Today, I offer my first-ever dual themed post, where I have attempted to contribute something worthy of both House of Herps (HoH) and An Inordinate Fondness (AIF) blog carnivals. Both carnivals offer monthly editions with the same deadlines and virtually the same publication dates. I’ve missed the deadlines, but want to support these carnivals anyway…so if you wander off the beaten path from HoH #14, hosted by Joy at The-Little-House-in-the-Not-So-Big-Woods, or from AIF #12, hosted by Bug Girl at Bug Girl’s Blog, you’ll find this better-late-than-never tag-along to two of nature-blogging’s finest carnivals. So, without further delay, I give you, “Red-eared Blisters.”

~

This emerald-eyed beauty is a Red-eared Slider (Chrysemys scripta elegans), basking not only in the sun, but in its freedom. I recently visited a commercial pet store to purchase dog food, and noticed a terrarium with a small Red-eared Slider captive. I see these common freshwater turtles just about anytime I visit a pond, and I was surprised to see this familiar animal in such an unnatural setting. I’ve known that turtles are often captured from the wild and sold to pet stores, because I’ve read about it. But seeing a turtle on display to be sold was like a sock in the gut.

When a wild animal is held captive, the captor becomes solely responsible for the many requirements to keep that animal alive and healthy. How many turtle owners purchased a turtle thinking that turtles are “cool,” and that it would be pretty easy to care for them? That a turtle would make a great pet for a child? Did they know that Red-eared Sliders can live 50-70 years?¹  Will they learn about the responsibilities of caring for a captive turtle before or after they make their purchase? Or ever?

My hope is that turtles (as well as other wild animals) will be left in the wild, where they can care for themselves as only they know best. We can appreciate them in the wild with a trip to the great outdoors or a neighborhood park. In this way, a turtle sighting will be a source of fun and excitement, instead of a daily routine that quickly becomes tiresome and neglected.

I’ll close with a link to Animal Planet’s website that does a pretty good job of describing the responsible way to care for captive Red-eared Sliders. I know that some readers have or may obtain a pet turtle in the future, and I would like to help those turtles by educating owners and would-be owners about the best way to care for these animals. Please visit Animal Planet’s website article, “Red-eared Slider: Care and Feeding of This Common Pet Turtle.”

~

~

The name, “Blister Beetle” imparts an instant wariness upon reading the name. But what if you encounter a “neat bug” in the wild and are prone to touching or capturing the neat stuff you see, for closer inspection? Whether plant or animal, you may be better off just looking unless you know what you are dealing with.

This beetle is a species in the Genus Epicauta, known for the caustic substance they excrete from their legs. That’s right…from their LEGS. The reddish substance is called cantharidin, and would be an unwelcome surprise to anyone who handled the beetle enough for it to excrete its own hemolymph, which contains this defensive toxin. Though cantharidin does have medicinal uses, horses have died from eating hay that contained blister beetles.²

I would be remiss if I did not also mention that cantharidin is also most well known by its common name, Spanish Fly – once used as an aphrodisiac. I guess if your idea of “sexy” is to eat beetle powder that causes itching and swelling of your private parts…and you don’t mind possible kidney damage or death…then head to your local apothecary, witch doctor, or The Google.

At any rate, I’m glad that I now know what a blister beetle looks like, and can share that knowledge with others. Interesting…Yes, cuddly…No!