b"From Pet Store toFamily Legend:The Epic Life of MortSouth Oranges 30-something turtle has a story to tellBY DONNY LEVITDevon Zahn's son, Henry Crothers, is growing up with Mort, the same turtle Zahn had as a child.O atypicaldayinherant and not-so-pleasant surprises. It took a decadechase, she says. But little did I know that Mort n SouthOrangeabode,for Zahn to discover Mort was a female. All ofwould still be here. And that bunny wouldve been Mortisfeelingsnacky.a sudden, there was something in her tank, shelongdead.Althoughaturtleslifespanvaries, Sheamblesuptohersays, recalling the moment during her college yearsMort could conceivably live until shes an octoge-mom,DevonZahn,when she discovered that Mort lays eggs. I keptnarian or even longer.whosworkinginherthe name but kind of jokingly. Instead of Mortim- Parentingaturtlerequiresatremendous home office, and has al- er, its now Morticia. But really, shes just Mort. amount of on-the-job training. We knew noth-ready cut up some squishy strawberries that keepNot many pet parents can say theyve grown uping about how to take care of her, and this was Morts appetite in check. Mort spends the next fewand spent their adulthood with a turtle. And notpre-internet,shesays.Zahnexplainsthatthe hours napping, enjoying time in the water and par- many turtles can say theyve survived major sur- tank size and lighting setup they used could be ticipating in one of her most pleasurable activitiesgery as well as a stay in a bathtub in a questionablethe reason that shes unable to swim. Shes cold- scratching her shell up against the office chair. Secaucus motel due to a fire at the Zahn-Crothersblooded and needs to sit under a heat lamp to get Welcome to a day in the life of 30-something- apartment in Jersey City.warm. She then goes to the water to cool off, and year-old Mort the Chinese pond turtle. A residentAs Zahn tells it, Mort became part of her fam- vice versa, she says. of South Orange since 2017, Morts human fam- ily because of her allergy to rabbits. I wanted aThe water source was not large enough for her to ily includes Zahn, production manager for W.W.rabbit, something cute and cuddly, she says. Inswim in and develop properly. She also has meta-Norton & Company, dad Bobby Crothers, head1994, Zahn and her mom stopped into a pet storebolic bone disease, which is pretty common with ofU.S.retirementatBlackRockandyoungernear where she grew up in Montgomery County,reptiles in captivity, unfortunately. Morts current brother Henry Crothers, a sixth grader at SouthPenn. There were two turtles and one of themtank has 6 inches of water, which gives her plenty of Orange Middle School. Mort also has a furry side- was extremely cute. And that was it. So, did Zahnspace to climb onto the dry area and take a breather. kick, Willa, a 5-year-old rescue pup from Georgia.know that she was entering into a potentially life- The setup also prevents her from drowning.The epic life of Mort comes packed with pleas- long relationship? This was an uneducated pur- Because she wanted Mort to have a diet that 20/ matters magazine / fall 2025"