PH Kiwi
I have always loved animals, but reptiles and amphibians have always held my keen interest. Growing up in the fifties, I could go to the local pet shop and buy a baby map turtle or a "chameleon" (actually young Anole lizards) for about 50 cents. Unfortunately, there was little information that a young person could find on reptiles back then, but I seemed to instinctively know their basic needs. I would often take my turtles outside to eat insects and bask in the sun.
 I was also fortunate to grow up in a rural setting, not far from a pond. We would collect a few tadpoles in the early summer and put them in our rain barrel, and watch them grow during the summer, then release them back into the pond when full-grown. It was fascinating to watch them sprout arms and legs and lose the long tail.
Then life got busy and I did not think about my love of reptiles and amphibians, until one day my son brought home a slightly injured eastern painted turtle that had been in the road. She recovered rapidly and went on to lay a clutch of eggs in my garden. In all the excitement, we lost the mother turtle. My dog later helped me find her by "pointing" at her and barking until I discovered her in my compost pile. We managed to get one egg to hatch out of that clutch, by the way, (mites got the other eggs) and named him "PT" or "precious turtle."
About three days later, my neighbor brought me a three-toed box turtle that was only feet away from the busy state highway that runs in front of our property. Her eyes were brown with flecks of gold. That was my first box turtle, which lead to a life long love of "boxies."
I had these wonderful turtles, yet lacked the information to care for them properly. Thankfully, I was learning all about the computer and the world of the Internet. I went on to discover what a wonderful learning tool and support system the Internet was. I joined many egroups, chats, message boards and learned all along the way. I took over a box turtle list for a friend who joined the U.S.Navy, and really enjoy moderating this list with all its fine people who genuinely love to care for their turtles.
Five years later I find myself the proud owner of 13 turtles, and serving as Librarian and on the Board of Directors for the New England Herpetological Society. I still can't figure out how this happened, but I am having the time of my life, learning and enjoying my reptilian and amphibian friends.
I could go on to write all about my other pets, but there would not be enough time and paper for that because we also have a dog, two cats, a cockatiel, and an iguana! Thankfully, my four children and husband help out with the pets and have a deep love for animals like I do!
PH Kiwi is a forum and chat host for Kingsnake.com and Chat Coordinator for PetHobbyist.
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