Saturday, January 31, 2009
Welcome Tater!
Kotah has wanted a certain pet for a very long time. So yesterday her wish finally came true. We went to the pet store and she got Tater - a Russian tortoise.
Tater is a land turtle and boy was she expensive. And by expensive I mean $120 expensive. I said that I wasn't going to spend that kind of money on a turtle but I did. And yes I know I'm a sucker. But after weighing the options between an aquatic turtle and a land turtle the costly land turtle won out.
I figured all you needed for an aquatic turtle was a tank with some water and a rock for it to climb onto. Yeah well I was wrong. The tank had to be at least 40 gallons. It needed a heat and light lamp and a water filtration system becuase they poop so much. Even with the filter the water had to be changed a few times a week. And their diet? Crickets! The cost of an aquatic turtle - approximately $20/$25. It's housing about $350. The cost of the turtle was great. It was the rest of it that bothered me.
Even though the land turtle was costly everything else was a better deal. Smaller tank,no water filter,no crickets. They basically have to have a heat and light source,food and water dishes and a log to hide in. Bark is used for their bedding. Their diet consists of fruits and vegetables. And the tank is only 20 gallons.
Tater is a girl - supposedly. How do you really tell? Kotah thought she knew and said she was a boy but the guy at the pet store said it was a girl. Whatever! Kotah has played with her all day today. She has brought her out a few times to roam around the livingroom. I thought that turtles moved very slowly but apparently no one told that to Tater. She can move! Kotah loves her. She's so happy to finally have her and I am happy that I was able to get her for Kotah.Labels: kids
