turtles......

[fishlover88]

I was thinking back on the times i would walk into a pet store and look into a tank, and there would be an aligator floating at the top of the water. I even remember asking my dad if we could get one. Thankfully he said no.

But more to the point, i remember my parents talking about these turtles they had growing up, that they swore, never got any bigger than the size of your palm. But during the 80s there was a ban on them because so many people were getting sick from them. Does anybody remember these turtles? What kind were they? Were they just some sort of hybrid?

I was just curious, since it was not just my parents who have told me about it......

 

[aquariageek]

I know this does not answer your question directly, however, Federal Law requires that any Turtle purchased must have a shell of at least 4". Interestingly, I have seen people with the ones that fit in your palm who bought them in stores at the beach, and they are quite small and seem like what you are describing. Just my $0.02!

 

[aquariageek]

Okay, I also saw you mentioned alligators, so I had to post this. I know a gentleman who bought an alligator at a LFS. Long story short, his brother was feeding him and dropped a light in the tank. Zap! He thought the gator was dead, so he tossed him in the woods.

His brother, who bought the gator, found out and went to retrieve the body and dispose of properly, but it was gone.

The neighbors came over the next day wondering if anybody saw their cat.

A week later the gator comes walking back into the yard, and has been home since.

I did not make that up.... :grinyes:

 

[J double R]

the turtle that was most likely described is the Red-Eared Slider.. which are still very commonly sold in mass quantities at a VERY small size, and kept in small containers.. the reason they never got bigger than your palm was because nobody knew what to feed them, and they most often died before they could reach that size.. everyone got sick (and can still) because 99% of these turtles carry salmonella with them, and, well, salmonella gets you sick. of course, nowadays there are remedies to that (disinfectant, water additives, frequent hand-washing, etc) so its not such a big deal.

 

[Squawkbert]

^ agreed. I'm old enough to have gone through a few small turtles. They were the red-eared slider, always dead before long due to poor education of the consumer by the LFS (and probably poor LFS education by those who raised or collected the turtles)...

I wouldnt' have one unless I had a pond. Besides, they are somewhat less than friendly as they get larger.

 

[Aaron89]

the turtle that was most likely described is the Red-Eared Slider.. which are still very commonly sold in mass quantities at a VERY small size, and kept in small containers.. the reason they never got bigger than your palm was because nobody knew what to feed them, and they most often died before they could reach that size.. everyone got sick (and can still) because 99% of these turtles carry salmonella with them, and, well, salmonella gets you sick. of course, nowadays there are remedies to that (disinfectant, water additives, frequent hand-washing, etc) so its not such a big deal.

thats why you are advised to have turtle only tanks as they can kill other fish due to the diseases they carry.

also they will get HUGE so long as you can keep to their dietry needs and their requirements, you will have to go and make your new aquarium part of the sea.

i thought about gettin some but untill i had some in depth research with my local reptile and amphibian shop they said i can have one in a 100 gallon tank for around a year max before it will start to need more swimming space. they are going to need HUGE tanks.