Toto the Turtle

We bought a pet this week. We were at our local grocery store/department store and in the pet section Caroline noticed some turtles. I don't know much about turtles, but I think it was a yellow bellied terrapin (I don't know if that's the official name). Anyway, he was a cute little guy, so Caroline snatched him up immediately, along with a container and some shrimp food. We named him Toto, after the turtle in our reading book at school.

We brought him home and put him in the brightest, warmest place in the house- on top of our tv and vcr. He ambled around his new home, wading through the chest-deep water, occasionally perching himself on his little rock in the center of the cage. Life was good.

But little Toto wasn't eating. Caroline would put a couple of shrimp in his cage, and when he didn't go for those, she tried little bits of lettuce. The shrimp ended up on his chin, and the lettuce ended up on his head, but none of it ended up in his mouth.

On Saturday I noticed that little Toto wasn't moving. He was upright in his cage, but looked like he had been instantly frozen. I took a closer look and my fears were confirmed- Toto was dead. Caroline was crushed, and I was a little disappointed too. We had him for a total of three days. In retrospect we needed to provide a heat lamp and a bunch of other stuff for him to be comfortable and healthy. I guess turtles aren't naturally suited for living in a two-bedroom apartment.

So here's to our little pet Toto, may he rest in peace.