The Cottage Smallholder

Photo: Leghorn cockerel

“Can you handle live worms? That’s what the turtles eat.”
My stomach churned. I generously gave Danny the delight of tipping the worms into the dog poo composter last week.
“Of course I can.” Proud to the bitter end.
“There are not many worms in here at the moment but don’t worry, when you come to feed them there will be plenty.”
I peered into the small tin. Lots of sandy stuff and a few worms. Fine.

S tossed a few into the tank and a very capacious reptile guzzled the lot. I was fascinated by her. An ‘ancient’ head and neck zeroed in on the live worms. Her jaws masticated each worm in seconds. When there wasn’t a worm she hopefully pointed her snout above the waterline.
“But what about the others? Surely they need to eat too.”
S explained that there are four turtles in the tank.
“The other three are happy under the sand. They feed but not as much as the big one.” They were a lot smaller than the mega turtle who is clearly training for ‘who can eat the most worms in the least time’ turtle Olympics 2012. She was enormous compared to the one male who raised his head to see what was going on and then snuggled back in the sand. The other females were the same size as the dimunitive male. That huge turtle could go places.
“What do I do if she gets out of the tank?”

I’ve got a part time job for two weeks in July! Looking after the Chicken Lady’s smallholding. Chickens, ducks, rabbit, fish (cold water and exotic) and just one enchanting cat (Margot who loves food, the occasional stroke and the feeding wander about the house) is easy.

The turtles might be a problem. How can I wake the three slimline wannabe fashion model turtles and encourage them to eat? The chance of being spotted to pose for the latest cool turtle gear must be near to zero here in the heart of the country.

Overall I’m delighted. I can’t do a full days work just yet but I can do this!