Published by Swiss James on 04 Dec 2008 at 12:57 pm
Turtlesitting
Haven’t mentioned my pet turtles (Kip and Svetlana) for a while.
They’re doing fine- getting into all kinds of mischief like, sitting on their rock, diving off the rock and going for a swim, sitting on the rock again.
We’ve had them since they were babies but I didn’t realise how big they’d grown until our friends asked us to look after their turtle Dos (his little buddy Uno was recently buried in the memoral garden at La Doll apartment building).
Dos: A turtle
His little head is barely the size of the “On” button of my DVD remote control. I think I could fit his whole body in my mouth and still have room for a bite of a Mars bar to take away the taste.
Dos’s parents dropped him round earlier in the week and then set about setting up the huge laboratory of equipment which apparently is needed to keep 5RMB worth of turtle in tip-top condition.
For reference- here’s where Svetlana and Kip hang out:
Theyre lurking in the corner
They’ve got a water heater in there (now that it’s winter), a floating rock, and few poxy pebbles thrown in at one end.
Now check out Little Lord FauntleTurtle’s tank.
Svetlana and Kip keep gazing through the plexiglass at it.
It’s the Turtle equivalent of watching MTV Cribs.
If you liked that, you might like...
You know, you are going to have to get a bigger tank now that they have seen that. Otherwise, they’d never forgive you!
Don’t you start as well Stimpy- last night when I was trying to feed them, Kip gave me such a look.
Bloody teenagers.
I reckon you should give Kip and Svetlana a little vacation of their own by putting them in the bigger tank while your friends are away. Is the UV lamp there to help with the sun tan? And I’d watch you electricity bill this month too.
Clip art FTW!
WoaI- yeah I think they’d like it, but where am I going to put Dos? He’d get eaten alive by the big boys.
T- thought you’d like that.
Swiss James – Put dos in Kip and Svetlana’s tank for a day. He can be “slumming it” like living in a $2/night hostel on Khao San Road. I can’t believe we need to think of everything around here.
Oh that’s fine until Dos catches the Turtle Mumps from the other bowl and I get angry friends coming back to demand a new 5RMB turtle isn’t it T!
Have you got 5RMB?!
Because I haven’t!!!
(oh wait no, there’s one)
poor, poor kip and svetlana. they are SO deprived . . . and to have their deprivation on display!
James – Do what I did with my ayi’s turtle. Put him in the fridge. He’ll just think it’s winter and go to sleep for a few days.
Just remind them that in this economy they are doing fine…Besides Dos might loose his house due to the global economic crisis and sub prime loans…he might just have to move back into a bowl. At least their place is paid off…I hope.
Ah, German efficiency and engineering vs Yorkshire scrimping!
Damn – please disregard the photo I just sent on FB. Do NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES show Em, Kip and Svetlana.
You know what was strange? Last night, while walking home on Nanjing Xi Lu, there was a tall western guy waking home with a turtle in a bowl. Walking in the direction of La Doll, too. After reading this post, it made it a strange end to the day. I mean, how many laowai have turtles in the city?!
By the way, are we sure that there are turtles and not terrapins?
All good advice here, I’ll sit them down tonight and explain a little about where their scraps of fish actually come from.
Stimpy- it’s lucky you didn’t post that comment last night, I’d have been worried sick about Turtle Russlers. The friends don’t get back for another week and Dos is still tucked up in his enormous plexiglass castle.
(Yeah they’re terrapins, but that doesn’t sound as good)
Also Colin / WoAi: These turtles aren’t for eating (yet, too small)
Ok i know i am up late packing still, but is my screen snowing? I think the poor little turtles will hide and hibernate in their shells.
Can turtles go on airplanes?
to kristi,yeah,last time my friend and I came back from china to london via hongkong,she brought two baby turtles with her and hide them in her pocket and we feed them on the airplain,everythings been fine until them successfully arrived in her house in holloway, just two weeks later, they dead~~:( it was a successful toudu偷渡(dont kno the english word,sorry) end up in such a sad way
so you can bring turtles on plain with no problem but you have to prepare a little box and little bit water in it and some cooked rice and veg,make sure they are big enough for the turtles walk arround and small enough to put in ur pocket without catching too much attention,so,try it,u never kno,good luck~
wow i love turtles…its good u have this interest with terrapins :)
i have been reading your blog with great interest…short and fun is the way to go…
congratulations…
just crashed onto your blog after scouring the web for stuff about shanghai as i am visiting there soon
:) cheers