Adventures of Jasper

Last night when I went up to bed, I opened the door to the stairs and found a dark lump on the bottom step. What on earth? I looked closer, and it was a turtle. Jasper. She had gotten out of her pond and somehow survived a fall down the stairs, all the way to the bottom. I picked her up, carried her upstairs and put her back in the pond. She is swimming just fine, acting normal and healthy. She doesn't appear to have been injured at all from her adventures. This is good, I'm happy about it. What I wanna know is how the hell did she get out of her pond in the first place?!?!?!?

There is nothing in there for her to climb on. I have not finished the turtle dock, which would naturally push away from the edges if they try to climb the sides anyway. The sides are sheer. The water (I know, because I measured it after returning her safe and sound) is eight inches from the top, much lower than in the photo below. There were no gashes or holes in the plastic to mark where she might have made a ladder for herself with her claws. What happened, did Corkie give her a boost?

That damned lining has to come out. Even the 7mil ripped. It's much more rigid than the 1mil so it hasn't floated around the tank and caused trouble, but it's still got to go. What the hell can I put in there? Anyway, there weren't any holes in the plastic for her to have climbed up on. I still have no idea how she could have escaped. If I weren't already, I'd say this mystery would drive me crazy. I guess I'll just have to say crazier.

Oh and just in case you were wondering, yes I was out for a little while yestreday. I'm pretty sure I would've heard her fall down the stairs if I were at home when it happened.