When I told my boyfriend (now husband) that I was allergic to cats and dogs, I thought he was going to break up with me. He grew up with both in the house and thought it was a given that any home would have at least one free-range furry friend living in it. He spent the two years we were engaged talking about hypo-allergenic cats and dogs and even looked up the price of a pure-bred Siberian cat.
For the six months leading up to our wedding, he was finishing up at school and I was living alone and was very lonely. Following what had always worked for him, he decided to get me a pet for my birthday. I’d had an Eastern Box Turtle growing up and he decided it was time for me to have another turtle in my life. That’s how we came to have Jane.
Jane is a really sweet-manored girl and we’ve bee so lucky to have her in our lives. She has only bit me once, the first day we had her! I picked her up wrong and have never made that mistake again! She’s not cat, but my husband has grown to really love her and enjoy taking care of a reptile. They have a lot more of a personality than one might think!
We’d moved to a bigger apartment and had purchased a bigger tank when a co-worker approached me about a friend who needed to re-home his turtle. Apparently, his wife was not a bit fan and he was told the turtle would not be moving with them to their new house. We were asked if we could provide a home for a 15-year-old male, Marty. Fortunately, we were able to oblige.
Marty was very different right from the start. He’s much more aggressive and even bit Jane when we tried to put them in the same tank. He has a bad habit of begging for food by splashing loudly when we’re in the kitchen. Jane has started to pick it up so we’re not pleased. He’s also a little escape artist and we’ve twice had to track him down around the apartment when we realized he wasn’t in his tank. For reference, the lid of his tank is about 5 feet off the ground. He’s a tough little thing.
So I don’t have cute little furry friends but I do have cute little scaley cold-blooded friends. My husband and I love being turtle parents, mostly because it’s so relaxed and we can leave them for the weekend without worry. If you’re in the same allergy-boat as me, consider reptiles! They make great pets. I secretly want a lizard but I don’t want to buy live crickets.
Until next time, write on!
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Taking On a World of Words 
It’s funny. My daughter had lobbied for a bearded dragon for close to a year. I’ve grown up in the desert, lizards don’t bother me, but my husband was sooooo reluctant for so long. Finally, a year ago May, he gave in. Sampson, my daughter’s beardie, is the sweetest darn thing you could ever meet and he has the biggest personality! Even our cat loves him (she likes to lay outside his tank and stare in at him, Sampson will come and put one foot against the glass as if to say, ‘hey cat’.).
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So cute! I would love one. Do you have to feed it live insects?
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He really is! Yeah, he eats crickets and mealworms (as a treat). But once he hits adulthood, he won’t have to eat crickets more than a couple times a week. I can live with crickets. 🙂 They have these nifty cricket keepers now that are little plastic boxes with tubes that go into the carrier. The crickets hop into them, you slide the tube out, and dump it right into the tank with the lizard. Never even have to touch them. It’s great.
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How cool! They are both so cute! I love that Marty escapes and splashes water for food. 😂
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People think I’m joking when o say he begs but he does it more when we have guests over haha. Thanks!
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Turtles are my passion and I have three of my own. Your turtles are beautiful by the way! If they live together make sure you watch for signs of aggression, which Red-Eared Sliders can show out of the blue. Also, don’t worry so much about the begging, its a way that they show that they love you and are happy! If you have any questions feel free to ask! I know that sometimes pet stores can give misinformation about these dudes, which is really sad. I’ll be posting more about turtle care on my blog as well!
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They are housed separately because within five minutes of trying them in the same tank our male but the female’s foot! He’s not as aggressive on land so we’ll own them together firings tank cleaning but that’s the only time they interact. We were lucky to live near a pet store with a turtle specialist when we first got them and learned a lot! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your passion!
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That happened when I first got my turtles too! I have an alpha female that hates everyone, so she’s a loner. But my two painted turtles are super docile, so they live together in a huge stock tank. Finding a turtle specialist is hard, that’s really awesome that you have one!
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