I am in Houston, texas. Where could I set my two red ear sliders turtles free? I would like to visit later.?

Question

They are a little over 2 years old. Any suggestions? They are getting too big and I think they need to be set free.

I have set them free in my neighbors pond and they did great. I wanted to see if they could do for their own. They ahda blast hunting for the smalls minnows and sun bathing on the rocks. I think they will be fine. HSPA siad they would put them to sleep if they did not find a home and I don't trust them either. I have fiath they will be ok. They have a natural instict, we all do. Know of anyone? Please reccomend. If they can care for them, of course I will do that. Thanks.

Red Ear Slider turtles were introduced to the US back in th 1860's. If YOU people would go out to parks, and other recreational places, and NOT SLAM on innocent people here on yahoo, YOU would see that there are thousands and thousands of red ear slider turtles in Houston. They are at the zoo, parks, cemetary lakes, bayous, etc. You people have no right to tell me that I do not take care of my babies. I love them dearly. And MONEY is no problem. They are a huge tank with plant life, real fish, a heater, basking area, filter......the works. And ruining the ecology......Sure...i guess evolution does not exist. And it is NOT illegal to let this certain of species go. Research before you insult the wrong person. I am a loving caring person who would do anything for animals. Maybe they should have made it illegal for YOU MEAN people to walk the streets with that kind of attitidue. LOVE YOUR WORLD>>>EVOLVE WITH THE TIMES>>>>

Found a home. A Very well known Houston Organization is taking them in. They will be given a health accessment and be taken care of there. They have High hopes and I will be able to go back and visit. Thanks for the concerns. And for the people had suppoeted me with my decision, Thanks a bunch for not judging me. I have my reasons for letting them free.

Answer 1

I had one, Bruce Lee was his name (bought him in New York City's Chinatown!), and he was mean... so I had to let him go. I found a huge pond near a Confederate cemetery... somewhere I knew wouldn't get filled-in or tampered with (construction is a BIG problem in VA)... and I let him go. He was enormous! Having raised him from a quarter size, he ended up as big as my hand and strong! I bet he rules that pond!

Anywhere you feel will not be jeopardized by man that is near a large body of water is good. A lake or a stream is good. Just no where near a road!

They will take care of themselves... you've been a good parent.

After reading some of these other postings, I believe that these turtles will survive just fine on their own. They are amphibians! They're ancient! They have survived this far... they KNOW how to get food. They're not the kind of pet to get use to being fed. They'd rather be out looking for food... especially red eared sliders. They're tenacious! And I doubt they will reproduce like rabbits and take over Houston!

Answer 2

Scandal- I hate to tell you this, but you are badly mistaken. (As are many posters for this question).

1. Red-ears are a native species to the southern US. They were introduced to the pet market in the 1890's and have been badly treated ever since, but even then they were wild caught in the US.

2. The presence of thousands of RESs in the parks and lagoons of Houston is not the issue- the issue is you wishing to add to the problem.

3. Most released pet turtles die within weeks. They don't know the territory, they cannot find food as well as the natives can, they don't know the local dangers to avoid, etc. (This is a documented fact.)

4. Captive turtles pick up viruses and germs from us that they build a mild resistance to. When you release them to a truely wild population, the diseases can run rampant through the population and wipe out entire lakes (this is WELL documented.)

5. The desire to want to release an animal to help improve its quality of life is not a bad thing in itself- as long as it really IS in the animal's best interests and not just our wishful thinking.


If you are set on releasing them, PLEASE release them where they are as surrounded by other people as you can arrange- NOT in a remote, wild pond! This will minimize the problems of infections and contamination.

As for visiting later, unless they are marked, I am not sure how you would arrange it- they will verly likely migrate between ponds if given a chance.

Answer 3

Try calling these and asking around. I know the place in cypress (Noah's Ark) take exotic animals
here are maybe some other places of interest.


http://www.noahs-ark-sanctuary.org/


Special Pals (not sure if they'll take exotics)
Houston, TX 77025
4211 Bellaire Blvd. - [phone]

Houston Humane Society
Houston, TX 77053
14700 Almeda Rd. - [phone]

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, 4200 Smith School Road, Austin, TX 78744
Toll Free: [phone],

Friends for Life Animal Shelter & Sanctuary
[phone] (not sure if they will take exotics) ( I think they do a program where people can adpot and help take care of pets for a month or less at a time ??)

Hah, I know that Mikyako's on Kirby/Richmond has these types of turtles, you may be able to call and ask where they may have gotten theirs from and see if where they got them from will take them. I also think that some low key fish/pet stores might take them too.. (not like petco, the local owned ones. There is one of shepperd near the heights I don't know the name) You maybe doing alot of calling around, but it will benefit your animals in the end.

Houston Aquatics
[phone]
1022 N Shepherd Dr
Houston, TX 77008


http://www.aquariumworld.net/ On 290

I'm not sure how these turtles will act around other untame or tamed turtles or how those will treat yours.

Not sure where you'll be able to get to visit your tutles, but atleast you can make sure they get a new good home.

You can probably put in a classified ad to see if someone will take them too.. there is a free Yahoo! Groups that does houston classified ads that you can post online.

Answer 4

First off Red Ear Sliders are native to Texas, They are Texas most common aquatic turtle. It is just a baby turtle, and for ppl to think that it want have the natural ability's to hunt and survive is crazy. It will still have all it's built in instinct's just as a wild born turtle would. It isn't too young to set free, the downside is, that it will have many more predaters, being so small....If you are set on letting him go, pick any swamp,lake,pond, river of your choice, he will be fine, it is his native land.......

Answer 5

Please dont set them free. Its people like you who try to do this out of sympathy for the animal, and then it changes the ecology of the area, then they add red earred sliders to the list of animals you can no longer buy at pet stores. This is why the lists keep growing. Anything that will survive if set free, they begin to remove from the list of animals available to the public.
I live in the north east. Mud puppies are not indigenous here. In 1983 a local college did a study on them, and when done, they released a few of them into the lake here. It was a lake that was a chain, of nearby lakes. The mud puppies not only lived, but they multiplied ALOT. They are bottom feeders who burrow under rocks.. THey cleaned out the salmon population in 5 lakes near there. They moved from lake to lake. Just like the weed Milfoil. Some boater from another state brought his boat up here, didnt clean off the propeller..it had some particles on it..now all our lakes are suffocating with it, that they are killing off the entire lakes to kill this weed. (even killing all the fish, just to get rid of it.) people dont understand that just introducing 1 single animal, can devastate everything... Give to a petstore.. please...

Answer 6

The problem isn't that they won't survive. The problem is that they are efficient little predators and they do too well.
They just had a special on about this problem, you are not doing anyone a favor by letting them go.
Let somebody who wants a pet get them, but don't wreak havoc on the local small wildlife with these guys.
I have a red eared slider that my daughters have raised and I get tired of cleaning his aquarium, but I'm not gonna unleash him on the other animals here.

Answer 7

if they are not native to the area,DO NOT SET THEM FREE, give them to someone. i am not sure about the species you have and do not know where they came from. introduced species can wreak havoc on native plants and animals. and you have a pair, likely a breeding pair. that is the worst possible thing to release into the local enviroment.


an example, pythons are everywhere in the everglades now. causing many problems.

Answer 8

They are native to the mississippi valley you would be ruining the ecology to set them loose, try a local school as pets.

Answer 9

My mother made me set mine free after having it 8 years. I hated to do it but they are pretty hardy animals. Just let him go in large pond, lake or river. Not a little stream though.

Answer 10

I don't think you should set them free. They have been living in captivity for too long and I don't think they would survive on their own. They won't know how to find food. Please consider keeping them while you look for a good, safe home for them.