Ok first let me get the usual suspects aside.  My husband, my friends, my family… goes without saying.

There’s something I have tried to live without that didn’t go very well, I was miserable.

When I first left home when I was 21, back in 1996, I lasted approximately three weeks without any pets. It was horrible!  I wasn’t allowed to bring the horrid little dog that I had to the flat I was living in so I left her with my parents.  I had no pets, just a dick boyfriend, I needed someone sweet to love.

That’s when Spencer came into the picture, and my life would never be the same again… He is, to date, the longest pet relationship I’ve ever had.

It’s been 14 years and the only time I was without pets since then was when I first got here to the Netherlands and was waiting for the cats to arrive.

Anyway, as I was saying, I could never imagine living a life without pets.  They bring so much joy into my life, even if they do get on my nerves from time to time.  I love animals and will always want them in my home.

These are the pets that are still living with us right now:

Bailey, our Yorkshire Terrier, will be eight years old this year.  You will never find a more loving and faithful dog than he is. I wish I could go back to when he was a pup and do it all again.  I never want him to leave me.

Pixel, our Wirehaired Dachshund / Chihuahua mix, will be three years old this year and she still looks like a puppy!  She’s lethal and knows how to play us humans like a fiddle.

The Turtles…

Frick,  basking as a hatchling.

Lego, our newest addition just after we got him home.

Chip and Sydney, back before they had to be separated.

Sherman, our Greek Tortoise who loves to eat.

Some of the pets that were with us in the past…

Salem was rehomed almost two years ago.  I miss him .  Sometimes I wonder if I made the right decision in rehoming him, but when I see the change in Spencer I know I did.  They fought a lot and Spencer is a lot less anxious without him here.  Salem was happy to accept new owners but Spencer demands to be here with us.  I know Salem’s new owners are giving him a wonderful life too, I just miss him sometimes…

Harley was our Africa Pygmy Hedgehog.  Quite an interesting pet but I wouldn’t have one again. They are nocturnal and don’t really bother with you. They require a fair bit of space in their cage and can be quite dirty.  Still though, he was an awesome little pet while we had him and he was very very cute and photogenic!

Cleo and Molly… yeah, we had rats.  Another pet that we enjoyed while we had them but wouldn’t have again. We couldn’t really let them out of their cage because the cats would go bananas.  Also keeping up with the cage cleaning got to be a bit much.  Most of all though, their short life span is what I don’t like.  I don’t like that about mostly all small and fuzzies, to be honest. I hate losing pets and that comes around way too quickly with these guys.

Turtles, some failed to thrive as hatchlings… which is very common unfortunately.  Others died for unknown reasons. Always a risk when keeping turtles.

Radar, cause of death unknown. I was very sad when he died as I’d had him the longest.

Cupid, failed to thrive as a hatchling.

Stelo, cause of death unexplained. He died within a week of Radar.  Was a bad week for me.

Phoenix, same species as Cupid and also failed to thrive as a hatchling. I swore to never get this type of turtle again.

Whew, yeah so I think that’s it.  This post has made me a little sad to be honest, thinking of the pets I’ve lost along the way.  I guess that’s all a part of choosing to have the pets that I do though.  When you keep turtles there is always a chance they won’t make it as their care is so specific, and sometimes there are just things wrong with them that you aren’t aware of.  With pets like hedgehogs and rats, their life expectancy is only 2-4 years, which doesn’t give you long to enjoy them.

Cats and dogs are where it’s at, they give you a bit better, time wise… I don’t even want to think of what I’ll do when the time ever comes I have to say goodbye to one of the dogs, or Spencer.  Seriously, I’ll be a weep machine.

On that note, here’s something that made me giggle with my pets yesterday.  Bailey howling his arse off at a siren going through the neighbourhood.  Pixel still hasn’t ever howled, she just barks. As long as she makes sure she’s heard.  Crazy little shits, they are…

Related posts:

1. 30 Days of Truth: Day 5
2. 30 Days of Truth: Day 10
3. 30 Days of Truth: Day 23

So I still have no idea why my turtles died.  I give them amazing tanks to live in, I take good care of them and even though it’s a total mystery, I can’t help but wonder what I had done wrong.

I ended up with a beautiful big tank and no idea what to do with it.

Stelo was gone, I wasn’t ready for another turtle and had no interest in fish.  I could have put one of my smaller turtles in there, but it felt like such a waste after all the work we put into the above tank basking area.

It was a big, empty sad aquarium that was taking up a lot of space.  For a while I did remove the upper part and tried putting Chip and Sydney in there together, but after having been in their own tanks for a few months the aggression Chip was showing towards Sydney worried me and I set up their smaller tanks again where they could both live in peace.

So I was faced with a choice.  Either get another turtle, possibly an adult as I didn’t know if I was up to dealing with another fragile hatchling, sell the tank and start getting out of the hobby of keeping turtles all together, or try to do a tropical tank or get some kind of interesting fish.

In the end I did come to a decision.

I decided… the hell with fish. I’m a turtle lover at heart!

It had been a little while since I lost Radar and Stelo, and a girl here in the Netherlands who breeds turtles happened to have hatchlings of a breed I’d always wanted but never thought I could get my hands on here.  I also never thought I’d have space for one as I’d reached my maximum capacity with the others.

I rationalized it as fate.  I had an empty tank, and she had the hatchlings… it was meant to be, right?

Let’s just say it was.

He has been with us for the better part of a year now, and I’ve been hesitant to talk about him, write about him or even take photos because I was afraid he’d die on me.  Sort of like if I got too invested that he might up and die on me too.

Don’t try to make sense of my brain.

Anyway, it’s time to introduce him!

Hi, everyone!  My name is Lego!

I don’t think I have to tell anyone how he got his name.  I have a husband who is obsessed with Lego Mindstorms and Robotics. You do the math!

Lego is a Diamondback Terrapin which, in my opinion, is one of the coolest species of turtles there is. I think it’s the white skin or the unique patterns, I don’t know… I just love them.  Here are some more photos…

I just love this little dude, or uhh… dudette. I can’t tell which it is yet so I just say ‘he’ anyway.  Either way, if he dies on me I’ll be very upset. He appears to be going strong so far though, he eats like a pig and is quite active.

Although, judging by the amount of guppies in his tank, I have serious doubts about his hunting abilities.

Related posts:

1. Happy Birthday To Meeee – 32!
2. My Bad Luck With Pets
3. Construction Begins

Would you please stop eating with your mouth open, it’s rude!

Honestly, you are three years old now, it’s about time you learned some table manners!

Don’t give me that look… and for pity sake, wipe your mouth!

Related posts:

1. Sherman the… Pig?
2. Sherman the Tank
3. Bailey The Brute

This has been a bad few weeks for me pet wise and anyone who knows me or reads my blog knows that I love my pets and it breaks my heart when anything happens to them.

First there was Bailey’s attack by a pit bull, which frightened the life out of me and has left me still a little nervous when out walking the dogs on my own.

Then within the last week I lost these two turtles.  Radar, my Cumberland Slider and Stelo, my Southern Painted Turtle.  I have no idea what happened to them and I’m still so sad that they are gone.  The mysterious part is that they are totally different species, different ages and were kept in totally different tanks.   To have them both die within a week of each other has left me boggled. 

It’s also thrown me into a total tailspin in regards to the turtles we have left.  I’m obsessed with cleaning their tanks, making sure they eat enough and everything else I can think of because I am SO afraid I’m going to lose them too.   If we could have afforded it at the moment I would have taken their bodies to a vet to find out what exactly killed them but that can get very expensive.

After speaking to the friendly guy who owns our local pet shop, he suspects that the feeder fish we keep in the tanks may have been affected by the drastic heat spike at the beginning of the month, became sick and then the turtles ate the sick fish and were poisoned by it.   I think that is a bit of a stretch but I guess it’s a possibility.  I have since removed all the fish from the turtle tanks and set up a separate tank for them on their own.  It’s easier to keep an eye on them keep track of their numbers and health.

I’ve decided not to take in any more turtles, at least not right now.  I have three aquatic turtles left and Sherman (my tortoise) and I want to make sure they are healthy and thriving before I even consider taking on any more.  Also, as long as we are in this flat it’s probably wise to keep the numbers to a minimum until we have a bigger place.

It sucks, but I guess it’s all a part of keeping turtles.   They are amazing and beautiful creatures but they are a lot of work and sometimes things just happen.  I just wish they wouldn’t happen to mine.

In other news, Bailey is now fully healed and back to his old self.  I had hoped that if anything good was to come of the ordeal that maybe getting his ass kicked would make him a little more humble when it comes to other dogs.  No luck, he’s still a complete asshole every time.  It would seem his little scrap with the Rottweiler, even though he really played no part in it, made him think he’s tougher than ever!

Related posts:

1. A Lego of My Own
2. Saturday Photo Hunt – Important
3. A Bad Start to a New Month…

Someone reminded me lately that I haven’t posted about any of my turtles in a while.  Fear not, they are all going strong!  I took a few photos of my little ones to share.  I’ve had them over a year now, almost 2 years actually, and they are doing really well.  They are growing, although you can’t really tell from the photos.

You may remember Sydney, my 3-Striped Mud turtle that came to live with us in July 2007.  She is super cute and is growing slow and steady.  She’s not as big as I thought she’d be at this time but as it is a rather small breed anyway, I’m not worried.  She’s still as feisty as ever and will still chomp down on your finger if given half a chance.

Chip, our Loggerhead Musk, is doing really well also.  He’s proven to be a lot more bold than Sydney and will swim around eagerly if you come near the tank.   That probably has something to do with the fact that he is a pig and will eat as long as you will feed him. 

I know I call them he and she, I’m not sure why I call Chip a male and Sydney a female, when in reality I have absolutely no idea what sex they are and probably won’t for years.  I guess it’s their personalities that make me think so, with Sydney being shy but biting if you mess with her too much, and Chip being more outgoing and always looking for a meal. haha

For the moment they get along quite well together in their little baby tank.  Eventually, when they are a little older and we have a little more space, we will arrange for them to have their own accommodations.   The beauty of these two species is that they stay relatively small, at approximately 4-5 inches in shell length.  That’s a major difference from some of my other turtles who can grow up to a foot long at their full adult size.

If you are interested in what kind of turtles these are and what kind of care is required.  You can find info on them here:

Loggerhead Musk Care Sheet

3-Striped Mud Care Sheet

Related posts:

1. Little Chip
2. New Years Eve and Fireworks – A Need For Change in NL?
3. 15 Years Ago – How Life Has Changed

All was quiet in Shermanville.  The ‘sun’ had just come up and Sherman was nowhere to be seen.  It usually takes him a while to come out from wherever he’s buried himself, he can be such a lazy git at times.

Ahhh, wait… there he is!  He must have felt the warmth from his basking light and started making his way out.  Time to start a new day, Sherman!

He’s up, but isn’t really amused since I sort of gave him a little nudge after getting impatient for him to show his face.  You’d think he’d be happy to see me, I mean I am the one who brings the food after all!

Speaking of food… a peace offering after waking him up.

NUM NUM!  Iceberg lettuce has absolutely no nutritional value for tortoises but it was all I had handy, after the photo session he got his proper food.   He didn’t seem to care though, but then again he is a bit of a pig and will eat pretty much anything we give him (don’t worry he only gets tortoise friendly eats).

I went back an hour after giving him his food and found this.  Sherman chillaxin’ under his lamps.  Really, it must be tough being him (oh, or her… I don’t know yet!)

So there you have it. Sherman is still going strong and getting bigger and better every day.

Related posts:

1. Sherman the… Pig?
2. Sherman the Tank

Ok not quite jaws, but still…   Chip is looking mighty stalker-like in this photo.   If you’ve ever wondered what guppies look like when they are babies, well that’s it… and that poor little fry had no idea that Chip was sizing him/her up for lunch.

He never did catch it, mind you.  At least not that I know of…

Related posts:

1. Chip and Sydney – Two Years Later
2. A Lego of My Own

So far my birthday has been great, but I’ve only been awake for a few hours.  I can now talk about my super birthday present though!  I’ve been keeping it somewhat secret for the last week because I wanted to post about it on my birthday.

For my birthday Xander bought me this 360 liter (95 gallon) aquarium for my two slider turtles, Frick! and Radar.   I had seen it on a 2nd hand site here in NL for only 250 euros, which was an amazing deal since it wasn’t even a year old yet and was well over 600 euros new.   They will be able to live in this aquarium for a very very long time.

He also made me this temporary enclosure for the top so I could have a semi-above tank basking area for the turtles, until we are able to make a proper above tank area like on our other tank.

He also bought me an Eheim Professional II 2028 filter so that I could set it up and have the turtles in it before my birthday.

I have the coolest husband alive who gives the most AWESOME gifts!!!

I absolutely love it!!  It looks so great in the house and it also meant that we could move our other turtle, Stelo, up into the 180 liter (55 gallon) tank.

I made a little video of the turtles swimming around in the tank, you’ll have to forgive the cheezy music in the background.  I was too lazy to look for something good to play and just picked one of the samples that came with Windows Movie Maker haha

Today I’m totally chilling out with some girlie movies and taking it easy, and tonight my husband is cooking Peach Chicken (my favorite of all the things he cooks) for me.   This is a great birthday so far!

Oh and a big super duper mega thank you to our friends Paule and Warnoud for helping us get the tank home last Saturday!  Love you guys!

Related posts:

1. Happy Birthday Grietje!
2. Noah’s First Birthday
3. Happy Easter-Birthday-Anniversary to Me!

Unlike the aquatic turtles who generally swim for cover when you come near, Sherman isn’t quite so shy.  Especially if you have food!  This morning I decided to test my luck and see how he’d take to me trying to snap some photos while he had his breakfast.

He obviously didn’t care what I did, as long as I didn’t get in between him and his food.   That seems to be a common theme among the pets in this house… as long as we keep them fed, they don’t give a crap what we do or where we go.

Aaaah, feel the love!

Related posts:

1. The Sherminator
2. Sherman the Tank
3. Sherman, Mind Your Manners!

Oh! I remember one!! Ok, I got another good blast of “You never REALLY know who you are talking to” the other day. Although I guess you could say it goes for real life as well rather than just on the internet. The other night I was chatting with a friend, just gabbing about various online communities we share and people we know in common. During the conversation I learned one of the most horrific things I have heard in a long time.

I’m really trying to think how to word this but I’m just going to come out with it. (By the way I would never even mention this if I didn’t trust the source 100%). There is a very beautiful and intelligent woman, who many men lust after on a daily basis who shares a community with me online. To be honest I’ve been very envious of her in the past… I’ve read her website and seen her pictures and thought “Wow! I wish I looked like that, I wish I had her attitude!”. Not long ago I spoke with someone who knows her very well, and she had confided in this person that she has herpes, genital herpes. Apparently this isn’t much of a problem for her as the virus hasn’t really ravaged her body as it does with some others. Sadly, this was passed on to her by a former lover who showed no remorse when he found out what he had done. Sad huh? I bet you feel sorry for her. Yeah, well DON’T! Apparently she sees this as giving her some sort of right to do the same to others. Yes, that’s right.. this woman has sex with men without telling them about having the virus. Not only that but she refuses to wear condoms with them. Her answer to why she does it? “Well, someone did it to me”. Isn’t this one of the scariest thoughts you can imagine? Here is this stunning woman who seems to have everything going for her, she has men falling at her feet everywhere she goes, and the entire time she’s keeping this secret. She sees absolutely no fault in what she’s doing and sees it as no big deal.

When I heard this I was absolutely stunned!! What kind of monster knowingly has unprotected sex with people (and I’m sure this lady has no problem finding partners) and infects them with this horrible disease!?! I honestly don’t know how she can live with herself and it disgusts me that people like this can walk around in our society undetected. Why, I’d love nothing more than to show her website here and warn everyone, but believe me it isn’t her privacy I’m protecting, rather the trust of the friend who told me this information.

Yeah, so moral of the story? No matter HOW good someone looks or how cool you think they are, there could always be that little something you don’t know. Scary, huh? People like her should either be dragged by the hair to the square and stoned to death, or in prison. Not out banging unsuspecting dummies who are too hot for her to object to her riding bareback.

So on a lighter note, I’m still completely trigger happy with my camera and it seems the most interesting subjects I can find around the house are my pets. I absolutely love the pic I took of Salem’s eyes. I’ve always found them to be so striking and finally I got him to sit still long enough for me to get a nice pic. It took a lot of “PSSSSSSSST CHHHHA CHHHHHA TOOOOT WHEEE” noises to get him to stare at me long enough to get the pic. Of course, now I have the pic and my cat thinks I’m completely spastic. Oh I’ve also been taking some videos if you want to see them. Oh and before you say anything, my turtle’s water is not dirty! It’s just the light, and the stuff floating at the top is food. :P

Tonight I finally caved in and decided to hook up my gaming computer. I figure it’s about time I tested it. When I took it apart it was like this grand step towards my “new life”, making sure that I wasn’t too busy gaming to start getting the ball rolling for my Dutch lessons etc. Now that I have that, and my little petsitting business underway I think it’s time that I see if gaming can be a healthy hobby for me now. I’ve missed it over the past 5-6 months but have been too afraid to game again for fear of getting hooked and losing track of real life again. I think it will be ok though, I just have to keep my priorities straight. Although one of the priorities should be dusting more, jesus every time we change anything around in this house I end up amazed by the dust bunnies hiding under and around things. I swear, I was so not born to be a housewife.. I really suck at it.

I have been talking to my friend Theressa about starting aqua aerobics. She looked into it and found out that they have it a few times a week at the pool right behind her house, which is an easy bus ride from me, so I think we’re going to go for it. I have missed swimming and my trips to the beach last month really made me not want to stop again. So this will be fun for me to do 1-2 nights a week throughout the winter. Plus, I’ll get exercise and maybe even meet some people. I hope it’s ok to swim a little before/after the aerobics and just arse around in the water a little.

I’ve also been thinking about changing my hair for the winter. I’ve had red hair now for about a year and while I like it, I’m itching for a change. The last few times I’ve gone to get my hair done I saw this girl that worked there. She has black hair with blue bits in it, I say bits because I’m not sure what to call it, it’s not streaks.. more like chunks. Anyhow I have seriously been thinking about going black and purple. I love purple, and I love black and I feel like a change for my hair. I sort of worry that I’ll look like some wanna be goth chickie but I don’t really give a shit. It’s what I like. I don’t want to damage my hair too much either with all the dye. Oh well, we’ll see.

Related posts:

1. HERPES!
2. Movie Maker
3. Which Game To Play?