Considering a Turtle??

Jimkel

In several conversations with petshop owners it has come to my attention that allot of people are trying to rehome/sell there turtles, Usually sliders.
One of the main reasons is that they have grown "too big" or they are "hard to keep clean". It seems that some people have also tried to fob off thier turtles here.

Anyone reading this should be aware of a few things

Yes Turtles are extremly Cute and unobtrusive when they are the size of a 2 euro coin, but they grow the size of a dinner plate, Live a long time, require maintenence akin to keeping large Fish, A large enclosure, and require calcium supplementation. not only do you they need the usual reptile keeping equipment, heat source, uva/b source. But also require pump filtered water and an underwater heater. Thats like trying to set up a healthy aquirium and vivarium together.

There is also the need for females to breed and Hibernation/Brumation to consider....
Oh and they Bite! hard!

Please never buy a baby animal you did not research because you think its "cute", this often leads to an unwanted adult.

One day When I have the space I would love to open a Turtle sanctuary, The amount of times I've heard people asking if they can return thier turtle , it really saddens me to think of all the unwanted sliders out there.

So think twice about buying that turtle, Never buy a turtle as a gift and always research the animal first.

If you think you want an animal, Try study and research it for 6 months first, and If you still want the animal after that and have not tired of the idea, then you will probably make a responsable owner.

Check the images attached below for an illustration of adult size

Our man in Havana

Jimkel its easy to keep older sliders OUTSIDE YEAR ROUND! We have 9 now 7 RES & 2 yellow bellies - they currently live in a paddling pool - they go into semi hibernation in the winter & have better shells due to natural sunlight - they are becoming a big problem in the UK in rivers & ponds - all they can not do in the wild is incubate their eggs other than that they live a natural carefree life. We are building a huge pond (once we find a liner big enough)

You are right tho its the pet shops fault for not giving enough info - they get big & require a lot of cleaning when they are in small tanks etc.

Nala

The pet shops are not necessarily to blame, it is the prospective owner's responsibility to do their homework before getting a pet. You can't expect pet shop staff to be able to cover everything, although they should give out basic info e.g. feeding, housing, life expectancy and future size.

There's been loads of threads here recently about tortoises and turtles. My boyfriend wants a tortoise but I am trying to talk him out of it until he knows absolutely everything about looking after one. He has loads of animals and takes good care of them but I am just afraid a tortoise would be too much work.

cowzerp

Nala wrote:

but I am just afraid a tortoise would be too much work.

They are the easiest animalos to care for-get 1 that does not grow large..

tallus

As long as you are set up correctly and know what the torts need I'd be inclined to agree with cowzerp. It's making sure the husbandry and feeding etc are correct. I'd also agree with Nala, the onus should be on the person buying the critter to do their own research.