Other Turtle Discussion :: should I set them free??

[hollyberry]

I have 5 red-ear sliders... they are a lot of fun and I love them, but they are getting soooo big! We take very good care of them, but it's getting harder and harder keeping their tank clean. I was wondering if it would be a good idea to set them free into a nice secluded pond. The only problem is, I live in upstate NY and while it's hot here now, it'll get cold around September, and I'm not sure if they'll know how to hibernate since all 5 have been in captivity their whole lives. I hate to give them up, but I feel bad that they don't have a nice big place to swim. Even if I bought a bigger tank, it wouldn't be big enough.

So I guess I'm asking for some advice or suggestions. I want to make sure they will be able to survive... get their own food, hibernate... etc. I don't want to give them to a pet store, because I'm afraid they'll get an owner that won't take good care of them (one of the turtles I have, I rescued from someone who wasn't taking good care of him at all!)

Any advice?

~Holly

[sonyj]

It is never, never, never the right thing to release a captive RES into the wild whether they are or aren't native to your area. Try a local reptile association or rescue center to get them placed into a good home. If you do a search on the site you should find the names of a few reptile placement centers around you. I know they have been posted about before.

Whatever you do, do not release a captive pet into the wild... it would not survive.

[hollyberry]

Then I'm so glad I got on this site and asked because the pet store told me they would be fine... and I was skeptical. I don't want anything bad to happen to them! I'll check out the reptile placement centers and see what I come up with. Thanks for your help!

[sonyj]

I've done a little searching for you and found an older post that might help.

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewt ... scue#21679

Let us know how they are and what happens with them.

[missibsu]

Once again, the petstores fail us. I can't believe they would say it's all right?!?! I'm glad you checked too! You can also list an ad in the paper and screen possible families that way. Just make sure you do a better job educated prospective homes than the petstores educated you. Of course, you can always direct them to our site.

[sarah]

Wow...they told you it was ok to set them free?

Sometimes I think you SHOULD listen to what these people tell you, then do the opposite. lol

[industrial_girl_2000]

Check with a friend or two and see if you can get a good friend to adopt one.

That's how I ended up with an aquatic frog. My friend had too many (they got bigger than he thought they would) and he gave me one. It worked out great for both of us!

[hollyberry]

Thanks for all the great ideas! I'll probably see if one of my friends (that I know will take good care of them) will take a couple. Someone suggested a big storage bin. It's much bigger than our tank and it'll be easier to take outside so they can get some sun. Sometimes we put them in a baby pool so they have a big place to swim.... but that's not something we could keep them in long term.

If I can't find a good home for them, I'll keep them. I don't want to give them back to the pet store.

Thanks again for all your advice! I'm so glad I didn't listen to the pet store and set them free.

~Holly