Photo Gallery :: My baby turtles, Emmie and Pretty

[DavidY]

Yea it's really not the kid's fault. They're at an age where they can start to learn valuable lessons on how to take responsibility in caring for another living creature, but they need the assistance of an adult (or more mature individual). Unfortunately, most parents are not as interested in animals as kids are and just consider them disposable entertainment for their kids.

I think it's good when the young ones find their way to this site since we can hopefully have a positive effect on them, teaching them to care for their animals properly and helping them understand that their little pet has feelings and needs just like they do.

Just take XSavingSaturdayX for example. That was a major step for him to go from a new turtle in a 5gal tank with a rock to getting a job to support his two little guys. And now he's a zealous advocate on this forum helping other newbies! I think he benefited tremendously from this experience. Hopefully Yertle will too as well as others who come here with concerns about their turtles.

It is frustrating to see the same mistakes being made over and over again, but hopefully it isn't the same person making the same mistakes over and over again. If we can help the person out, that shouldn't happen. We just need to remember that for each newcomer, even though it's the same story again, it's the first time for them, and they will likely get scared away if we jump all over them. I know I would.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Yeah. We should put ourselves in their shoes before we jump all over them. I know alot of us on this forum have a tendency of doing that (including me).. But we have to limit ourselves realy. I mean, we all were newbies at some point. We all posted stupid and obvious questions and scratched our heads when talking about UVB/UVA lighting. But people learn, and overtime fall in love with these beautiful creatures and will do almost anything to make their lives as wonderful and healthy as possible.

Alot of these new people arent rude. I think what pisses us off and makes us snap so quick is when they post pictures of their 6 inch turtle in a 20 gallon tank with a couple of inches of water. Or their baby RES in a small tank with nothing but a dock and heat lamp, stuff like that. But then again, most of us (the ones who didnt do research before buying a turtle) were in that exact same position at one point. And look at us now! Were obsessed with taking care of these animals! We learned and gave it our best. We made it alright..

And when someone does piss you off. Just write about it somewhere private or talk to someone (or you could be like me, and run to jessica..and have a potty mouth chat ) instead of lashing out and creating this forum into a waste hole and scaring people away.

[DavidY]

rotfl!

[surferchick19]

i wasent trying to be mean, it just makes me upset, you need to research things before u do them, its not fair to the animal, they shouldent be test dummies, im sorry, thats just how i think, would u really want to be sitting around in a small dirty room while ure parents were looking at websites trying to figure out how to take care of you?
i think not...
im glad she upgraded to a new tank but it needs to be reaserched before, i dont know how old all of you are but im 20 and to me its ure responsibility to get the facts before u do something just because u want it.

i have a horse and if i just kept it in a small little stall with nothing until i reaserched it i would go to jail, just sayin

i learned things from this website too, like things to look for blah blah, but u need to read how to set up everything before u get the pet

again not trying to be mean but just bringing it into perspective!

[xsavingsaturdayx]

I didnt think you were being mean. It makes me mad too..but this experience has thought me to do my homework before taking care of animal that im foreign with.

I plan on getting another turtle in the very very near future, not a RES..but something more exotic - i have my eyes set on either a matamata or a fly river turtle. I've recently began to research both species, im going to wait till i have a whole setup ready before purchasing either one of them

[DavidY]

I agree with you, surferchick. I wish everyone would properly research their pets before buying them. Caring for a captive animal is a big responsibility and we are obligated to provide our pets with a comfortable and healthy home. It becomes our job to make sure they are cared for and happy, not just survive.

But I also understand how young kids feel, especially kids who really like animals, and I don't want to crush their enthusiasm. Instead if we can educate them and help them to correct their mistakes as quickly as possible, it will mean the difference between that person enjoying their new pet and providing it with good care, as opposed to watching their pet get sick and die. If we scare them off, they may not want to ask for help or learn and they may just go out and get another pet and make the same mistakes all over again. Or they may keep their pet alive but in miserable conditions.

People will make mistakes, but if they're sincere, they will do what it takes to correct them and hopefully learn no to make that mistake again. In other words, they will realize that the cute baby animal at the pet store will probably require a lot more time and money than they think and they should do some research and preparation before bringing it home.

Of course, there are the irresponsible ones who don't care and just want some instant gratification without much effort. By all means, give them a good raking over. They need it.

I'm not criticizing you, I really do agree with you. I'm just trying to offer up another way of looking at it.