We have heard countless wholesome pet adoption stories from people on the internet. This time we get to hear another one from a guy who happened to adopt a tiny turtle that was born with a unique condition.
This little turtle is born with a condition that no one has seen before.
Meet Hope, a tiny turtle born with a hole in her shell, exposing her heart.
Instead of scales, her heart is only protected by a thin membrane, which makes her extra vulnerable to her surroundings. You can visibly see Hope’s heart pumping as you look underneath her shell.
Aside from that, the turtle was also born with a case of albinism, which means Hope’s skin and shell coloration appear unnaturally pale. Because of her albinism, Hope was born with red glowing eyes as well.
This guy takes the little turtle to a cozy home.
A 30-year-old man named Mike was able to meet this peculiar turtle from a breeder that he knew. The breeder told Mike everything about the turtle. He decided to ask Mike to take her home as the breeder couldn’t take care of Hope nor sell her to his customers.
Since Mike was only given a day, he spent that time thinking about what is the best possible setup for the tiny turtle. With the given time, Mike was able to secure an aquarium with a water filter, a mossy piece of wood, and even a small heater to assure that the new turtle would feel at home.
How Mike took care of the vulnerable Hope.
The moment Mike got Hope, he noticed how small she was; the turtle was just slightly bigger than a quarter. He also took his time to observe the small hole on Hope’s shell and her exposed heart.
“When I look at it, it looks like a raisin underneath a piece of gum,” Mike told The Dodo.
Hope and Mike’s favorite thing to do is bonding during Hope’s feeding time. The moment Hope sees Mike coming home from work, she gets excited as she knows that it’s time for her to be fed.
“I was really scared to touch her at all just because she’s so small and delicate, and because of how big I am,” Mike said. “I don’t want to handle her a lot so I’m just using tongs to feed her.”
Hope loves living with Mike.
Hope is unaware of how vulnerable and fragile she is with her condition and she has been living life as any normal turtle would.
Mike was glad to see the turtle live her life worry-free as she tries his best to make sure that Hope is living healthily and happily in her new home.
“It makes me happy that I get to be the one that’s taking care of her,” shared Mike.
Thankfully, Mike’s selfless kindness is enabling Hope to live a hopeful life with a better chance at survival.
If you want to see more of Hope’s journey with Mike, make sure to follow them on Instagram. Be inspired by the one of a kind story of Mike and his pet turtle Hope.
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