Aubrey Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 If she only has Internet at McD's then I'll have to send her some McD's gift cards so she can visit more often. Or Panera, or Starbucks... The trick w/ no internet isn't finding internet. It's finding a place where 5 kids will be quiet long enough to type a complete thought. When they forgot to watch the baby, & he came wandering over to the table...it was time to go. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubrey Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Cr*p, now I'm going to have nightmares. My 5yo told me she was going to have nightmares night before last, because her turtle had died. I said all the nice-mama things, but in my head, I was thinking YOU? YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE NIGHTMARES? I'M NEVER GOING TO SLEEP AGAIN!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubrey Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 I must say that is one thing about a cat: you KNOW when it's dead. Dh declared as we fell asleep: All future pets must be the kind that are DEAD or NOT DEAD. LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubrey Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 From what dh read, it's easier to tell if turtles are for-sure dead than if they're alive: their eyes sink in. When I was here, they were still bulging. I can't imagine anything dying OR hibernating as fast as he did, but apparently, they can hibernate in a matter of minutes--this is one of the things we discussed. I really thought he should pull his arms, legs, & head in, too, but apparently they don't always. ??? That's all the details I can share. Partly, it's giving me the heebie-jeebies. Partly, dh hasn't told me more. Thank. goodness. *shudder* As far as sneaking a new turtle in, I'm not sure that would have the right effect after sharing a formal burial w/ the kids. I mean, 4yo wanted to know if we buried it, how would we know when it came alive again? 5yo said next time she was in the back yard...4yo finished her sentence: "You'll dig up the turtle?" We all looked at him like he was scary-nuts, & she said OF COURSE NOT. Just visit him. Dh was appalled when I told him, but I pointed out that digging him up was *exactly* what he & I were doing an hour later. :p Btw: when digging up a turtle, it's a toss-up between thinking of Mark Twain & Faulkner. But I decided that Faulkner is more for digging up people, probably, & Mark Twain would love an undead turtle story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renthead Mommy Posted February 15, 2013 Author Share Posted February 15, 2013 I don't know Aubrey, after reading this, I might dig it up again and stick it in a shoe box in your closet. Or under your bathroom sink. Someplace out of the way, but so you don't completely forget about it and have it come back to life but then die from neglect in a shoe box. And Faith - his keep it till it's dead dead bodes well for you in old age at least! LOL! Well, it's a difficult issue with turtles. A few years ago, one of ds's (the middle boy - budding herpetologist) turtles "died". I mean seriously, we gave this thing all kinds of attention and warmth to see if it was hibernating and finally dh declared it dead. He was buried. About two years later, ds was online with some herpteologists here in Michigan discussing the hibernation cycles and the intensity of them with these reptile geniuses, and he was heart-broken to discover that he'd probably buried his turtle alive. He was so hard to console. The appearance of dead that these critters can do trumps a possum exponentially! Seriously, you could use the big ones for door stops for a couple of months at a time! When his second turtle decided to hibernate after we'd changed out his aquarium, given him a bigger one, put in some new plants, etc. - they like to hibernate after a big life change :toetap05: - I don't care how dead it looked, we just kept keeping on like he was as chipper as a chipmunk, sometimes I felt so stupid talking to what looked like a reptilian rock. Three months later, he woke up and started swimming around the aquarium. Peacock eels will do this same thing...well, not hibernate, but escape their tanks. I'm not kidding, they are escape artists extraordinaire. They can survive several hours outside of water. Found ds's once under his bed after being gone easily 6 hours and the dumb thing looked hideous - I would not be surprised if the cat hadn't played with it until she got bored. Ds picked him up by his tail, tossed him back in the tank, and it sank before floating. It was gross. I seriously wanted to add him to the pet cemetary in the yard. A couple hours later he started swimming around his tank and eating. I.was.dumbfounded. Ds's new rule with herps (reptiles, amphibians, and some aquatic animals) is that until he can afford a doplar sensitive enough to check for heart sounds, they are not dead until they stink. Stink means "all dead, go through their pockets and look for loose change!" Well, or practically self-mummified. He worked and worked with a chinese water dragon that had a serious self-destruct mode. At one point I said, "Enough already. I'm tired of looking at that carcass. It's all dead. Give up." "He wouldn't bury it until it pretty much shriveled." Come to think of it, this child is going to wear me out before I can get him out of her! LOL the only critter he keeps that I have any affinity for is the tree frog and that stupid thing tries to make me think it's dead. It burrows into it's moss, sand, etc. when it's not hungry and doesn't come out for days. GAH....I end up tunneling through there with a stir stick looking for the little mongrel. Inevitably I find it and it looks AWFUL!!! He'll be so grey he's practically black and I'll watch for several minutes, not be able to see any signs of life, and then finally prod him gently with the stick. Stupid frog pops his head up and I swear the look on his face is, "STUPID WOMAN!!!! How many times do we have to go over this? Leave.me.alone." Sigh....when he's hanging from a tree branch or perched on the glass, he is a gorgeous shade of light green. Makes me so mad. So, I guess that if the turtle was showing signs of decomposition or stinking (usually the first sign) then, yep, bury the sucker. If not, I'd be putting it in a shoe box and heading down to the university. If memory serves Colorado State U has a herpetology research option for undergrads which means they have lots of weirdos like my ds puttering around campus who'd like nothing more than to diagnose the turtle. Dr. Gary Packard 404-491-5376 - he's the Dept. Chair in Biology and could probably point Aubrey to a qualified person. If she doesn't live anywhere near Colorado State, I bet they would still know of amateur herpetologists in her area that would take a look at the thing. I would really hate for them to find out later that they buried their turtle alive. Certainly, if that ends up being the case, trust me, DON'T TELL THE KIDS!!!! Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 And Faith - his keep it till it's dead dead bodes well for you in old age at least! LOL! :lol: :lol: :lol: Jackie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubrey Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 I'm not digging up a dead turtle again. Y'all are crazier than dh! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renthead Mommy Posted February 15, 2013 Author Share Posted February 15, 2013 I'm not digging up a dead turtle again. Y'all are crazier than dh! :D Well you really should dig it up after the fleshy parts are gone but before the bony parts are gone. The shell 'bones' are really neat! Plus then you could double check! ; ) ; ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubrey Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 *passes the shovel to Renthead* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 sorry I'm laughing through this thread.... I would do the shoebox thing... Well, I would HAVE someone do it as *I* don't touch dead things (at all). Like I can't swat a mosquito because.... well, because it would be dead the moment you squashed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyinLA Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 All I can say is, I am not spending nearly enough time on this board. I miss ALL the fun! This thread had me rolling (though I am sad for the turtle). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CyndiLJ Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 Oh man, I hate to admit it but I was also waiting for word about the turtle! Sheesh! What is WRONG with me?? Sorry, I just couldn't resist :Angel_anim: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violamama Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 http://www.cafepress.com/zomstore.74335107 It can be a board uniform... ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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