I like turtles

Tarrant_sl said:

While I'm usually the first to jump on that bandwagon, lets chill on the pedo stuff unless it's relevant to the discussion, I'd like this section to remain as troll free as possible.

And Gaige, are you surprised someone had the same pet for that long or that the turtle has lived that long? Turtles live a really long time.

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Mkay.

Tarrant, would you say that, in here, the GUS, we're obliged to term Gaige an ephebophile? Or should he be exempted because of the GUS? Serious question.

Tarrant_sl said:

And Gaige, are you surprised someone had the same pet for that long or that the turtle has lived that long? Turtles live a really long time.

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Just that he still has it. With Craigslist and shit I would assume it's uncommon for someone to keep a pet they're not fond of for over two decades?

Gaige_sl said:

Um, do you really have the same fucking turtle your parents bought you when you were 8 lol? You've had the same turtle for 23 years?

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I got him for my 9th b-day. And he was full grown when I got him, so he's probably 2ish years older than that. Painted Turtle. They live quite a while, I've heard 40+ years for that type, but I'm no expert.

Of course now I feel like an asshole for coming off like I hate my turtle, but seriously, a pet, that doesn't really interact with you, and that's going to live far beyond the scope of a little kid's childhood is going to run the risk of not being wanted anymore as soon as the kid finds something else they are interested in. I never lost interest, but that was probably more luck than anything else. Long story short, don't get a little kid a turtle unless you're willing to take care of it yourself or give it away.

My turtle usually comes up to the glass to see what's going on when we enter the room he's in. He's also learned to come up to the front corner of the tank when I get the pellets out and shake them, and he'll readily eat from my fingers. The hand feeding was partly to avoid the giant pain in the ass that catching a turtle in a 110 gallon tall tank can be, though, and I probably wouldn't have done it if he were big enough to draw blood. That's about it as far as interaction goes.

The tortoise is still pretty much a rock that moves at this point. He hides in his corner except for the hour or so he spends eating every day, and when I take him out for soaks. He'll let me rub his head and chin, though!

Day-to-day care is skewed about 10:1 tortoise to turtle as far as time spent goes. It helps immensely that my 4" turtle is alone in a 110 gallon tank with a filter that does 925 gallons/hour, otherwise I'd spend a lot more time doing water changes and filter cleaning.