Please, tell me to let him go

[StarLover21]

I can't bring myself to do it!!!
We captured a baby red eared slider turtle from our local creek (we can see it from our house), and brought it to our house because my mother needed it for biology, for just a week. We have a roomy tank, feed him mealworms, crickets, lettuce, turtle food, and clean out his tank every week. So the week turned into three week- she needed it longer. Now the animal planet activity is over- I've let all the other animals go. But I love the turtle so much! We named him picasso- he'll come up to the glass and beg for mealworms, and is very freindly.

 

[featherfinder]

He is probably use to being fed by now and not having to worry about protecting him self. I do not know a thing about turtles so maybe i am wrong and he can be released. If you dont maybe get him a friend so he is not lonely?

 

[1muttsfan]

Think of how much richer his life will be in the wild, as opposed to confined to a little tank. He will do as well as any other turtle baby will. Yes it is riskier, but maybe he will be one of those that grow, florish and pass on their genes to the next generation.

 

[AinaWGSD]

Aquatic turtles are very difficult to provide an appropriate environment for in captivity. Even the small local zoo here has problems with shell rot in their sliders on a regular basis. Even without seeing your set up, I can still be fairly certain that you don't have adequate filtration on your tank, especially if you are feeding him in the same tank he lives in. He will be better off in the wild. Not to mention that in most states what you have done is completely illegal unless you have a permit.

 

[EmAbTo48]

Technically if the turtle had come from a pet store it is actually illegal in most states to release them back in the wild.

However, since you captured this turtle from the creek it is still fine UNLESS it has had contact with any other pet turtle.

I would agree they are hard to manage we had one growing up that lived 15 years! It was huge and ended up being lucky that my parents built a good sized pond for him where he lived his life out. They aren't hard pets but they litterally are a life time commitment!

 

[NYboy]

aren't red ears invasive? Being cold blooded I would wait for warm weather if returning to creek.

 

[EmAbTo48]

aren't red ears invasive? Being cold blooded I would wait for warm weather if returning to creek.

Yes, they are one of the invasive speacies they are very adapatable and cause issues with where they are living, but I think they our great pets. But the ones you buy from pet stores contain bacteria and other dieases that are not common in its wild counterpart and can cause major issues. They actually hibernate during winter. I think you should just keep it as a pet its used to eating from you just be ready to commit!

 

[sourland]

Red ear sliders are a native species in the Southern US. My gut says that this is a wild born creature that deserves to be returned to his native environment once conditions are favorable for its survival.