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I was walking, and i saw a couple turtles swimming in the cannal. I think one of them was a res and the other was black i think.. coudnt really tell. I thought throwing your turtles in canals was bad for them... but they looked happy, and i know res arnt native to florida, so someone must of put it in there. Why exactly are canals bad for turtles...?? Theres fish in there....

RES were not originally found in Florida but they've been introduced and have become established, so now there are wild RES breeding in Florida. Florida is apparently comfortable for them.

One reason not to release a pet RES into the wild anywhere is that once it's become accustomed to being fed and protected, it will not be equiped to fend for itself as a wild turtle would be. It's instinct to hibernate, for example, may be blunted so that it will not take cover when it should. It probably won't be as wary as it should be. It won't know how to catch wild food. It will likely starve or become ill or be killed. That's a sad thing to happen to a pet.

Another reason not to release a pet RES is that it will infect the wild population with germs and parasites that the wild RES are not resistent to. At the same time, the wild RES will have germs and parasites that the pet RES is not resistent to. You know how if you travel to certain foreign countries you will get sick while the people who live there don't because they have developed immunities while you haven't? The same thing happens with animals.

Finally, you should not release pet RESs because when they wind up in a place inhabited by other types of turtles, if the RESs survive they will dominate the habitat because they are more hardy and aggressive than any other type of aquatic turtle and they will force out the native turtles.

my vet told me today that a lot of herpetoculturists consider RES to be the cockroaches of the turtle community, because they are hardy and aggressive. i found that amusing.

i have nothing to add.

Cockroaches? Cockroaches???

I'm not going repeat that to Spot!

I've read, though, that RES have been banned in many countries around the world for just that reason - they crowd out the natives.

yeah i did the same thing

--what i have a cockroach!

the vet says no no just that they tend to be one of the tougher, more invasive species.

Thanks for answering my question Would it be a bad idea to catch a wild turtle and bring it home? Im thinking the answers yes

Oh, and i saw a 5 inch one, and a 3 inch one, and the smaller one was following the bigger one, i thought that was kinda cute lol Do the babis ussually follow the moms? Just wondering...

Dont catch one...like spotsmama said, there is now wild RES breeding in FL. You might catch a wild one, and we all know NEVER to take an animal if it is wild. And no, baby turtle's dont follow their parents, they are not mammals. They are left to fend for themselve's.

CV, didn't I just see - just a few weeks ago - where you gave away your turtle??? Has something changed?

To assuage all our turtles angnst about being compared to roaches, they are seen as an apex of evolution. They can eat anything, survive anything, and exist in any ambient conditions. I find them creepy myself, but I do see that they are beautifully adapted for life here. At the same time, they can become a problem because of the traits that make them so interesting. It's the same for our cute and never creepy turtles. Instead of our houses, they take over other turtles niches. Cockroaches gross us out, but imagine if they were our size, and able to fight us out of the house! Not to mention consuming all of the available food, and not being very generous if you try to get a morsel. Sadly, I would say that for other turtles, introduced sliders are worse than roaches. I would certainly rather have a turtle infestation though.

To answer your specific question about canals: They can be filthy. I live along the Erie Canal, and much of the time it's stagnant. Man-made waterways don't quite fit in with the water cycle the way a natural lake or river does, and if you must release a turtle, one of those is less likely to be polluted or overgrown with icky things. Although if you have a captive turtle, it's a bad idea (and in some places illegal) to release it anywhere in the wild, either because they're not equipped to survive, or because of the 'cockroach' argument.

I'm in central Florida, and see quite a few RES in ponds and other waterways. I always assumed they were naturally native to Florida, I didn't know that they were transplants!

The map I saw indicated they were native to most of the south including Texas but not Florida for some reason.

Hey, was it my map? LOL. I used a couple of sources to create that, though I may have to take into account some other RES variations.

Steve, did you design this site? Very awesome job if you did! I really liked this site from the moment I first found it. All of the info is very accurate and easy to read and understand and the community is very friendly and laid back. My hat's off to you!