Changes and a Contest!

Yoda and Atlas, the two biggest turtles, have outgrown the tank at the library. They have gone to live with our typist for a while, and in Spring will probably go to live at the local zoo. To fill their spots in the tank and on the blog, we have been joined by a Peninsular Cooter named Nulalamba, and a very tiny Mississippi Map Turtle named…er…well, he doesn’t have a name yet!

Do you have a great name idea? Post it here! You have until November 24 to give your suggestion (one per person, please), then Library Staff will vote on their favorite. The winner will get three new books (titles will depend on age of winner), and the honor of saying you named the new guy! Make sure we can either click on your name to link to you, or that we have some other way of reaching you if you win.

Photo coming as soon as our camera stops acting up!

***For those interested in turtle welfare, yes, the new guy is, at about 1 1/2" wide, too small to be sold in a pet store - which is how he ended up here. There are many reasons for this law, protecting both turtles (who are often not cared for properly) and small children (who put EVERYTHING in their mouths!).

You may have seen tiny water turtles at flea markets, etc., where the sellers rarely mention anything about UVB lighting, heat lamps, filtration needs, etc. They also don't mention how big turtles can get, assuming they don't die from lack of proper care! Our tank was checked out by a herpetologist after the recent upgrade, and when this new guy came to his attention, he felt confident enough to send it our way.