I got the two bags of garbage out to the road before 7:00 AM. So, from my perspective, I'd met today's mission and anything else is just gravy!
Work today was more of a series of annoying problems rather than something big I could accomplish. So, when I got home at 5:15 PM, I was determined to tackle something (anything)!
I decided to clean Newt's tank. I scooped up a cup or so of tank water in a clear glass bowl. Then I grabbed Newt, put him in the bowl and put a saucer on top. I stuck the bowl on top the fridge (I like to think this gives him a bit of a different world view, every now and then).
I siphoned out the water and then got started washing the calcium and crude off everything (the fake tree branch, the real rock, the filter, and the tank sides). I replaced the two fake plants (just to give him a change of scenery) and then rebuilt the filter.
BTW, I obviously have waited too long for this as some of the calcium deposits on the tank glass I just could not get off. But, I know they make some kind of wipe for this (I've bought them before) and I'll pick some up next time I'm by PetSmart.
Finally, at 7:15 PM, I refilled the tank, turned the filter on and set the stove timer for one hour. I am always afraid that I've left something in the tank that will hurt poor Newt. That is a direct result of how much he wiggles when I put him back!
I mopped up any excess water on the dresser top, the wood floors, and in the bathroom. I hung the siphon hose over the upstairs shower head to dry (after rinsing) and put the two scrubbers in there as well.
I was starving then, and not willing to mess around. So, I popped a Marie Callender's Chicken Pot Pie in the microwave. Just about then, the stove timer went off and I put Newt back in his tank. He wiggled (like always) so I kept a close eye on him.
I ate my dinner watching TV and went to bed, content with the day at 11:30 PM.
How old is Newt????????????? Seems like you've had him a while.
ReplyDeleteWell, I can't really say (maybe Jake or Jeremy could). I know Lu got him when Jeremy was young. At the time (when I expressed my doubts) she said the average life span of a Newt was 6 months. He's lived in a variety of tanks and bowls and suffered through all kinds of neglect (try telling a teenager he should clean the Newt bowl) but the little bastard has hung in there! Like John Wayne says in True Grit (paraphrased) "He reminds me of me!"
ReplyDeleteMy guess would be 15-20 years old.
My favorite Newt story is when I put some guppies in his tank to give him something to interest him (like when I got Caley to perk up Scruffy).
He ate them...
Oh, yeah, I should mention that Newt used to do this "display" thing (when I think he was horny). He would puff out his neck and display this red bulgy "thing." Now he hasn't done that in a while, but then neither have I...
ReplyDeleteHe really does remind me of me...