Ernie Turtle has featured once a month in my 365 project so you can go back and see photos of him in his tank, where he is happy but I thought this month I'd add a sense of scale by showing him in Dave's hands - he's only little you see! Aged around 39 years we think and fully grown. Here, he was on his way for a quick bath before being put back in his fresh, clean tank.
We rescued him after the previous owner abandoned him after years of being poorly treated so he does not like being handled at all and always pulls this face, as if he's screaming!
We only handle him at clean out times as it's necessary to put him into a temporary tank while we clean and then give him a little scrub with a baby toothbrush (to clean algae off his shell) before going back to the usual tank.
@wenbow - thank you. After a few hours in hiding he is not out and exploring the new tank - we move things around and add something new or take something away each clean out to keep things varied and interesting for him. He'll now investigate and spend the night arranging things to his liking!
I love everything about this shot - that he is in your (someone's) hands, the little hand hanging over, the expression, and especially the lighting. What a cutie!
Thanks everyone!
@wenbow - thank you. After a few hours in hiding he is not out and exploring the new tank - we move things around and add something new or take something away each clean out to keep things varied and interesting for him. He'll now investigate and spend the night arranging things to his liking!
Thank you very much!
Here's a pic of my baby... http://365project.org/gareauk1/365/2012-06-02
He's a loggerhead musk turtle. Thanks for all your turtle comments!
There's a post all about him on my blog if you want to read it.
http://roachling.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/i-took-this-great-photo-of-our-turtle.html