Before I started the tank cleaning, I spent some time having a look around the garden and found a few different flies including a thick legged hoverfly.
I also found a little plant growing beside my log pile habitat, though I don't know what it is (some kind of bittercress I would say), and noticed that the water mint in the pond is flowering.
As I type, Ernie seems to be really enjoying the fresh clean tank! The tank set up is changed each clean out to make things different for him - plants and decorations can be swapped easily and large pieces like the bogwood, plant pot cave and basking area rearranged. I've not seen him this active for a while, he seems to be really enjoying the new layout and having a good time exploring!
*Ernie is an aquatic turtle, a loggerhead musk, who was abandoned by his previous owner in 2008. The previous owner had had him for around 10 years but had not looked after him properly and became a depressed alcoholic before moving out of his home and leaving everything behind, including the turtle. I don't like animals like this in tanks and cages really and I would never support the trade of more exotic sorts of pets but, if I didn't want him, the turtle would have been taken to a pet shop and ended up who knows where, so I adopted him to make his life better. I believe he's about 40 years old now, based on information received when I adopted him, and he should live until he is around 60.
Oh look at him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bless him, he lookks like he is enjoying life with him! Thank you for saving him from an uncertain future even though you don't agree with animals in captivity. A friend of mine loves turtles and she trained in marine biology and she was actually Seychelles conservation officer for a year monitoring the numbers of turtles that laid eggs on the uninhabited island (except for her and some volunteers) she lived on!x
ReplyDeleteAwww, Ernie! I completely agree with you Louise - I would love to have an exotic pet like this but my views have changed on it over the past few years but I think in certain situations, like this, he's far more well cared for with someone like you and he looks like he's doing very well, what a lovely companion to have! Love the shot of the Hoverfly too, they're always very good for photographing, I find. - Tasha
ReplyDeleteErnie looks as if he is smiling you have certainly given him a good home and a happy life - goodness knows what would have happened to him if you hadn't stepped in to help:)
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