b'starting to become septictheyfledfromanapartmentfire,dousamountoftimeandknowl-sotheygaveherheavywhich forced them to move out foredge. Turtles dont sit in the corner antibiotics.Theyclosednine months while their home wasandjusttakecareofthemselves, up the shell with a type ofrenovated. We put Mort in a bucketsays Zahn. Theyre not cheap and automotive epoxy.yes, the same bucket that she hadnot something I would recommend After the surgery, Mortsbeen in at Penn [for her surgery],for a child. And please, you should personalitycharmedtheZahn recalls. never paint a turtle. Youre actually doctors and nurses. MortAndduringHurricaneSandy,poisoning them when you do that.would come over to themMort had to survive an even tougherEvery once in a while, Mort does because she hadnt been petsituation. We did not have the abil- get a chance to join Zahn, Crothers for so long. They thoughtitytobringMortwithus,recallsand Henry for an idyllic suburban it was just awesome, sheZahn. We filled the bathtub, we putmoment. When the weather is re-says. in a bunch of food, we put her rocksally nice, its OK to have her walk in And if Crothers hadntin there and we left her in the cold.the grass. But we have to keep an eye alreadyprovedhisdedi- AndIthoughttherewasachanceon her. She has some speed and can cationtoMort,hecer- that she would not survive Sandy ondefinitely scurry. And if the grass is tainly earned what Zahnher own. She literally lived by herselfeven a little bit tall, she gets to hide. describedasBobbyin pretty cold water for about a weekShe likes to hide. But in here, in the points.Sheneededtountil we came back home. office, she gets to hide and scratch be injected with an anti- Adult Mort enjoys spending time in the water asAlthoughitsclearthatZahnher back. By the way, toothbrushes inflammatoryandanti- well as scratching her shell against Zahns officelovesMortdearly,sheadmitsthatarethebestforthat.Itlookslike bioticsforseveralweekschair. shell get ignored for periods of timeshes dancing. after her surgery. Im not a needle person, despite having done allergy shots.while the humans of the family liveDonnyLevitisawriter,theater My job was to hold her arm out while she is trying to pull it back and Bobbytheir busy lives. But her abode is adirectorandradioDJlivingin would then plunge in the needle, says Zahn. comfortable tank providing her withAtlanta with his wife, two kids and two The life of Mort has been punctuated by a series of complicated events.idealwarmthandproperlight.Asdogs. Catch his radio shows on IG at And yet, shes always found a way to survive them. Before Zahn and CrothersZahn points out multiple times, tak- @jazzmonsters and @newishradio.moved to South Orange, they lived in several homes in Jersey City. In 2009,ing care of a turtle requires a tremen-GET ALL THEMAGICWITHOUT THE HASSLECONTACT US TODAY! 973-218-4559 Mention this ad & save 5%! HumbugLights.com Scan For Your Free Quote!22/ matters magazine / fall 2025'