Marty and Rita

I remember being young and Momma coming home from work with a surprise, a box turtle she had found on the side of the road. We would keep him in a box for a few days and give him lettuce and fruits and veggies and then let him go again. This would happen over and over again. One time we even had a tortoise for a few months. His name was Nubby on account of his nub. Believe it or not, Nubby, the three-legged tortoise, ran away. So I have always had an affliction with turtles and tortoises. I think they are so cute with their tiny little heads and tails and big shells. They are so clumsy and goofy, and of course, awkward. My kind of critter.

I had been wanting a tank pet for a while when I took to Craigslist, one day. I didn't know what I wanted, just that it should live in a tank and be relatively independent. Frogs? Nah, I had a frog before, a fire-bellied toad to be exact, and come to think of it... he had three legs too! His name was Bojangles and I am suddenly realizing I might have a thing for amputees. Chameleons? I love chameleons. Especially their weird little hands, but from my toad experience I knew keeping crickets for these kinds of critters was never fun. One time a whole box of crickets got loose in my room. There was no way to catch them all so it just sounded like you were sleeping deep in a forest every night. Turtles! Yup. That's what it was going to be.

I met a guy and his girlfriend in the mall parking lot and got the whole set-up: a tank, filter, heater, plants, rocks, and two turts. Marty and Rita. Marty and Rita stands for Martini and Margarita, just in case you were wondering.

It sounds strange to say, but these turtles have two very different personalities. Anyone who sits in my living room long enough notices. Rita is very shy and coy. She likes to hide in the plants and dart around the big tank when someone comes up. Marty, on the other hand, is somewhat of an extrovert. He loves to terrorize Rita, following her around and showing her jazz-hands all the time. If you approach the tank he will swim right up to the side and stare at you. If you walk back and forth in front of the tank he will follow you around. He is a monster. He pulls all of the little fake plants out of the gravel every time they are rooted in, he scratches his shell on the filter tubes and even broke a heater once because he doesn't like it when it is stuck to the back wall. He has always been obnoxious, though.

I introduce you to Marty (on the left) and Rita (on the right). 

And that's how I wound up with Marty and Rita, the wonder turts.