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HOW JAMIE JOINED OUR FAMILY : Jamie came to us on August 3, 2001 .He was picked up out of the middle of the interstate by a friend, named James. James didn't know what to do with the turtle, but he knew he couldn't just leave him in the middle of such a busy interstate. Death would be guarranteed.
So, he tucked this little turtle into his pocket & resumed his trip. Several hours later,Charles {Sarge} overheard James talking about saving this turtle but not knowing what to do with him. They began talking about what to do to help the poor guy & what was best for him.
He asked Charles if he'd take him home & give him a happy life. As always, our doors are opened to ANY animals in need. Jamie came to live with us that night . He is an aquatic turtle, so we pulled out the old aquarium we keep on hand & set him up a very nice temporary home. It was only to do him overnight.
Until morning, when we could get him proper food, we offered him a large grub and a locust larvae. Both of these were eaten that night/early morning. He also had half of a fresh, home-grown snap bean. The next morning, we set to work building him a proper home. He has a log to get out of the water & bask on, several fieldstone rocks to either climb on or hide under and we bought rosy-red minnows to put in his tank in case he gets the urge to hunt his own food. Aside from the minnows, we feed Jamie large crickets {purchased from Petsmart}. We also offer mealworms, floating turtle food & vegetables. Since we put him in his new home, he has only eaten the crickets.Well, he did eat 2 minnows, but only after they died. He has yet to eat one live.The crickets are placed in his tank when he is under the log. He grabs them & carries them back under the log..eating them totally submerged.We have offered 2 a day, because he still looks hungry after eating the first one. However, he only eats one a day...but does so with gusto. So, we will stick with just feeding him 1 cricket a day & if he gets hungry, he can snag himself one of the minnows. It would be so easy, as they are swimming all around him --right in front of his mouth. He often sits underwater with his mouth open, which I thought was hunting but the fish kept swimming right under his nose and he never caught one. Maybe he was resting ? We've never housed a turtle before either, so we are learning everything we can so we can ensure he gets the best care available. Basically, it's touch & go and we watch his reaction to determine if he's happy and comfortable or vise-versa. We THINK Jamie is a Common Musk Turtle. We've researched the turtles native to Mississippi & according to the pictures, descriptions and other info, he matches the Common Musk Turtle nearly perfect. We can't get a good, clear picture of the shell of this turtle species so we are not 100% sure. Every picture we find shows a different color shell. The first time I picked him up, he had an odor about him, but not since. He don't even try to snap at us anymore. I'll try to get some better pictures posted soon . These were taken the night he came here. His shell is covered with algae, but he is on medication to help with that and we are soaking him an hour a day then lightly brushing his shell to help rid him of this. It didn't penetrate his shell thank goodness, as that would've caused ir-reversible problems. Thank you for taking time to read about our NEWEST baby! Jamie is coming along fine and it is an honor to have him here. We are currently building him an outdoor enclosure with a huge pond, although I think it'll be spring before he's ready to move in. I worry about him being able to survive outdoors again after the shock of the interstate and transporting. Don't worry, his enclosure will have plenty of hiding spots, basking spots, and he'll be protected from animals that would otherwise prey upon him. {raccoons, birds, etc}. If you have any knowledge of these animals, we would be very interested in hearing it. We want to do right by Jamie and as cute as he is....animals such as these belong in the wild. They are not made for captivity. As soon as we get the thumbs up....he'll relocate to the wild where he can truly be happy.
Another new member of the family.
Aquired August 26, 2002 :
A small green paraket-unwanted by his former family of course. He's so sweet but terrified of the world . We went after him on a Monday and he hopped onto my hand the next day when I fed him so he has decided that I'm not gonna hurt him.
The kids are calling him "Bird....James Bird". {as in "Bond"} LOL. Hope that name changes as his li'l birdie personality comes out. He's in a big cage right here by my desk and adapting well. We do handle him daily being careful not to stress him or ask for too much.
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Princess Natasha (A.K.A. "Tasha Bell")
Wanna know the story behind the pups ? Read on.......
WELL...as is typical at our house , we had a visit from the Vet tech. this morning . She had 2 puppies and wanted to know if we would take them and provide the much loving home they deserved.
As always , we jumped on the chance ! It has been so lonely around here since Miss Fancy went to the bridge .
Here's the story on the pups :As you probably guessed already ---they were thrown away --an unexpected liter--not wanted. Well, the vet tech knew we'd take them. We've never turned one away. She even bought us a bag of puppy chow for taking them.
There are 2 (a boy & a girl) .They are 7 weeks old .A bit young to be away from the mom I know , but what can I do ?
Mom was Rottie & Dad was a Chow .The boy looks like his mom. Black & tan .He has a tail but it's short .He is the one which will require extensive work. He is terrified of every sound--squeels like a pig when approached & overall scared of the world. Once I pick him up , he immediately dives under my shirt & hides. He'll stay there until I move him. Just like my girl , Miss Fancy when she came here .
The girl looks like a mix between mom and dad .She is outgoing--wanting to check everything out . I do not forsee a problem bonding with this one. She takes to changes pretty quick.
Overall--they are pretty healthy , considering the mom dog was the only one providing care. The 'people' didn't even care if they ate or not. They've been in & out of the crate all day and so far (knock-on-wood) they haven't pottied in it .I had to leave them crated so I could run to town and buy collars and get worm meds (vet says they need wormed) and get them chew toys. They appeared to sleep the entire time.
I had to get some chew stuff for the girl cause she is doing the puppy chewing thing. If it goes near her mouth--it gets chewed ! LOL.
My youngest son has come up with a remedy for it. When she chews his hand, he says "NO" & puts her chewy in her mouth instead of his hand. The only thing...you can't say it too loudly or else the male screams bloody murder.
Ah........once again , we are blessed with fur-kids!Except THIS time--I get DOUBLY blessed cause I get PUPPY BREATH!!! We made it hrough the night! And I have even BETTER news.We carried the pups out to potty last night before bed & upon waking this morning.....NO poo-poo in the crate!! YIPPEE!
Of course , I hardly got any sleep. I was expecting to be up every half-hour or so carrying them to potty, but they slept ALL night long . I'm soooooo proud of them both. What an accomplishment ! Li'l dude is perking up . I was worried frantic yesterday cause he don't really DO anything but sleep , eat & potty. Well, come 10 p.m. , he was raring to go ! They ripped, romped , played like normal li'l pups .
And guess what ? Li'l dude BARKS! *smiles* He heard a noise outside & started barking like crazy. He has a funny bark, too. He stretches his body out & plants his feet , holding his head up high & his ears on 'alert'--each time he barks he falls backwards onto his bottom. LOL--so funny. Looks like alot of power is packed into that li'l package.
The pups were wormed yesterday..turns out they have roundworms. We were expecting that , though.They are doing good this morning . I came in the living room @ 5 am. & turned on the light. They jumped up & started yelping so we went straight outside. As soon as the feet hit the ground they went potty !
Then it was playtime. Hey--the WHOLE family might benefit from these dudes. My 3 oldest kids were up & ready for school by 5 a.m. . I had told them they couldn't play with the pups unless they were totally ready for school .
Heck--even hubby was up & had me a pot of coffee made! LOLWe are still working on names , but after browsing all night...we drew a blankWe are looking for names that match thier personallity . He is quiet & lovey. She is high-spirited & playful . We're getting there though & loving every minute of it!!
We are trying to get the pups used to useing a leash & I suppose they are.
Anyway : Girl does great ! She only pulls when she gets excited . In fact, she is doing so good that we let her walk free with the leash dragging behind her. It's a long leash & we walk behind her so we can grab the leash if she heads towards trouble. Don't worry ,our dogs stay inside the fence and supervised at ALL times .
Now, li'l dude--he's entirely different. When I put the leash on him, heturns backwards and pulls against it. I'm worried he'll break his neck or something pulling like that. I finally coaxed him into walking last night , but everytime I take a step he does an 'about-face' and sits down -staring @ me like "whay ARE you following me?" LOL.
When he pulls , I let him pull a bit cause I don't want to send mixed signals and insinuate that if he'd pull , he'll get his way. Then, AS SOON as he stops pulling backwards--I let slack in the leash and he cowers down.
Each day is an adventure! Slurpy kisses to everyone !**
We lost our beloved Prince Samson {A.K.A. Li'l Dude} on Sept 19, 2002 to unknown causes.
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