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My parent’s turtle loves children, not sure what it is with kids but he/she will go crazy in his tank….swimming back and forth or trying to claw out when he see kids…and only kids.

My parents will let the turtle out when the grandkids come over and the turtle will chase after them, or search for them room to room, and a few times almost fell down the stairs trying to follow them to the basement. Doesn’t do this with the adults….he somehow knows.
He will either climb on the kid’s legs/arms or put his small face on their leg/arms and sit for hours if he could. While my son watches tv the turtle will find him and just put his small paws and his face on my sons leg and will just watch tv with him.

So I was curious would you think a turtle like ours could be a good “therapy pet” for kids or do you think the whole salmonella factor would come into play?

Sounds like that's a great relationship but I think salmonella would be a major issue (especially if the kids have a weakened immune system). Their claws and sharp beaks are also not something to take lightly. Some of the larger, more docile land species might be better suited, but then again it's still pretty risky.

Thanks for the feed back. I kind of figured that the salmonella would be a problem and like you said especially with people with weakened immune system. I never really thought that the claws and beaks could be an issue as well. I really appreciated it.

To be honest, while there is a risk I think it's very minimal. Smarter kids know to keep clean but it wouldn't take much for a parent to freak out. Do the grandkids give treats to your turtle? Maybe he associates them with some goodies.

This box turtle is being used in therapy with children. its a great video of how smart turtles can be if you put the time into them..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_tDNxK4hU8

I think if you even used your turtle as a mascot, and brought him places with children who could be taught about turtles and their care and how they need to be diligent with washing their hands when handling turtles. That your turtle could do some great things. He will also show them that turtles don't have to be boring pets. I would love to see video of your turtle crawling up on the kids.. Must be sooo adorable..

Steve - No the kids very very rarely give the turtle any treats/food. If they do they would just be dropped a few pelts into the tank. I don't know if he could tell by that? I noticed that he smells a lot - like the carpet and people's clothing before he climbs on. I don't know if he's able to figure them out by the sent.

He's never bitten anyone, and will hiss when he's agitated - which I only figured out when he was out in the yard, and I was trying to pluck some ants off of him which he didn't seem to like, with that said I'm quite confident he would be okay being handled and such. Otherwise he seems really happy.

I guess when I bring this idea up with anyone in the family they think I'm nuts. So I just thought I'd get some "outside" options.

Unclejoe - I will defiantly post pictures/video's the next time I'm over.

My male RES likes to smell things too. It's pretty cute, but my female RES doesn't do it. She just bulldozes what ever is in her way.