Hi my name is Jackie. I am a male Red-Eared Slider and my master is Zop.
This is me 5 months ago.
As you can see I was living in my 4x8 inch box. It was quite small.
So I don't remember the beginning of my life. I was probably born in Mexico because the first memory I have is being sold on a street corner in downtown LA. It was in mid December of 2007 when Master Zop bought me. He was strolling by and noticed a bunch of bunnies and turtles stacked together. Zop first inquired at the price of a bunny, which happened to be $20. Then asked how much the turtles cost. Only $5 for a turtle, $7 including food. At the time my merchant had 2 turtles in a box. I don't remember who my cell mate was. Probably a sibling. As Master Zop was deciding which turtle to choose I knew this was my time to show him what I had. I started to run around like a mad turtle. Master Zop's sister picked up on my activity and suggested to Master Zop that this turtle is active and probably healthy.
Without further delay Master Zop chose me. I was so elated. I remember the drive home they put me in the center console which fit quite nicely. Once they brought me home I was placed on a wooden counter in the family room. I could not see the tv, but I was able to hear it. This is when I learned most of my English. I can still speak a little Spanish, but I'm quickly losing this ability.
So I spent most of my first few months in my little clear box on the wooden counter. I barely ate anything because Master Zop did not know that the food he got when he bought me was actually bunny food. He didn't realize this until I climbed the flower in my cage. I sat atop it to make a point. My point was that the food sucked and I'm not going to eat it until you buy me decent food. I spent all night climbing the flower. In the morning when Master Zop came by he could not find me. He was like "Oh my gosh, where did my turtle go?" Least did he know I was still in the box. Upon closer inspection Master Zop noticed that the flower had changed colors, from yellow to green. This is when he noticed that I had actually climbed the flower. I had now earned the title of ninja. I am now turtle ninja Jackie.
So after the flower climbing fiasco Master Zop went to Petsmart. He bought frozen bloodworms with a 10 gallon tank. I remember the day of my move. I was so excited. There was so much space to swim. I remember swimming around my new tank when I noticed "it". A red thing was moving around in the tank. At first I was scared. Then I was happy because I noticed that it was a red crab about the same size as me. We befriended each other. The crab would climb atop me when I slept. I found his warmth very peaceful and satisfying. He began to get on my nerves because we would fight over the food. This is when I had resolved to kill him. So kill him I did. Master Zop never knew that I was behind the murder plot. although I sense his suspicions.
I now have the tank all to myself. The food is getting better to. Along with the bloodworms, I'm eating shrimp and krill. My responsibility is to protect the back door from invaders, like the backyard squirrels. I have allied with the birds to help fight off the squirrels. The birds chose to ally with me out of convenience. They to have found the squirrels very bothersome. The squirrels eat everything even the bird food. The enemy of my enemy is my shower buddy. So I sometimes let the birds shower with me and we've become friends. As a gift the birds send a humming bird to my door every once in a while and the humming bird flies around in a dance. I think he wants to mate with me.
Well it's the fourth of July today and I plan to get a bath. I will keep you updated on my progress. When I'm big enough I will start to lift weights and start my training to become master guard turtle ninja.
