Pet Turtles

My wife was never a big fan of turtles as pets, but I have always kind of thought it would be a good idea. A matter of fact, I have wanted a pet turtle since I was a little kid. You see, we used to live by a creek where turtles would hang out. I always admired them. They looked like such a mellow, relaxed creatures. When it was warm, they would sit on each other's backs and just sort of lie around in the sunlight. I had never seen any other reptiles that were that friendly, and it made them uniquely accessible.

My mom, of course, would never let me get a pet turtle. As a matter of fact, I tried on several occasions to smuggle pet turtles into the house, always unsuccessfully. If I would get halfway to my room, she would be able to tell from my sneaking around that I had something and would quickly figure it out. For all the hours of scheming, I managed to hide a turtle only once – for precisely 2 days. When my mother finally found it, she grounded me for a week.

In college, I had roommates with pet turtles, but they were not very good to them. They would sort of neglect them. Pet turtles are pretty low maintenance critters, but it still needs some attention. They need to have their cages clean, their water kept at a certain temperature, and enough food provided. My housemates were not very good at any of these things, so I often had to take care of the turtles for them. It was a shame to see such careless people be given authority over the life and death of a living creature.

When I first got a pet turtle of my own, my wife was not very happy about it. She wanted something cuddly, and pet turtles – like all other reptiles – are not cuddly. At the very best, reptiles will sort of ignore you and tolerate you. At the worst, they will actively fight against you when you pick them up. Although most pet turtles fall into the first category, they can still be moody at times. Nonetheless, If you socialize them properly, they can be quite entertaining. My pet turtle seems to not mind being carried at all, and my wife has even taken to holding him from time to time. All in all, things have turned out very well.