King Louis

So, as a wedding present I got Jacelyn a baby turtle. Well, actually I got her a tank with a heater and a filter and some turtle food with the promise of a baby turtle. Then we went on our honeymoon and so it was good that we didn't have to abandon a baby turtle.

It took us a while to find one once we returned home. Not many pet stores carry them anymore. There was a craze in the 80's (corresponding to a certain animated television program where turtles featured prominently) and a bunch of people got them, and the let them loose when they got too big, or got salmonella from not washing their hands after playing with them. Anyway, we finally found a place that had two, and when we got there our Louis was the last one left.

He is still pretty small, but is growing slowly. They can live up to 50 years, and grow up to 13 inches long, so we don't feed him too often. They can survive up to 30 days without food, so the compromise of every three days or so seems to work. At first King Louis wouldn't eat his pellets. Then we discovered his love of the hunt, and feasting on living things. So in the fall and into the dead of winter I was forced to go outside and scrounge up a couple grubblies every few days. Now he eats his pellets, but it is still fun to watch him 'hunt'. So without further ado here he is in all his predatory glory hunting a snail:

 

If that wasn't excitement enough I have another video of him wrangling with a far more deadly foe. The dreaded earthworm!!! This is not as gross as it can get, I have a video of him consuming a worm at least as long as he is, if not longer. I won't post it. It took him a long time to get it down, and eventually it stopped trying to escape. The tame version: