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In My Double Life, Kiwis share the side hustles, the hobbies or the dual careers that keep them busy. Donna Moot is a community mental health nurse, and the founder of Turtle Rescue. Right now, she has around 60 turtles at her Christchurch home – including one of the first turtles, Rocky, she bought 38 years ago.
“The first time I ever saw turtles was in Singapore. I was 17 and had just started nursing and I had a bit of money saved up, so I went and had my first overseas trip. It was back in the day when we had pen friends. I had a pen friend called Wendy who lived in Singapore, so I went to stay with her Chinese family for three weeks.
Everywhere we went, there were turtles. In the botanical gardens, they would just be sitting there by the ponds, and I was quite fascinated by them, quite intrigued. I think it was because we didn’t really have them in New Zealand at the time – or if we did, it was more of a North Island than a South Island thing.
When I was a bit older, 24 or 25, I saw turtles in a pet shop in Lincoln Rd, Christchurch, so I bought a pair of baby ones and followed the advice of the completely inexperienced pet shop worker.
I had no idea that they were both males and that you shouldn’t keep two males together because they fight, nor should you keep them in a small tank because they can grow from the size of a 50c piece to 30cm and 3kg. Keeping them in a small tank means they can get a bit deformed. In the days before google, I learned all sorts of things from my own experience and learning from my own mistakes.
I got a female turtle, Shelley, and used to take her to vet Dr Ross Blanks in Hornby. He did a lot of work for the SPCA and eventually asked me if I would foster turtles for the SPCA. It all went from there, and I ended up getting more and more tanks and putting in purpose-built ponds.
With the arrival of the internet, people started asking for help with turtles so I began sharing knowledge. Just this weekend, a woman got in touch because she’d found a turtle by the side of the road and wanted to know what to do; it turns out she was messaging from the US at a time of day – night – when all their wildlife services were closed! I was able to give her some advice, and she got help for the turtle.
People bring me their unwanted turtles. It’s quite sad sometimes, because a person might really love their turtles, but they have to move overseas for work and can’t take them or it belongs to an elderly person who can no longer care for it. I also get turtles that were bought as pets for children who are now teenagers and don’t want them anymore.
If I could give one piece of advice, it would be, “Yes, your 4-year-old may want a turtle – many 4-year-olds do – but will it want a turtle when its 54? Because turtles can live for a very long time.” I’ve still got Rocky, one of my first turtles, who lives outside in a 1000-litre pond. He’s 38, which is remarkable given the rough start he had in life with me not really knowing what to do.
I’ve got four species of turtle here – Red-eared slider, Eastern long-neck turtles, Reeves, and Australian painted turtles – but only about 60 at the moment. They’ve all got their own personalities. Some are shy, so they might hide at the back of their tanks or under driftwood; then you get the other type who like to climb around and interact.
Rocky is quite shy and might jump into the water if other people are around, but he’s certainly not bothered by me.
There’s always something to be done, in terms of feeding and changing over tank water or caring for injured ones, and I am unable to go away.
It can be quite all-consuming, but it’s also useful because when I walk in the door after a day at work then I have to completely change my focus. I am a community psychiatric nurse because I love working with, supporting and helping people.
Those with a mental illness have often faced all sorts of trauma and difficulties and stigma. I just love supporting people and giving them the best life they can have. I trained as a psychopaedic nurse and worked with people with physical as well as intellectual differences.
About 24 years ago, I switched to mental health nursing – and got fresh qualifications – but with deinstitutionalisation and the shutting down of hospitals, there are a lot of people in the community with intellectual disabilities and mental health challenges.
While I was Team Leader at Youth Residential, we had a large tank with a Reeves turtle in it and to see what a calming effect it could have was quite remarkable.
So, there is crossover with my work and the turtles. I’ve reduced my hours, so I now have a day a week to go out to hospitals, rest homes, schools and do some education work. I am constantly being asked to do that kind of thing, and I just couldn’t while I was working full time.”
More about Donna Moot’s work can be found here www.turtlerescue.co.nz
