Kevin vs. the Tomato

Posted by Miss Cellania in Animals & Pets, Video Clips on December 27, 2011 at 2:03 pm


(YouTube link)

There’s nothing a tortoise likes better than a fresh tomato -just ask any tomato gardener! Kevin is no exception, but he desperately needs a teeny little pair of tortoiseshell glasses. He has terrible depth perception. The poor thing does get a bit or two eventually. -via Buzzfeed

 
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Turtle Eggs Communicate With Each Other to Coordinate Hatching

Posted by Alex in Animals & Pets, Science & Tech on December 1, 2011 at 2:49 pm

It's often said that timing is everything, but for Australia's Murray short-necked turtles, hatching together is a matter of life or death. The turtle eggs coordinate their hatching so they find safety in numbers at their most vulnerable age.

But how do the eggs coordinate their hatchings? Turns out, unhatched eggs can communicate with one another:

Although all the eggs were laid at the same time, in the same nest, they experience radically different environments. Those at the top of the nest, buried in warmer sun-soaked soil, can be up to six degrees Celsius warmer than those at the bottom. That’s a problem because the embryos develop at different rates depending on how hot they are. Given the gradient of warmth in the nest, the topmost turtles should hatch well before their siblings at the bottom.

That’s not what happens. Ricky-John Spencer from the University of Western Sydney has found that the Murray River turtles can tell whether their clutch-mates are more or less advanced, and shift the pace of their own development accordingly. If their peers are racing ahead, they can play catch-up.

Link

 
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Reptangles

Posted by Tiffany in NeatoShop Features on August 8, 2011 at 1:44 pm

Reptangles -  $24.95

Are you looking for a fun and fantastic way to teach your child about geometric transformations or how to build complex polyhydra? You need Reptangles from the NeatoShop.  This vibrant toy comes with 24 adorable turtle-shaped reptangles that snap and slide together in over 100 ways.  This is math made fun!

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more brain boosting Toys & Games!

Link

 
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Turtle Interrupts Wedding

Posted by Miss Cellania in Animals & Pets on February 15, 2011 at 8:25 am


(YouTube link)

An underwater wedding ceremony yesterday at the London Aquarium drew the attention of a turtle who came forward to object to the union of this man and this woman. Or maybe he just objected to the the couple trespassing in his territory. Or possibly he just wanted a bite of that delicious wedding dress! -via Buzzfeed

 
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Turtle Boogies to Satisfaction

Posted by Alex in Animals & Pets, Music, Video Clips on February 2, 2011 at 3:15 am

Joy is watching a turtle (red-eared slider?) dancing to "Satisfaction" by Benny Benassi. All you need is a happy tortoise, a toothbrush, and some electro house music!

Hit play or go to Link [YouTube] – via Milk and Cookies

 
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An Extra Layer of Armor

Posted by Miss Cellania in Animals & Pets, Video Clips on November 17, 2010 at 9:25 am


(YouTube link)

Is this turtle wearing additional protection or just a convenient disguise? The kitten doesn’t know what to do with a walking step stool! -via Arbroath

 
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Cyclop Turtle

Posted by Alex in Animals & Pets, Video Clips on August 29, 2010 at 11:00 am

Poor turtle – it’s probably not going to survive into adulthood, but while it’s alive, let’s give it a little bit of love. Here’s Cyclop Turtle – hit play or go to Link [YouTube] – via Geekosystem

 
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Koopa-style Giant Turtle

Posted by Miss Cellania in Animals & Pets, Science & Tech on August 21, 2010 at 10:29 am

A family of giant armored turtles called meiolaniid flourished millions of years ago and was thought to have gone extinct 50,000 years ago. But now evidence from an archaeological dig on the island of Vanuatu shows a species called Meiolania damelipi survived until about 3,000 years ago.

The shell of one early meiolaniid species, known from fossils recovered in South America and named Stupendemys for its size, was 11 feet long and seven feet wide. The more modern Meiolania platyceps, found in Australia and Melanesia, had a relatively small five-foot-diameter shell, and weighed an estimated half-ton. All had armored club tails and horned heads.

(One species is even named Ninjemys, in honor of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, though M. platyceps looks much more like Super Mario Brothers 3-vintage Bowser, the King Koopa).

According to the fossil record, Meiolania damelipi flourished 3,000 years ago and were extinct 200 years later, possibly because of human hunting. The size of the newly-discovered species is not specified in the article. Pictured is Meiolania platyceps. Link -via Unique Daily

(Image credit: Australian National Museum)

 
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Tortoise Shakes Booty

Posted by Miss Cellania in Animals & Pets, Video Clips on July 6, 2010 at 12:28 pm


(YouTube link)

You can no longer say you’ve never seen a tortoise dance. -via reddit

 
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The Great Tortoise Escape

Posted by Alex in Animals & Pets on June 29, 2010 at 11:32 pm

Two days after Maddie Tibble and her family moved to a new house, their family pet, a tortoise named Lottie, escaped. Two years later, they found the runaway tortoise … one and a half mile away from home!

Doubtless a hare could have made the journey across the fields and down nearby Blackshots Lane in a matter of minutes. But Lottie took her time and spent 22 months to emerge into the open and be spotted by a animal-friendly passer-by.

Vet Lizzie Rigby, 36, checked Lottie over and gave her a clean bill of health. She said: ‘We looked her over and then checked for a microchip with a scanner and she had one. ‘We then contacted the chip company to get the owner’s detailed and found she had been missing for two years. We were amazed, considering she was in such good nick.’

Miss Rigby added: ‘Tortoises are quite slow, she didn’t get very far, who knows where she has been? ‘She must have found somewhere to curl up and hibernate for the winter. We were very surprised because the last winter was so cold but she survived.’

If you do the math, you’ll come up with 0.00009 mph: Link

 
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Tortoise vs. Hare

Posted by Miss Cellania in Animals & Pets, Video Clips on May 25, 2010 at 5:23 pm


(vimeo link)

It’s Woodward the tortoise against a rabbit named Lady Bunbun. How the winner is declared can be a point of controversy, but as you will see, the old fable is true. The tortoise keeps a steady pace while the hare barely shows up. -via Buzzfeed

 
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Roomba-Riding Turtle

Posted by John Farrier in Animals & Pets, Video Clips on April 29, 2010 at 5:22 pm


(YouTube Link)

We’ve seen a cat riding a Roomba. Now here’s a soft-shelled turtle doing it. He doesn’t appear to enjoy it as much.

via Geekologie

 
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Turtle Racing

Posted by Miss Cellania in Animals & Pets, Sports on March 4, 2010 at 12:52 pm

Imagine a sport where you can finish a drink in the midst of a race of only a few feet. Turtle racing has become a trend in metropolitan bars like Bucky’s Grill and Pub in Indianapolis, where the first turtle race was held last month.

Depending on the crowd, four to five of these exciting turtle races are held every Saturday night around 10 p.m. Every drink purchased gets the buyer one raffle ticket. Come race time, the tickets are drawn to see who is assigned as an honorary jockey to each of the six turtles. (The turtles, by the way, have clever names like Salisbury Strutter, Bermusa and Butkus.)

First place gets a T-shirt that reads “My turtle got lucky at Bucky’s,” and last place gets a complimentary shot. In some cases, coming in last place is probably harder than coming in first.

The only person to actually handle the turtles is a licensed reptile handler. Link -via Buzzfeed

(image credit: Wendy Rose Gould)

 
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Bacon Cheese Turtleburgers

Posted by Alex in Food & Drink, Pictures on February 22, 2010 at 3:55 am

Like its name says, This is Why You’re Fat website is dedicated to chronicling the brave culinary concoctions guaranteed to give you a coronary by day’s end. I think I’ve gained a few pounds just looking at the photos, and therefore can’t wait to show my latest find: the Bacon Cheese Turtleburgers!

Details at Interwebs Randomness and Other Inspiring Tales – via This is Why You’re Fat

 
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Turtle Wax

Posted by Miss Cellania in Animals & Pets, Pictures on January 31, 2010 at 9:48 pm

I don’t know what’s really going on in this picture, but “turtle wax” was my first reaction. Link -via Buzzfeed

 
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Speedy the Turtle

Posted by Miss Cellania in Animals & Pets, Video Clips on October 23, 2009 at 10:04 am


(YouTube link)

Who says turtles are slow? This strange-looking soft shell turtle made a quick getaway! -via Unique Daily

 
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Lucky the Legless Turtle

Posted by Miss Cellania in Animals & Pets on August 23, 2009 at 5:19 pm


Lucky is a turtle living in Petaluma, California. On July 31st, Lucky was attacked by what his owner Sally Pyne believes was a raccoon. A veterinarian amputated what was left of Lucky’s front legs. But Lucky can walk again, since the vet put stacked plastic chair sliders under the front of his shell, allowing his back legs to push him along without catching his shell against the ground. Link (with video) -via Buzzfeed

 
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Tortoise Survivor

Posted by Miss Cellania in Animals & Pets on August 1, 2009 at 9:28 am

A fire broke out in Becky Smith’s home when a heat lamp turned over on her tortoise cage, setting the wood chip litter ablaze. The bedrooms were engulfed, and two tortoises died. A third tortoise named Shelli was thought to be dead as well, as his cage was melted.

He was so hot he ‘phfizzed’ when firefighters put him in water – and then poked his head out.

‘The firemen said he was steaming when they put him in the bucket of water and he was so hot they couldn’t pick him up,’ said Ms Smith, 27.

‘It’s a miracle he is OK – especially when you see the state of the cage.’

Vets kept him in overnight and Shelli is now nibbling cucumber again.

Link -via Arbroath

 
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How the Turtle Got its Shell

Posted by Miss Cellania in Animals & Pets on July 10, 2009 at 11:39 am

You only have to look at a turtle once to realize how different they are from other vertebrates. Where did that shell come from?

The shell itself is made from broadened and flattened ribs, fused to parts of the turtle’s backbone (so that unlike in cartoons, you couldn’t pull a turtle out of its shell). The shoulder blades sit underneath this bony case, effectively lying within the turtle’s ribcage. In all other back-boned animals, whose shoulder blades sit outside their ribs (think of your own back for a start). The turtle’s torso muscles are even more bizarrely arranged.

Ed Yong looks at turtle anatomy and how this weird configuration evolved from the basic vertebrate plan. Link

 
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Caution: Ferocious Turtle

Posted by Alex in Advertising, Animals & Pets, Pictures on May 30, 2009 at 7:44 am

I met a ferocious turtle once. Turns out it was just hungry … Actually, the sign above is an ingenious direct mail campaign by SulAmérica, a provider of home insurance. The company has a very unusual database of what pets their clients own.

Sun/MRM ad agency of Brazil engineered a clever direct mail campaign, where they send funny signs to people who have birds, turtles, ferrets but no watch dogs to protect their homes! With this customized campaign, over 85% of the people renewed their insurance (as compared to 30% the year before the campaign).

Link

 
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Turtle One, Pigeon Zero

Posted by Queuebot in Animals & Pets on April 1, 2009 at 10:24 am


[YouTube - Link]


It looks like another day in the park until … snap, the turtle has the pigeon, drags it underwater, and a few token feathers float back to the surface. Turtles might looks slow, but beware.

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Urbanist.

 
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