!! I need some fresh air!!!" Then, I did what she wanted me to. And she stretched her neck to let her nose breath in some fresh air!!! 

Oooh, my lovely Timon can express her thought!!! Isn't this unbelievable???!!!

This is what they look like when they desperately want food!!! Especially, Timon~~~

They prefer to being fed!!! If you just leave the shrimp in the container and do not feed them, they will not behave themselves to have a meal!!! Till you feed them~~~ so lovely^^

 Pumbaa always bears the "I-am-the-king" pose after a full meal!!!

It's Timon's Turn

Finally, they did it again. And I got it!!!

It's Timon's turn to court!!! After a full meal as they always do, Timon found her mood in courting!!! She showed her typical posture--stretching out her neck with eyes that are full of love towards Pumbaa, laying out two arms that were ready for shivering!!! 

But the dumb Pumbaa seemed no interest in her courtship at all--waving arms as if saying:"Go away!!! Go away!!!" Worse enough, he even bit Timon in return!!!

Well, Timon, being drunk or drugged, constantly show her passion!!!

Check out here!!!

This is what Timon looks like after futile courting and being bit by Pumbaa!!! Look at her left arm!!! Haaa~~~

Courting Turtles

Big big discovery--My two turtles are courting!!! 

It's yesterday afternoon, after a full meal, they were enjoying their leisure time and it seemed nothing unusual. Suddenly, Pumbaa stretched out his "electrified shivering arms" towards Timon--the typical movement while turtles' courting!!! Only few seconds though. Timon showed no interest at first. While, moments later, it's Timon's turn!!! She stretched out her neck towards Pumbaa, sniffed through his neck to his nose and looked at him with the eyes that is full of love!!!!!! Then the same "electrified shivering arms"!!! Haaa~~~ They are in love!!!

Sadly, I didn't catch that moment. I supposed they would do that again today. But it seems they have no mood after the breakfast. So, this afternoon is expected to be the time. And I will put them in a big container with plenty of water dotted with leaflets--an ideal environment for courting!!! And, of course, the camera must be standby.^^

They failed me!!! Maybe it's the leaflets distracted their mood!!! They were toying with those leaflets--bite them, and spit them. Only photos bellow were captured.

My Turtles Have Their Voice

After days of enjoying the free exploration, Timon and Pumbaa both find their most attracted place to hide--dark, shadowy place!!! And they can remember where it is when they've got familiar with the surroundings!!! At first, they would linger for a while. Then, days after, they will directly approach their favourite spots. They can hide in there for a whole morning, still and quiet. 

Well, just now, I find Timon can produce sound!!! When I try to drag her out, she produced a kind of sound more like a snake's hissing, only little lower and more hoarse. When I laid her on my palm, she opened her mouth, shrink her neck into her shell, and sound a lot as if she was complaining:"What are you doing!!! I don't like the sunlight!!! Put me back!!!"

I'm so glade that they have maintained the behaviour their wild counterparts do^^ After all, it's in their DNA!!!

See, they are kissing^^

My Turtles Have Something

Look, Pumbaa can do push-ups, vertical ones!!! 
Much more interesting is when I focus on Pumbaa, Timon's head popped up aside, by taking jolly steps towards my camera as if saying:"Emm, what's this??? Ooh, it's a camera!!! Hey, give me a shot!!!" She couldn't mistake the camera as her shrimp at all, could she!!! I really want to set a camera on them 24 houes a day 7 days a week, cause they are super super cute, and I can watch them for hours and hours!!!
My little turtles are not just reptile, they really, definitely, 100% true more than that!!! They have facial expressions which can be recognized through their eyes: sometimes eagerness, sometimes carelessness or boring or tiresome, sometimes curiosity~~ 
I always believe that animals have superpowers that beyond human's imagination!!! Those who take them reptile are reptile themselves!!!

But, I doubt their eyesight, especially Pumbaa's!!! He can't distinguishes shrimp from Timon's limbs and even her neck!!! He bites Timon sometimes, which is never on Timon's will-do list!!! 

One more trait from Pumbaa is his seemingly endless crawling which can fatigue me instead!!! He just crawls forward and forward and forward!!!

Since to teach them how to hunt is still on my agenda, I figure out this way: Let shrimp, dead one, move in a zigzag way, then, my turtles can catch them!!! That really works!!! As growing bigger, they can swallow a WHOLE shrimp!!!

This is my sleeping Timon^^ A beauty sleep!!!

Stuffed, Sleeping, Stronger

31st March: Woken up from their long hibernation period, they got their first dip of water. Timon (the female one) used it to wash her face;while Pumbaa (the male one) drank a lot!!! 
Timon got her first fart this year, and had a palm face for it!!! 

Then I decided to give them each a nail-treatment. Well, Timon, that girl, enjoyed it very much; But I guess Pumbaa hated it, because he screamed in silence--AAAAAAH!!!

14th April: With the warmer weather, Timon started biting shrimp. And she remembered the silver tool I used to fed her last year!!! 
Pumbaa still hadn't the appetite. Instead, he showed his male character by patrolling his territory and, sometimes, stared at me with a tilting head which is so cute!!!

29th April: It was Pumbaa's turn to start biting. Under the mild sunshine, Timon could fall in sleep within 10 seconds after a full meal. Her slogan may be "Stuffed,Sleeping, and Stronger!!!"

During the whole month of May, I tried to teach them how to prey which was failed due to swift movements from the prey part(actually they were bouncing). Shortly, Timon got tired of such vain chasing and set out her angry towards me by biting my finger. That hard bite from such a little thing--only 5 or 6 centimetre in diameter can hurt me at least 30 seconds!!!

According to my observation, animals have a sort of "superpower" that can tell the good and the evil!!! My appearance to them might mean "oh, food is coming!!!" or "It's time for crawling!!!"

It's July now, and the temperature climbs high!!! Their appetite grow bigger!!! But, still, they have picky mouths, especially, Timon!!! Shrimp is the only thing they eat.