I know it's best to buy captive bred box turtles, but I cam across two wild caught boxies in a reptile shop living in deplorable conditions. I don't want to contribute to the removing of wild turtles, but I couldn't bear to leave them there either, so I bought them and brought them home. (I have a beautiful habitat I built while I've been waiting to adopt from the CTTC.) Did I do the right thing?
2007-06-09 14:12:48 · 8 answers · asked by Kimber 3 in Pets ➔ Reptiles
I know your heart was in the right place, but buying the turtles only encourages the pet store to obtain and mistreat more of them. :(
I'm glad you have a nice place to put them, but in the future, it would be best to take the issue to animal officers, should the conditions be bad enough.
2007-06-09 14:17:20 · answer #1 · answered by eiskalte.leiche 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It would be a good idea to check your local laws, and are you certain it is a box turtle? Box turtles are omnivorous, they eat meat and veggies, fruit, worms and bugs. I'm not sure why yours isn't eating, maybe it is still uncertain about it's new home. I use a "lid" from a peanut butter jar for my very small pets water dishes. when they get a bit bigger, I cut a very shallow dish from a plastic food container, like cottage cheese comes in. The hardest part of caring for turtles is their need for UVB light. They either need to get outside unfiltered sunshine (not through a window) or have a UV light. The good ones are pretty expensive and they need to be changed regularly because even though they still light, the amount of UV diminishes greatly after six months of use. Turtles also need a high calcium diet. Most people find the use of calcium supplements a good idea, but if you can feed your turtle a lot of whole small fish, snails with the shell and worms that come out of the dirt (not bait worms you buy) they should be OK without a supplement. Box turtles are NOT universally illegal to keep as pets, but there are often laws that a person cannot just take one from the wild for a pet. This is to protect local populations. There is lots of information online about keeping boxies, and even forums to share ideas with other turtle keepers. You can google box turtle care sheet, and turtle forum to find some. If you don't have any experience keeping turtles, or if the info I've given sounds too complicated, best to release the turtle back where you found it. Turtles are great pets for the right person, a dedicated owner who loves turtles for what they are, and doesn't expect them to be like a cat, dog, or other warm fuzzy pet, and an owner who has the space and means to provide them with what they need. boxies are one of the easier turtles to care for, but they still require study and dedication to do it right.
2016-04-01 13:15:31 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's easy to understand and empathize with your motives. I think everyone has been there, not wanting animals to suffer but also not wanting to reward a store for its poor care. Unfortunately those boxies will likely be replaced by others and the store has no motivation to treat the next ones any differently. That is where you can try to make a difference. Approach someone at the store and discuss your concerns. They may be doing it out of indifference but it could just be ignorance of the needs of boxies. Give them a care sheet or offer to help them. If you can try to improve the situation for the other animals still there then you will have done the right thing. Good luck.
2007-06-09 14:36:37 · answer #3 · answered by Thea 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Whether it is a turtle or a kitten, buying sickly or runt or miskept animals from a pet shop does several things.
1. It rewards the shop for bad behaviors and practices.
2. It burdens the buyer with an animals that touched their heart, but will now touch their wallet, emotions, and resources and probably still die.
3. It means you are shopping at a place that is putting profit before animal welfare- not a real great idea for people like us!
2007-06-09 16:58:41 · answer #4 · answered by Madkins007 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Ah, I've been there. On my last trip to NYC, someone was selling (what I believe to be) red eared sliders on the street. I couldn't help myself and I bought a pair of them to save them from more mistreatment... This is a really hard decision to make, but ideally you should talk to authorities first, then see if you can adopt the animals if the business is shut down.
2007-06-09 14:48:11 · answer #5 · answered by Kaiki 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes you did the right thing. Good job.
2007-06-09 14:39:54 · answer #6 · answered by Golden Gecko 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Sure. Better you than someone else who only wanted a neat pet.
2007-06-09 14:16:50 · answer #7 · answered by Randy C 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
maybe , now you have two new friends and bragging rights .
2007-06-09 14:23:25 · answer #8 · answered by martinmm 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋