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| Name: |
Hairy
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Age: |
Twenty years old
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| Gender: |
Male
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Kind: |
Musk Turtle
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| Home: |
Indian Wells Valley, California, USA
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Other
pets come and go but Hairy is always with me. The size of a quarter
when I took him in, now he is about six inches ... full size for a musk turtle.
With a fifty-year lifespan, I may have to make arrangements for him after I am gone!
He is favoring commercial floating turtle food, and he becomes partial to a
specific shape so switching from, say, sticks to pellets can be a major
adjustment:-) He has been known to prey on his aquarium mates if they are
small enough to fit in his mouth, so I am careful who goes in his tank.
However, usually he stakes out the corner of the aquarium nearest the outside
action and begs for food. Don't let the name of his species scare you. As
long as his home is kept clean, there is no musky smell that I have ever noticed.
He loves his treasure chest, however if I turn the air on, every once in a
while the lid opens and a large bubble of air floats up. He doesn't like
that! He likes things to be calm.
By the way, Hairy got that name because when he was small his shell was
covered with algae! He just moved into a larger aquarium with some South
American cichlids which is his third progressively larger home. An
entertaining competition heats up when Hairy is fed as the always-hungry fish
sneak around and try to steal his food. The main troublemaker is an orange
Parrot Cichlid named "Cute Fishy." Other than that, they seem to get along
fine. It appears Hairy does not consider the fish a potential meal however
the fish do keep a respectful distance!
View more images of Hairy!
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Talk about Hairy in Pet Talk!
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