In the glass bowl were three goldfish. Walter looked at them longingly. The hunger and the desire obvious with his heavy breathing and the way he scrambled to get out of his tub. Her hand scooped the weakest among the three. The fish laid limp in her hand, not a sign of struggle at all. She dropped the fish into Walter’s tub. It swam the length twice before Walter noticed that he wasn’t alone.
Walter gave chase. The fish sensing danger, began to move in rapid bursts of speed, desperately trying to get away. We watched in silence as Walter went after his prey with gusto. The end began when he caught the fish by its fin. He had his beak clamped tightly around it. He swam around his tub banging the fish against the walls until in dizziness it yielded. Resigned to its fate, so completely that even when Walter let go, it did not make an effort to swim away. And then he devoured the fish, bit by bit, tearing at the flesh with his claws and beak. Hardly a trace of the fish that was, except for tiny pieces of the silver scales.
*walter is my red eared slider turtle.
6 Comments
Friday, December 29, 2006 at 12:39 pm
What a sad fate for goldy
Thursday, January 4, 2007 at 8:25 pm
I wish I could tell you that I felt guilty watching my turtle eat that goldfish. I wasn’t. The goldfish was Walter’s food. Just like the beef I eat. There was no cruel intent in the act either. My sister and I just wanted to feed him live fish.
Thursday, February 22, 2007 at 10:02 am
RES’s are fierce hunters, and so fast — i think that’s what surprised me about my turtles, was their quickness. (mine are named scooter and tyler).
in any case, i was looking at Walter’s pictures (and he is a very handsome turtle indeed) however i suspect he might be a she?
ways to tell: boy turtles have super-long claws, and slightly concave plastrons (that’s the lower shell) — all the better to make love to lady turtles, doncha know. so, if the plastron is slightly convex and the claws are short, it’s very possible you have a girl turtle on your hands. there’s differences in the tail too, but the curvature of the shell is much easier to assess.
incidentally RES’s also love the heck out of crickets, crickets are just good turtle fun
Friday, February 23, 2007 at 9:16 am
oh. Lizard, you think Walter is a girl??? Oh no. That’s the second time something like this happened to me. I once had a hamster named Frank who never grew his back end..’he’ just gave birth one day.
Walter looks good no?
He knows me. Follows me around the apartment too..
I wonder where I can get crickets..I live in the city..
I’m kinda waiting for him to lay eggs..how deep does that curve underbelly, go? I don’t think he has that…uh-oh..Walter might be a girl after all..
Monday, July 2, 2007 at 11:34 pm
your turtle walter is a girl . i have a girl turtle named mirtle I thought it was a boy then it turned out it was a girl and your turtle has the same size tale and claws . and i feel sorry for goldey .
Friday, July 6, 2007 at 8:56 am
i think I have succeeded in confusing Walter. and myself. I get all mixed up with the He-She business.
I wonder when Walter will lay eggs?