B The Vl/est American Scientist. 



TURTLES AS PETS. 



Among- other queer pets, I at one time was the possessor of two 

 specimens of the snapping-turtle. (Chelydra Serpentina). 



One day while fishing I hooked the largest of these turtles, 

 which measured about eighteen inches in length, ad drt;w him. 

 struggling, irom the slimy depths of his native pond. The other 

 turtle was captured by my brother in the following manner: Wliile 

 walking along the bank of a stream, he saw a small bird wildly 

 fluttering to release itself from some invisible power which held it 

 a prisoner. Approaching the bird, which proved to be a species 

 of snipe, he discovered that its foot was firmly held in the strong 

 jaws of a snapping-turtle, which had cunningly buried itself from 

 sight in the mud, to wait for its prey. Releasing the bird, he 

 made the turtle in turn, a prisoner, and carried it home, where., it 

 soon became a fellow prisoner with his larger brother. I used 

 frequently to hitch these turtles before a small cart, and then, 

 placing half a dozen or more of the little mud turtles in the cart, 

 would give them a ride ' for their healtli.' When hitched single, 

 they would go very well, but sometimes I tried to drive them 

 'tandem,' and as they generally wished to go in opposite direc- 

 tions, they were somewhat hard to manage. I kept my turtles for 

 two or three months, when they climbed over a ftnce about two 

 leet high, and escaped. 



Although I found these very interesting as pets, my favorites 

 were the little turtles which are kn(^wn as ' tortoises ' or ' mud- 

 turtles.' They make fine pets as they are easily captured easily 

 kept, and rarely ofier to bite. A small pond near my home con- 

 tained great numbers of these turtles. They were easily caught 

 by surprising them while sunning themselves in the shallow water 

 of the pond, and then following their muddy tracks to the end, 

 where a turtle was almost invariably to be found. My aquarium 

 consisted of a common wash-tub, partially filled with water, with 

 a goodly allowance of mud in the bottom; to prevent their climb- 

 ing out I nailed slats around the ^^^^ of the tub, and a slanting- 

 board for the turtles to sun themselves upon, completed the arrange- 

 ment of my miniature pond, the occupants of which at one time 

 numbered seventeen; some of them were scarcely as large as a 

 silver dollar. I gave them every morning a meal of earth-worms, 

 and they learned to look for my coming, and would eat from my 

 hands. Sometimes they would have trouble among themselves 

 over the possession of a worm, and then they would fight long 

 and stubbornly, the battle rarely ending until the worm in ques- 

 tion parted in the middle. At one time one of the turtles, made 

 angry by teasing, suddenly closed his jaws upon the tail of a 

 sleepy cat, which immediately showed such life as would have 

 astonished her at any other time. 



A Boy Naturalist, 



