Joe
Austin,#2Consumer Comment
Wed, April 22, 2009
Turtles are not that great of a pet and I have included some websites as to why they aren't. In case the site urls get redacted, here are some of those reasons: (((ROR Redacted))) Some facts you should seriously consider before getting a turtle as a pet: 1. Your pet turtle will not become a Ninja turtle! - It will not wear a bandana, jump, swing, do karate or perform any such high-decibel activity. It won't eat pizza either! Turtles are low-contact pets, which are primarily ornamental in nature. 2. Many species are illegal. Find out about any laws pertaining to your chosen species, and whether or not you will need a permit. 3. Find out everything there is to know about the species you are thinking of. Buy a good care guide, talk to your vet, surf the net and contact other people who have the same pet to find out the pros and cons. This can be particularly difficult as the number of exotic pet owners is quite few (especially in India!) 4. How long will your pet live? Some species of turtles may outlive you, others typically live as long as 20-30 years. Are you prepared to spend the whole of your life looking after it? 5. How much space will your pet require? Make sure you design the habitat considering the maximum maturity size. Your 2 inch turtles can grow to 12 inches!! 6. It's going to be next to impossible finding a vet who has experience with exotic pets (especially in India!). Find out if there is one local to you, else be prepared to spend hours on the net finding your own cure! 7. Children and exotic pets rarely mix! Infact, you have to take considerable care if you have other pets in the house. 8. Exotic pets have specific dietary requirements, and may need to be fed with foods that you might feel uncomfortable handling/providing. (e.g., live fish, worms for turtles) 9. Who will look after your pet if you go on holiday? It may not be as easy to find a willing pet-sitter for a turtle than for a kitten. 10. The cost of accommodation, food and vet bills is likely to exceed the initial price of the pet, so think carefully about whether you are prepared for the expense. 11. Some species carry diseases. Turtles, for example, can harbor salmonella. And therefore, require careful handling AND THERE IS THIS: Turtles are most fascinating pets to own, but many people get them without knowing how to care of them. Caring for pet turtles is not a tough process, because they just require right space, shade, light and moisture for their survival. You must know the requirements of the pet turtles before you plan to get them. You have to place the pet turtles outside your home. All the Turtles hibernate in winter season; they won't hibernate if they are kept inside. Liver diseases will develop if they won't hibernate properly. Some people keep the turtles inside their home and use refrigerators in order to make them hibernate. This is not a good process because hibernation in turtles will be interrupted if the refrigerator abruptly rises in temperature or if the power goes off. Be sure to wash your hands after handling your pet turtles because some turtles do carry salmonella. The environment which is present around the turtle must be maintained in clean manner. You must keep the water fresh and take out the waste present in the water. Try to arrange water filtration systems in the tank of your pet turtles to keep the water clean. Don't use tap water for the tank of turtles because the tap water contains fluoride and chlorine which is not good for the health of your pet turtles. You must provide de-chlorinated water in the swimming area and filter water for drinking. Lots of commercial diets are available for the turtles. Dietary requirements differ from one another, depending on the species you have to select the right diet suitable for it. You must feed your pet turtles 2 to 3 times in a week. Don't put bark of the tree or wood chips in your turtle's tank. These things will cause problems if the turtle ingests this. Water also gets contaminated very quickly with these things because they encourage fungus or molds to grow. Turtles require twelve hours of sunlight. If you keep the turtles inside, try to provide UV lamp for your turtle's tank. This lamp will provide vitamin D3 which is obtained from the sunlight. Pet turtles need this vitamin D3 to stay healthy. (((ROR Redacted))) I HOPE YOU WILL RECONSIDER YOUR CHOICE OF PET AND RESCURE A VERY LOVING DOG OR CAT FROM YOUR LOCAL ANIMAL SHELTER BECAUSE THEY KILL HUNDREDS OF BEAUTIFUL LITTLE FRIENDS EVERY DAY BECAUSE NOBODY WANTS THEM! CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.