Carl the Zealot

Sad news.

I have had four pet turtles for over 6 years now. Frankly, they aren’t the smartest or most satisfying pets one can have. They can be a lot of trouble too, despite living in an aquarium, their filter needs to be cleaned, they prefer live food, and they just keep growing. Aquatic turtles like these can live to be up to 80 years old. I thought they might outlive me.

Sadly, for one of them, that won’t happen. Cleopatra passed away yesterday, Sunday, May 3rd. Cleo was the first of the four that I got. I got her when she was only 1.5 inches long. I could have lost her in my pocket. Now, 6 years later, she is over 6 inches long and has a beautiful painted shell and bright red ears. Of the four, she was the most docile and friendly. Unlike the others, she didn’t mind being held as much, and didn’t startle as easily.

I don’t know how smart turtles are. I don’t know if she recognized me, knew I was the one that fed her and took care of her. I don’t know if she was aware enough to be happy, like a dog or cat is. I hope she was happy though. I hope she lived a good turtle life.

Brutus, Mark Antony, and Nefertiti seem to be taking the loss well. They appear to be healthy still. Hopefully the vet will be able to tell me more about what happened tomorrow. Perhaps it was the stress of the move, or maybe she was ill, or trying to lay eggs. Regardless, she will be missed.

UPDATE: The vet has given Brutus, Mark Antony, and Nefertiti a clean bill of health. He thinks Cleopatra died from Sepsis due to an infection, exacerbated by the stress of moving. He says all things considered, the turtles are doing great and are very healthy for 6-year-olds. He said a realistic age range is more like 20-30 years, not 80 as I had suspected, but I am still reading lots of mixed reports on that. He was also able to confirm all four are male, which was not obvious before they became fully grown (Sorry Cleo and Nefer…or should I say, Clem and Nefarion?).

I am looking into securing them better lodgings, it is clear that the three of them, at nearly 8 inches long (depending on how you measure) really require about a 200 gallon enclosure, with at least 75 gallons of water, hopefully more (Turtles require water which is 2.5 to three times their length deep (3 * 8 inches) and at least 2.5 x 2.5 feet to swim around, so that is just under 100 gallons), and an equally spacious place to bask under the heat lamp. Such lodgings would keep them happy and growing for another 2 years probably. I think (hope?) they are close to their maximum size, and won’t grow more than another couple of inches.

Cleo was a kind, gentle, friendly turtle. She will be missed.