Turtle Thursday: Tyrannus

The most evil and intimidating member of my turtle tank...

LORD TYRANNUS!!!

Ty enjoys a little basking time
(click pics for larger versions)

One day about eight years ago Stacey's mother told us that she had been to a fish market on Main Street in Flushing, Queens and noticed that they had a basket with turtle hatchlings in it. Horrified by the ramifications of this situation, Stacey and I couldn't get to the place soon enough.

Sure enough, once you walked in, right by the door, there was a pail with a bunch of quarter-sized red eared slider hatchlings. That day we brought four hatchlings home. They didn't look like most RES hatchlings you see photos of, we chose a mustard colored one, a blue-ish one, a turquoise one, and a green one who grew into the big healthy male you see above.

When it came time to name him, it was during my "least appropriate name" phase. I wanted him to have some king of an evil and vicious name, which would be least appropriate for a cute little baby turtle. "Here's my cute little RES hatchling, TYRANNY!" The name stuck. I also called him many variations like: Ty, Tyrannus, Tyrannosaurus, etc.

Years later, Star Wars: The Attack of the Clones hit the screen. The name of the evil Sith apprentice was Lord Tyrannus. All I could think about was my gentle frog eyed turtle the whole time.

Despite his awful name, he is the most calm, gentle and friendly turtle in the tank. He's also the eldest male in the main tank. He's a perfect specimen of what a healthy adult male RES should look like. Have a look at his smooth and shiny shell. Notice his long and perfectly curved claws. See the clever observance in his clear green eyes. He's a good guy.