I have a bad case of turtle pond envy.
Each time Allen and I visit friends who have a) a backyard, and b) a backyard turtle pond, we find ourselves, apartment dwellers that we are, wishing for a little bit more real estate for our turtles.
This weekend, we visited turtle friends who are blessed with both a backyard and a turtle pond/s.
Who wouldn’t be envious?
Last year, we visited other turtle friends with a similarly resplendent outdoor people-and-turtle set up.
Sigh!
Yellow Foot Tortoise & Iguana
This was a question I’d never thought to ask - until yesterday, when Allen and I visited our friend AJ, an iguana rehabber. We see AJ at every reptile show at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, NY. (Another show coming up this Sunday, July 13.)
She’s usually there with one or more iguanas who need homes, along with Merlin, an iguana who has the run of her Connecticut home, which she shares with her husband, two sons and approximately 35 other iguanas. (I didn’t get an exact read on the lizard population — the number may be higher, though I doubt lower.)
Just as many turtle lovers start out with one turtle, AJ started with one iguana, a birthday present from her family 12 years ago. Then, a friend wrote a story for a local publication about her iguana, and included AJ’s phone number. “The phone hasn’t stopped ringing since,” says AJ.
I knew that we’d be seeing a large number of lizards; I just didn’t realize that AJ also keeps turtles, tortoises (and frogs). Or, that her tortoises coexist quite nicely with her iguanas, as you can see, above and below.
The iguanas also coexist (for the most part — gotta separate the dominant males) very well with each other. And many enjoy a swank picture window habitat.
The turtles in our house should have it so good!
Fast friends
This is the life!
Turtle & Iguana Habitat
One of the most exciting part of the Turtle Show is taking photos of people and turtles. In fact, it might just be the very best part. And this blog, well, it’s a great forum to show off lots of those photos.
Above, our turtle judge.
Next we have some of the turtles he judged.
Above, a red foot tortoise.
Above, a red-eared slider.
Star and Leopard tortoises.
A Mata Mata, or a South American leaf headed turtle. Yes, this really is a turtle!
Above, a juvenile Eastern Box turtle
An adult Chinese box turtle
A common snapping turtle (and “floating” friend). Yes, this was photo manipulated.
And the only pair of turtle flip-flops I’ve ever seen!
Bet you didn’t know there were this many kinds of turtles in the world!
