Meeting Morty

Zach had been talking for MONTHS about wanting a turtle for his 5th birthday and no matter what other cool toys we may have seen, he always stuck with wanting that turtle.  I actually liked it because any time he would complain or not clean his room I would say, "I don't know if you're ready for a turtle..." and he would quickly do whatever it was he needed to do without argument.  As his birthday drew closer, the reality that we would be getting Z a turtle started to settle in.  Since his birthday was on a Monday, on Saturday I took my mom and we made a trip to the pet store to learn about turtles...

I knew that Z wanted a sea turtle (one that swam in the water) but after I learned all that was involved (basking rock, special filters, special foods...) and that they lived a LONG time, I started to wonder what I would do... That's when I spied some tortoises and asked about them.  They needed little care, ate veggies and dandelions, and you could take them outside when the weather was warm.  They too would live long (I've heard 50-75 years!), but (everything considered) this seemed to be a better pet for Z.  So I began adding all the things I needed for this initial set up in my cart (OUCH) and got the newest member of our family.  They had two tortoises but only one liked to get his neck rubbed so I went with him (or maybe her).  Because Z tends not to have a creative streak when it comes to naming things (his stuffed animal Duck is "Duckie"... etc), I named him Mortoise the Tortoise (Morty for short).  

When we got home, Jeff and my dad were busy tearing down our deck (for some upcoming construction we're doing) and the kids were all outside playing so my mom and I snuck inside and got to work setting up Morty's new home.  I read a little more about Russian Tortoises (which is what Morty is) and got really excited for Z to meet his new friend.  After the boys were done with the deck work, we got Z in and brought him to his room to meet Morty.  I think you can tell from his picture how he felt about his new friend.

We were told to give Morty a few days until he felt really comfortable with his new home.  Still we were able to watch him feed on kale, romaine lettuce and dandelion and burrow under his new half log.  Since he couldn't play with Morty too much for a while, Z opted to play with the sea turtle he got when we were on vacation.  I had my dad cut the half log we got for Morty a bit so it would fit better in his tank.  Z's turtle got the other part of the half log.  I also got Z the book, "Yertle the Turtle" by Dr. Seuss.  Since he couldn't name the turtle "Yertle" (Yertle is not such a nice guy if you've ever read the book), he decided to name him Mack (after the hero of the book...).  Maybe now that he's five his names will be a little more exciting.

To see some video of the great reveal of Morty you can click HERE.  

I hope this works... Blogger has changed their format much the the dismay of this girl who isn't such a big fan of change...