Oh by the way buying a pet because its "cute" always comes under fire, but the reality is that humans usually choose their lifelong mate because of physical attraction including the "oh he's/she's soooo cute!" thing.
Yup ok so when I go to the pet store I always seek out the ugliest animal I can find to bring home...yeah right...and you end up with a home filled with the ugliest creatures that God placed on the Earth. Yeah ok ....reality check time....
The top reasons that any human buys a pet are likely:
its cute
its beautiful
its majestic
Thats not to say that there aren't other good reasons that some people buy pets. Some like pets because they are one of a kind. Hey what ever floats your boat.
The mere fact that you think this turtle is the cutest thing ever (and you probably do) means that you will likely spend time with your new pet and dote on it and give it everything he or she needs, including spending a good amount of time observing his normal behavior which will help you identify any illnesses that may occur.
I say let the person who has never made an impulse purchase be the first one to throw stones. Yup I've had an occasional impulse buy as well.
Oh btw i keep 2 florida cooters (herbivorous), 2 ouchita maps (carnivores), and one yellow bellied slider (yellow ear slider)(omnivore), together and they all get along great. The only thing was that my first turtle was quite a lot bigger than the rest so I waited till they were more alike in size before putting them together.
Oh yeah and Im making a great enclosure for my turts complete with plants (check them out for toxicity first) and waterfall and sump system in my kitchen. Go bananas with their enclosure. Turtles are one of those pets, like the poison arrow frogs that you can make a breath- taking living space for. Mine will live in my kitchen.
This will no doubt draw many complaints and shouts, but your vet can test your turtles for Salmonella and mine are all negative for it. If they have it they can be treated too. Salmonella won't harm a turtle, but it could prove a health hazard to you and your family, so just be sure to wash ( I used to keep a small bottle of Purell near the tank for immediate use after handling a turt (make sure it isn't in danger of falling in the tank though))after touching them or their water until you can have them tested, and be careful about feeding, you don't want to infect your turtle with salmonella by feeding raw hamburger or even salad that is too old for human consumption. Again I sing the praises of Reptimin...the nutritional values are printed right on the can, therefore you know whats going into your turtle. Compare this for instance with feeder fish that most pet stores don't even bother to feed because they sell so fast, plus you have no idea what food the fish have been fed if they are in fact fed. This is exactly why we decided to breed our own rats and mice for our snakes. In this way we know exactly what is going into our snakes as food, because we know how we have fed our rats and mice. Good nutrition is so important no matter what animal you are talking about.
I highly recommend that you go absolutely bananas with the enclosure. Be creative and have fun. I am using a thick rubbermaid horse trough for mine you can get them at a local grain store if you live in the country or suburbs, if in the city you might have to travel for one. Think about it....green plants, the UVA/UVB lighting that is good for the plants too, a little indoor garden a waterfall, the soft trickle of the water as in a Japanese garden, how relaxing is that!!! Again good luck! and enjoy!
at you Z Trip if you think they're hard to keep so 