Mr. Blomgren's 6th grade classroom has a pet turtle! The turtle is an adult female ornate box turtle. She came from a small town near Denver, Colorado. Her name is Ke’ya, the Dakota word for turtle. She is about 10 years old.
They plan to create spreadsheets to track her weight and keep track of her diet. So far, her favorite foods are worms and the crickets they bring in. The students enjoy taking her outside at recess for some fresh air and sunshine. They’ve been surprised at how fast a turtle can cover ground!
She is expected to stay pretty active until late October when she will have the urge to hibernate/brumate. She will stay asleep without eating anything until early to mid March when we’ll wake her up and bring her back to her tank. We are looking forward to a fun year with Ke’ya!