Where we live in Pasadena, California, we've seen a fairly wide assortment of wildlife: There's the occasional raccoon or possum; A flock of parrots passes overhead every so often in the warmer months; There's a family of skunks (such cute little baby skunks, you wouldn't believe!) living under one house; And our courtyard is home to some thirty-or-so cats. Still, with such a varied menagerie around us, we were not quite prepared for the appearance of Doctor No.
About two months ago, a neighbor knocked on our door, and said, "Is that your turtle, just over there? He's just wandering around. Well, I've got to run! Bye!" Sure enough, there was a turtle wandering up the pathway of the courtyard. No, he was not *our* pride and joy, but surely his owners must be around somewhere... well, no. Actually, there wasn't a soul anywhere around. I decided I should take this stray turtle in and look after him (or her!) until responsible owners made their eventual appearance.
Well, they never did. Eventually, we heard stories of turtle sightings in the courtyard from months back. I finally concluded that Mr. Turtle had been living rough for quite some time. Meanwhile, the hunt for a new home for the little fellow turned out to be hopeless--nobody was prepared to take him into their loving arms... which is fine, because I've grown quite attached to the little guy. And so finally, we gave him a proper name: "Doctor No" (or just "Doc", for short) which also works should he turn out to be a she. I've built him a somewhat temporary domicile out of cardboard, but which he seems to be reasonably comfy in for now.
I've looked at possibly thousands of pictures of turtles, tortoises and terrapins all over the internet, and have not been able to find a definite match for Doc's breed. For a while I thought he might be a box turtle, then a red eared slider, then maybe a map turtle. My best guess is that he's a Painted Turtle, but I'm still not sure, since he doesn't quite perfectly match any of the photos of the various types. So, I've put up this blog page in the hopes that any turtle experts out there might be able to help me pin down some useful information about our mysterious new pet. I took him out into the sunlight for a sulfa dip this afternoon and took some nice close-up photos. And now, say hello to Doctor No...
About two months ago, a neighbor knocked on our door, and said, "Is that your turtle, just over there? He's just wandering around. Well, I've got to run! Bye!" Sure enough, there was a turtle wandering up the pathway of the courtyard. No, he was not *our* pride and joy, but surely his owners must be around somewhere... well, no. Actually, there wasn't a soul anywhere around. I decided I should take this stray turtle in and look after him (or her!) until responsible owners made their eventual appearance.
Well, they never did. Eventually, we heard stories of turtle sightings in the courtyard from months back. I finally concluded that Mr. Turtle had been living rough for quite some time. Meanwhile, the hunt for a new home for the little fellow turned out to be hopeless--nobody was prepared to take him into their loving arms... which is fine, because I've grown quite attached to the little guy. And so finally, we gave him a proper name: "Doctor No" (or just "Doc", for short) which also works should he turn out to be a she. I've built him a somewhat temporary domicile out of cardboard, but which he seems to be reasonably comfy in for now.I've looked at possibly thousands of pictures of turtles, tortoises and terrapins all over the internet, and have not been able to find a definite match for Doc's breed. For a while I thought he might be a box turtle, then a red eared slider, then maybe a map turtle. My best guess is that he's a Painted Turtle, but I'm still not sure, since he doesn't quite perfectly match any of the photos of the various types. So, I've put up this blog page in the hopes that any turtle experts out there might be able to help me pin down some useful information about our mysterious new pet. I took him out into the sunlight for a sulfa dip this afternoon and took some nice close-up photos. And now, say hello to Doctor No...
