General Care Discussion :: "turtle rights"

[theyellowbus]

so first. why does everyone in this entire forum refer to ther turtle as "it" instead of "he" or "she"?

second. it seems as though all the turtles in this forum are under 4".

i realize that they tend to grow to thier enviroment, but i had 3 in a 55 gal and in a year they grew at least 3" to 5". and they started at about 4"-6"

[LeslieMW]

well alot of people don't know if there turtle is a he or she yet.

most people didn't know (including me) and bought their turtle and THEN found this forum.

they might grow, but probably won't be as happy and may not live as long.

[Chrisbarnett]

Uh, Pretty much everyone refers to their turtle as he or she. I know I refer to squirt and brownie as he and she. Not sure where you saw that, or why it matters.

[theyellowbus]

sorry. wasnt tryn to seem mean.
im a very firm believer in making sure you have the ability to own a turtle before you buy him/her. a lot of people do not share my belief

[Chrisbarnett]

im a very firm believer in making sure you have the ability to own a turtle before you buy him/her.

I agree with you. I did a lot of research before I got Squirt, and made an educated purchase.

[Sk8gal]

Lets get together and write a turtle constitution

[meltedspork]

I think only people that don't know the sex of their turtle refer to them as "it". I know mine is a male and I refer to him as "he/him/his"

Not all the turtles on here are under 4", many of us have turtles over 4".

Turtles don't grow to their environment, that is a pet store myth. And I hope you don't still have your 3 turtles in a 55g tank.

[Dein211]

i actually can't recall anyone who reffered their turtle as "it" normally they just assume a sex and go by that until they find out otherwise :/

[Fuzzy Hamster]

We won't know Spike's sex for a while but we refer to him as a 'him'. I don't think I have ever used 'it' to refer to him. Also, as meltedspork said, turtles don't 'grow to their environment', they (RES) do grow to be 10-12 inches in size when fully grown regardless of the size of tank they are in. Check the main site for growth details and proper tank sizing.

In fact, just about any creature that is believed to adapt to its environment size does not do so, but rather will readily outgrow the 'pet store recommended' death trap it was sold in. Many aquatic species have been saddled with that myth. Just about anyone with a goldfish in a tiny bowl can attest to how big they can get, provided they don't die first from lack of clean water...

Like LeslieMW said, we bought first and then found this forum, and are doing our best, despite budget concerns, to correct our initial mistakes and misconceptions.

...I know...I'm ranting...sorry...

[imderanged]

I used to call Pickle 'he" but now I call her "she" since I found out she is almost certainly a female. I don't think I ever called her "it"! My turtle is about 3 inches, but I've only had her since Christmas. It's actually not a good thing if your turtles grow too fast. Pickle has plenty of time to reach her full 12", I'm not rushing her!

I DIDN'T have a chance to research turtle keeping before I got Pickle, because she was a surprise gift! But I did the best I could and learned quite a bit from this site. Now Pickle has a 75 gallon tank to herself, so I feel like I'm doing OK giving her a good life.

I'm alittle confused when you say "i realize that they tend to grow to thier enviroment, but i had 3 in a 55 gal and in a year they grew at least 3" to 5". and they started at about 4"-6" ." They started at 4"-6" and ended up at 3" to 5"? I assume you wrote that backwards, and your turtles aren't shrinking! But if your smallest turtle was 3" when you got it, theres your reason that some of our turtles are smaller. My turtle was under 2" when I got her. Alot of people here got their turtles as hatchlings.

[theyellowbus]

does anyone think i need a bigger tank? its 180 gal. full, and ther all about a foot long. i usually keep the water crystal clear. but that is not ther natural habitat, and they seem to have a lower stress level wen its a lil cloudy.

every month i have to get inside it and clean it. which is annoying cuz i cant use any cleaners

[theyellowbus]

Chrisbarnett... is that a basic axolotyl? and do you know if captive ones prefer mud or some other kind of gravel?

[meltedspork]

does anyone think i need a bigger tank? its 180 gal. full, and ther all about a foot long.

Yes, you definitely need a bigger tank. The rule is a minimum of 10 gallons of water per inch of turtle. 12 inches x 10 gallons of water per inch = 120 gallons for EACH turtle. 120 gallons x 3 turtles = 360 gallons.

[theyellowbus]

im building a pond in my living room but im not sure if its 200 gal. its going to come off of the right side and be enclosed for very limited viewing. i am also in the process of a ramp extension because they cant all fit up ther anymore and will be good for the pond extension

[Chrisbarnett]

Chrisbarnett... is that a basic axolotyl? and do you know if captive ones prefer mud or some other kind of gravel?

Yes, a basic axolotl.
your not supposed to use gravel or mud, because they can eat it, they need a clean aquarium, 10 gal for one adult is great. Sand is a preferred substrate for them.

check out www.axolotl.org if you're interested.