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I was at the Children's Museum here in Boston yesterday and went to look at the turtle tank. I was completely dismayed by what I saw -- I actually believe that one of the turtles was already dead, it's shell looked completely rotten and it did not move for the 15 minutes I was in the room even as children banged at the tank right where it was. There were two others in the tank and I believe that one of the two also had a seriously rotting shell. Hereis a picture that I took with my phone -- I took more with my camera but have not been able to upload the pictures yet. It's difficult to see, but if you look closely at the turtle on the bottom/left I think you will see what I am referring to.

Could someone more knowledgeable than I tell me if they think this is indeed shell rot (as I have never seen it). Also, does anyone have suggestions as to the action I should take regarding the museum? While I was there I went and told one of the staff members that I thought one of the turtles was dead and that the other two looked very unhealthy. She went and looked at the tank, radioed something to someone, and then left but did not say anything to me. In fact, when I first went up to let them know they tried to tell me that the turtles just don't move very much. I assured them it was worse than that given that I have two turtles of my own.

Although children like the exhibit it seems completely cruel to the turtles (not to mention they don't have enough space, I couldn't tell that the water temperature was regulated and I'm 90% sure there was no source of UVB). I am considering contacting the director of the museum and perhaps even the MSPCA to try to get it taken out.

I feel sick to my stomach the turtles looked so miserable.

I don't see any picture. It sounds awful though, i would definitely complain to somebody!

octpusgirl8 wrote:I don't see any picture.

The picture is linked from where I wrote "here". The link is:

http://picasaweb.google.com/windowsforeyes/BostonChildrenSMuseumTurtles

Well, first off, I wouldn't be too worried about the staff member's actions. They are probably trained to not react for fear of any sort of lawsuits. They took the action that they were trained to do.

Prior to contacting any animal cruelty societies, call the director of the museum and explain your concerns. Maybe they just aren't aware of the situation and would appreciate your suggestions. If the situation isn't remedied, then contact a humane society. If you know of a herp vet in the Boston area, ask them to go and take a look.

Grim -- If you have not contacted the Director yet, I would suggest that when you tell him about your concerns, offer to help. That may take some of the sting from your critique of the situation. When you get the picture, I would love to see it. Many, many years ago I visited the museum and the turtles were not in that bad a shape, but I could tell that they were not up to the level of care that I would give. If you get a cold response let us know and I for one would mail or email him a note of concern.