Nervous Parenting

Let it be known that I'm notoriously spontaneous and the fact that my boyfriend can also have these tendencies does not help matters at all.

I've recently just come back from a vacation at the beach. I saw hermit crabs and suddenly had a romantic idea of owning two little ones with that bf of mine. I was on the fence about it. When I asked my boyfriend if he wanted to get a couple with me he said, "Yeah, sure. Sounds good." That did it. All doubts went out the window and my eyes were starry with romance. We got them as soon as possible.

Lord all mighty.

Don't doubt that I love Theodore and Pigby, but holy bajesus, they are not "easy and affordable to care for" as oh so many people claim. I feel as though the general public is under the impression, as I was, that all hermit crabs need are some food and water. My eyes weren't twinkling for long! As soon as I google searched those bad boys, I knew I was in for it.

Here's an image of a proper tank:

This doesn't even list a hygrometer I had to get also to measure humidity! We've already spend over $200 on these suckers.

So here's the truth. They need a humidity of at least 70 or they can't breathe properly and they can slowly DIE. They need the temperature to be 80 or they'll DIE. They need salt water to bathe in or they'll DIE(I don't know if they'll actually die because of that, but I wanted to keep the pattern going.).

For the past week, I have been a nervous wreck. I eat, sleep, and breathe worry! (Literally. I just had it for breakfast earlier.) I've been struggling to keep the humidity levels over 70. Just this morning it was 60 then it dropped to 30! I've been laying in bed fretting because my poor babies can't even BREATHE! I haven't even had time let them crawl on my shirt or throw a ball around with them or embarrass them in front of their friends! I've been researching and researching, doing everything the websites advise to no avail! I've had dreams! Dreams no normal 20-year-old should have! Not only about how they can't breathe, but also that I don't have any shells. Websites say you should have at least 3 extra shells for hermit crab so they can change to their pleasing. If a crab wants to change, but can't find any suitable shells (let alone any shells at all!) they can get stressed out.

But I won't end this ranting post on a sad note. In the past few minutes, while writing this post actually, I figured out how to keep the humidity levels up. I simply covered the top with a piece of scrap cardboard. I feel intellectually (and physically) beaten by a piece cardboard.

I can't make fun of Tina and her worried husband anymore. I've now been begrudgingly shoved into their category (several years too early I might add) of being a nervous parent.

PS. Look at the time. It's 8:43 am. I've been know to sleep til noon. Sigh...

Walking the Turtle

I let my turtle roam our backyard today.  Poor guy is always stuck in his tank.  So I gave him a little bit of freedom.  He seemed happy to get out.  But when I first placed him in the grass, he just sat there unmoving.  He's not used to a big wide world.  He was probably experiencing sensory overload--the sounds, the green grass, the bright sun.  But it didn't phase him for long.  Soon he started walking.  In fact, he tried to get as far away from me as possible.  That darn Wasabi...trying to get rid of me.  I don't think so.

I took a million pictures of him while waiting for him to get his fill.  Isn't he cute??

When I brought him inside, he had grass stuck in his folds.  I was picking them out for him, and he tried to bite me!  Ungrateful turtle!  Solitary confinement for you.

Please Do Not Pet the Turtles

I was at an aquarium once and saw cute little turtles swimming in a small pool. I reached in to touch them. I looked up to see an employee giving me a stern look. Then I immediately noticed the sign next to the pool "Please Do Not Pet the Turtles." Oopsy. Well, don't be like me! Heed my warning. See how I segued there. Clever, I know.

As some of you may know, I am a turtle lover and owner. I love my turtle, Wasabi, and he loves me too. ;) But I DO NOT recommend keeping turtles as pets, especially the small ones.

You can buy cute tiny red-ear sliders in any chinatown for a couple dollars. But do not be fooled into buying one!

First of all, selling turtles less than four inches in diameter is illegal. The ban was enacted in 1975 because apparently kids were putting the tiny turtles in their mouths. You may not know this but turtles carry salmonella. Yum.

I read this article recently titled "Pet Turtles Sickened Children in 34 States." They said that a couple teenagers thought swimming with their pet turtles was a good idea. Really?! Needless to say, they got real sick. So if just for that reason, don't buy turtles as pets.

Additionally, these tiny turtles don't stay tiny. People forget that they grow. And I mean big. Female red-ear sliders can grow up to 13 inches! That is friggin' huge. Lucky for me, I have a male turtle who can only grow up to 9 inches. Yeah, that isn't small either.

I had Wasabi since he was tiny...like maybe an inch and a half big. My friend gave him to me knowing my love for turtles. I readily accepted but did not realize the hassle. He came in this cute little aquarium. Soon he got too big for that. I had to move him to a 2.5-gallon tank and then a 10-gallon tank. Fast forward 9 years and several hundred dollars later. Wasabi is now living in a 25-gallon tank, and that is probably too small for him. But any bigger, and I wouldn't know where to put the tank.

I probably don't have to mention this. But turtles poop. A lot. And you have to clean that crap. Pun intended.

I don't recommend pet turtles because I love turtles. People who don't will undoubtly get sick of the hassle and the poop and get rid of their turtles. That's really why I am so adamant about this! Oh, and of course children are getting sick, people! Save the children!

Hippos, Hippos, Hippos!

I recently took my daughters to the local aquarium and one of our favorite attractions are the hippos. They are so adorable and so enormous. Interesting fact: Hippos are so big and heavy (up to 3.5 tons) that they are able to walk underwater at the bottoms of lakes and rivers. They can also only have one offspring. But be forewarned! Although hippos look so cute and approachable, they are actually extremely dangerous. So if you ever find yourself in the rivers of Sub-Saharan Africa, DO NOT approach these animals! But if you find you and a hippo between five inches of glass, enjoy these wonderful animals!

Hot Dogs

Today while walking in the city, I saw a dog left in the car with the window opened a crack. The temperature outside was over 80 degrees. And I don't even want to think about how hot it was in that car. Dog owners do this time and time again. People don't realize that leaving your dog in a hot car for even a few minutes is really dangerous. The temperature in the car rises exponentially and becomes like an oven. In just a few short minutes, the temperature inside the car can reach as much as 40 degrees above the temperature outside. It is even worse when the car is sitting in the sun like the one I saw today. Poor poor doggie.

Furthermore, dogs overheat more quickly than humans because they have fur and don't sweat. Dogs cool off by panting or blowing out heat, which is actually less effective. I also don't think people realize that there are also laws against leaving dogs in the car in hot weather. So this is a warning for you ignorant pet owners. Please think before you bring your dog outside in hot weather. And think twice about leaving your dog in the car during the summer. It is animal cruelty.

Turtle Beach, Oahu, HI

Aloha! I'm back! Blog, oh, how I missed you. Did you miss me? I noticed there aren't many posts these past two weeks. Hmmm...certain sisters have been shirking their duties while I was gone. They will need a good talking to. Haha!

So my fun in the sun is over. Back to the grind, as my husband had said sadly a few times since being back. Hawaii was paradise. We stayed with friends in Waikiki on the island of Oahu. Waikiki is really cool because it is part city and part beach. So everything was easily accessible--food, shopping, public transportation, and the beach, of course. It was pretty much awesome every single day we were there. Some days, my husband and I would venture out on our own while our friends were at work. And during the weekend and one random Hawaiian holiday, they took us to all these cool places, which leads me to Turtle Beach.

I am a turtle person. I have a nine-year-old red ear slider at home. I had him since 2000 when he was really tiny (like 1 1/2 inches). His name is Wasabi although I just call him turtle. Hehe...I know, creative, right? Isn't Wasabi so cutie cute??

I love turtles, so my best friend knew I would love to go to Laniakea, which is also known as Turtle Beach. Green sea turtles go there to feed and bask in the sun. I didn't know what to expect. When we got there, I didn't see any turtles, just lots of people and what I thought were large rocks on the ground. When I got closer, I noticed a huge turtle just sitting there in the sand and then another one and another one. I also saw several swimming close to the shore. We went in the water and actually swam with them. It was so cool seeing them swimming right next to you and eating the algae on the rocks. They are so cool. See the pics below.