The Disappearing Turtle

The Disappearing Turtle


When I was six years old, my neighbour gave me a turtle. I can’t remember which neighbour, but I’m very grateful, as he was the BEST pet, and I will give you a few reasons why.


They have a life expectancy of 30+ years, so you likely won’t be going through many turtles in your lifetime. They are super low maintenance, as long as you feed them in a bucket, and leave them in the bucket long enough to do their business. Finally, they teach you the importance of good hygiene, because they can carry salmonella so you need to wash your hands thoroughly whenever you touch them. 


When I was eight or nine, the turtle vanished! We had him out walking around, as we normally did when we were home- he maybe have been running around with my guinea pig, who he got along very well with… so how does a turtle just disappear?


A week passes. I’m in the basement, about as dark and gloomy as I was feeling, when I heard a faint scratching, and found the turtle wedged between a baseboard heater (turned off, thankfully!)  and a book case. He was obviously hungry and his skin was very dry, but he was otherwise complete unfazed… after being wedged against a wall for a week. From what we could deduce, he walked off the top stair, and either miraculously never landed on its back, or flipped itself over and tumbling further down the stairs.


When I left Ontario in 2009, I gave the turtle to a friend after 19 happy years together, and for all I know he may still be exactly the same as he was then. 

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