I let go of my RED ear SLIDER TURTLE at the Park... is it ok?

Question

I G0T A tutlr and noonne in ym family knew wat to do with it bcz it was aquatica dn we had no tank or no food and it wouldnt *** out of its shell so we let it go in the park do u think it will live?? =[ IT is a LAke

Answer 1

WHAT???
That is a HUGE HUGE no-no. First of all, lets look at the ecosystem- you put a foreign turtle out there that was sick. Now you spread diseases to the turtles out there as well. A DNR or grad student may be having a headache now, wondering why all of their turtles are suddenly getting sick and dying. It has happened before. I have worked on cases where a sick pet was let go...and killed half of the wild population with it's disease.

For the turtle's side: Why did you get a turtle if you had no supplies or idea how to care for it?? No, it probably will not survive. A petstore turtle does not know how to search for food or what a predator is. If it makes you feel any better, it was probably eaten within the first day.

Answer 2

There is no way to guess, but let's look at a few ideas:

1. It is never a good idea to get a living thing to keep- animal or plant- if you do not know how to care for it.

2. Red-ear sliders are pretty easy to care for if you take the time and make the effort. A good site is http://www.redearslider.com

3. It is illegal in most places to release animals into the wild, even a park, without proper permission.

4. About 50-75% of released animals that are let go without the right preparation and training will doe within a few months. They have many strikes against them, from disease to not knowing the best hiding spots.

5. There are many examples of released animals infecting the wild population with diseases they picked up from humans and wiping out entire colonies.

6. On the other hand, turtles are natural survivors. The Red-ear slider can now be found in most states where it competes with native species for resources. In some places, the larger and more aggressive Red-ear has made smaller local turtles threatened or endangered.

Releasing an animal is never a good idea. We always want to look for other options.

Answer 3

Its not good to let turtles that have been in captivity out in the wild! Was this a wild caught animal? In that case, you did the right thing. If you bought this animal from a store, chances are you just did some major damage to the turtle and the ecosystem! Turtles bred in captivity carry diseases that turtles bred in the wild dont have protection against. The RES is bred on huge farms in crowded conditions where they lose a lot of turtles each day! Almost 100 and more!

Not to mention if your turtle lived in captivity from day one, its going to die out there.

NEVER RELEASE ANIMALS BACK INTO THE WILD! IT IS ILLEGAL!

Answer 4

Yes it should be fine. Red earred sliders are typically very versatile and adapt well in their environment. HOWEVER depending on where you live it is against the law to release them into the wild. For instance, I live in florida, and here its illegal to release them because they're not an indigenous species (that means they're not native to the state) and since they do adapt so well they end up out competing the native species for food and the native species numbers suffer from this. I know its no longer an issue now that you've already done it, but now you'll know in the future. Dont worry though, Im sure the turtle will be just fine :)

Answer 5

it will live. there was a time when i lost our turtle in our backyard, and it came up safe and sound a few weeks later. turtles can take care of themselves

Answer 6

yes it will be okay, red ear sliders usually live in ponds other than in houses with people. specially in a lake or pond.