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Author Topic:   Turtles

DerekM posted 07-20-99 04:46 PM ET
Does anybody else keep them as pets?
(Please, I've heard tons of jokes about turtle soup, disposable pets, etc. It is just as possible for some people to get as attached to a turtle as it is any other pet.)
ShiningOne posted 07-21-99 11:32 PM ET
Where the hell can i get a turtle what dose it eat and are they realy mean green fightint machines??
korn469 posted 07-22-99 03:43 AM ET
i had a turtle as a pet when i was a kid and i fed it lettuce and carrots, i truly loved my turtle...back then we lived in a hellhole of an apartment right above a funiture auction house on the bad side of town. our apartment was right beside a river well it flooed and i lost my turtle in the flood. i cried over my turtle and now as i'm thinking back on it i feel sad that i lost my turtle it's name was snappy. i also wonder if i was a good parent as a five year old. i hope i didn't let my turtle go hungry but i think it ate the lettuce. i really tried to make snappy as happy as possible and i played with him alot.
korn469
missing being 5 and having a turtle
p.s. i think snappy was a lean mean green fightng machine! he bit somebody onetime and it really hurt them
DerekM posted 07-22-99 08:33 AM ET
It depends upon what kind of turtle you have. There are hardshell and softshell freshwater, and then there are tortoises (land turtles). These are all American terms. In some parts of the world I think freshwater turtles are called terrapins (although the only species I know that is referred to as a terrapin exclusively is the Diamonback).
If you want a turtle with attitude, the North American Alligator snapping turtle can be a mean bastard. As an adult, they can easily deliver serious bites, and it isn't hard to lose a finger to one. I've heard that they're a little calmer if you raise them from hatchlings. I've also seen video of a sea turtle biting the hell out of an attacking shark and driving it off.
Turtles are generally omnivorous, although it varies by species. Most usually eat some type of meat. We feed ours a combination of commercial turtle food (brown stick food available at a lot of pet stores) and dried krill (small shrimp). They also take calcium supplements. Put a calcium block in the tank and the turtle will bite at it like a salt lick.
A turtle generally requires a few things to be healthy:
- Food with the right nutrients -- commercial foods do all right with this. They have slow metabolisms, so they don't need to eat a lot (we feed ours every other day).
- Sunlight or an artificial UV lamp. They're reptiles, so they need the warmth, and the UV helps shell growth.
- Proper environment in terms of humidity and temperature. Generally not a big problem unless you keep turtles that aren't local to where you live (e.g., desert tortoises in the north east US). Water turtles require both water to swim in and stones or other surfaces to climb out onto for basking.
- Clean environments. This is mostly a water turtle problem. Most species live in flowing water, and they tend to be messy eaters and can foul their water. We use a very large filter, and we feed them in a separate tank from where they live.
You can generally find turtles in pet stores, although you need to be careful because pet stores have very mixed records about caring for their animals. If you keep more than one, always segregate any new animals for a period of time to make sure they aren't carrying anything that could infect your other animals. A better source, if you can locate one, is a breeder. Breeding generally requires specialized equipment like an incubator, although I've heard some species breed easily in captivity. NOTE: You may not be able to buy turtles in your state. Some have outlawed the sale because turtles can carry harmful bacteria such as salmonella. ALWAYS wash your hands thoroughly with soap if you handle a turtle. It may not hurt the turtle, but it can poison you.
Other sources, depressingly for those of use who are very fond of turtles, is food markets. You can find live turtles in some ethnic Chinese groceries in New York City, for example. Be clear that you want to buy them as a pet (else they may kill the animal) -- and don't be suprised if they laugh at that.
Of course, we didn't get them from any of those places. Ours were actually bought on the streets of NYC. You can get anything in New York.
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Author	Topic: Turtles
DerekM	posted 07-20-99 04:46 PM ET Does anybody else keep them as pets? (Please, I've heard tons of jokes about turtle soup, disposable pets, etc. It is just as possible for some people to get as attached to a turtle as it is any other pet.)
ShiningOne	posted 07-21-99 11:32 PM ET Where the hell can i get a turtle what dose it eat and are they realy mean green fightint machines??
korn469	posted 07-22-99 03:43 AM ET i had a turtle as a pet when i was a kid and i fed it lettuce and carrots, i truly loved my turtle...back then we lived in a hellhole of an apartment right above a funiture auction house on the bad side of town. our apartment was right beside a river well it flooed and i lost my turtle in the flood. i cried over my turtle and now as i'm thinking back on it i feel sad that i lost my turtle it's name was snappy. i also wonder if i was a good parent as a five year old. i hope i didn't let my turtle go hungry but i think it ate the lettuce. i really tried to make snappy as happy as possible and i played with him alot. korn469 missing being 5 and having a turtle p.s. i think snappy was a lean mean green fightng machine! he bit somebody onetime and it really hurt them
DerekM	posted 07-22-99 08:33 AM ET It depends upon what kind of turtle you have. There are hardshell and softshell freshwater, and then there are tortoises (land turtles). These are all American terms. In some parts of the world I think freshwater turtles are called terrapins (although the only species I know that is referred to as a terrapin exclusively is the Diamonback). If you want a turtle with attitude, the North American Alligator snapping turtle can be a mean bastard. As an adult, they can easily deliver serious bites, and it isn't hard to lose a finger to one. I've heard that they're a little calmer if you raise them from hatchlings. I've also seen video of a sea turtle biting the hell out of an attacking shark and driving it off. Turtles are generally omnivorous, although it varies by species. Most usually eat some type of meat. We feed ours a combination of commercial turtle food (brown stick food available at a lot of pet stores) and dried krill (small shrimp). They also take calcium supplements. Put a calcium block in the tank and the turtle will bite at it like a salt lick. A turtle generally requires a few things to be healthy: - Food with the right nutrients -- commercial foods do all right with this. They have slow metabolisms, so they don't need to eat a lot (we feed ours every other day). - Sunlight or an artificial UV lamp. They're reptiles, so they need the warmth, and the UV helps shell growth. - Proper environment in terms of humidity and temperature. Generally not a big problem unless you keep turtles that aren't local to where you live (e.g., desert tortoises in the north east US). Water turtles require both water to swim in and stones or other surfaces to climb out onto for basking. - Clean environments. This is mostly a water turtle problem. Most species live in flowing water, and they tend to be messy eaters and can foul their water. We use a very large filter, and we feed them in a separate tank from where they live. You can generally find turtles in pet stores, although you need to be careful because pet stores have very mixed records about caring for their animals. If you keep more than one, always segregate any new animals for a period of time to make sure they aren't carrying anything that could infect your other animals. A better source, if you can locate one, is a breeder. Breeding generally requires specialized equipment like an incubator, although I've heard some species breed easily in captivity. NOTE: You may not be able to buy turtles in your state. Some have outlawed the sale because turtles can carry harmful bacteria such as salmonella. ALWAYS wash your hands thoroughly with soap if you handle a turtle. It may not hurt the turtle, but it can poison you. Other sources, depressingly for those of use who are very fond of turtles, is food markets. You can find live turtles in some ethnic Chinese groceries in New York City, for example. Be clear that you want to buy them as a pet (else they may kill the animal) -- and don't be suprised if they laugh at that. Of course, we didn't get them from any of those places. Ours were actually bought on the streets of NYC. You can get anything in New York.