Pet Turtles and Rehoming
Here at Turtles Kingston, we advocate for turtles and focus on conservation, education, and protecting our native species. We are often asked questions about other turtle related topics, including turtles as pets and how to surrender a pet turtle. In this blog, we will explore why some turtles are kept as pets and what happens when that turtle needs to be rehomed. Please note it is illegal to keep a native turtle as a pet. Native turtles are always best left in their natural environment and territory.
Red Eared Sliders
The most popular turtle in the pet trade is the red eared slider. This species of turtle is a subspecies of a pond slider, and it is invasive. Red eared sliders are popular pets all over the world.
Although red eared sliders are originally from the midwestern USA to northern Mexico, they have established populations in many non native areas. This is largely due to pets being released into the wild. Red eared sliders compete with native species for resources and they are included on the world’s 100 most invasive species list.
A red eared slider is shown with its distinct red marking on the side of the head https://www.expressnews.com/lifestyle/article/Red-eared-sliders-Texas-turtles-need-to-soak-in-15698105.php
Why are red eared sliders popular pets?
Red eared sliders appeal to people as pets because they are small (upon purchase) in comparison to other pet turtles and tortoises on the market. They are also inexpensive to purchase, and seem easy to feed with common grocery store foods. Red eared sliders are often advertised as ‘easy maintenance’ pets, and unfortunately care requirements are inaccurately depicted at pet stores. Care guides show potential buyers a quick snapshot of what will keep a red eared slider alive, but truthfully these little turtles have a lot more specific care requirements needed to thrive than what is advertised.
This red eared slider is advertised as costing only $29.99, a deceptively low price for a turtle that will cost thousands of dollars for an adequate enclosure and a long lifetime of specialized care. https://www.petsmart.com/reptile/live-reptiles/snakes-turtles-and-more/red-eared-slider-5058649.html
Why are red eared sliders often rehomed?
Red eared sliders - like other exotic pets - have specific care requirements. There are many health issues that will present themselves in time if pet turtles are not given the right care. Turtles can develop metabolic bone disease from lack of calcium, fungal and bacterial infections from improper cleaning, and pyramiding shells from improper humidity and nutrition. Those are only a few small examples of health issues due to improper husbandry.
Red eared sliders are semi aquatic, meaning they require land as well as a spacious tank to swim around in. Providing this large, multi terrain environment for a pet turtle is both costly and labour intensive to maintain. Turtles will quickly outgrow their pet store enclosures. Red eared sliders in particular are often sold at the size of a loonie, but they can grow to be a foot long.
Red eared sliders are sold as tiny babies with starter homes from the pet store, but very quickly grow to require at minimum a 75 gallon enclosure - and that is not at full size! https://a-z-animals.com/blog/how-to-care-for-a-baby-red-eared-slider/
In addition to pet owners being surprised by the upkeep requirements for a pet turtle, they can also be nervous to discover that turtles naturally carry salmonella. Turtles are also often purchased as pets for children (due to the appeal of being small and cute at purchase), which frequently does not work out due to difficulty creating a bond. Turtles are not a cuddly pet, and children can quickly lose interest since turtles are prey animals (and shy by nature) and therefore require lots of effort and patience to be comfortable showing their behaviours in front of humans. This can quickly become boring to children, and result in the turtle being a forgotten pet in the household.
A pet red eared slider is shown with shell rot. This rot develops due to improper housing - in this case a wet rot due to the shell being submerged too much, likely due to lack of proper basking platform space. http://www.turtleforum.com/forum/upload/index.php?/forums/topic/176639-possible-shell-rot/
Why shouldn’t you release an unwanted pet turtle?
When pet owners no longer want to keep their pet turtle, sometimes the decision is made to release the turtle into the wild. This is not an acceptable solution, and it is extremely detrimental to our native turtles! Well meaning pet owners think that their previous pet turtle can settle into the outdoors without consequence, but that is not the case.
Pet turtles expose native turtles to disease!
Pet turtles can expose our native wildlife to unfamiliar bacterias and diseases. They can expose our at risk native turtles to new and potentially fatal parasites. Red eared sliders are also known to carry respiratory diseases that are harmful (and often fatal) to native turtles that have not been exposed to these diseases before, and cannot fight them off.
Pet turtles compete with native turtles for resources !
Released pet turtles compete with native turtles for food, basking sites, hibernation spots, and habitats. This is a major issue as untouched wetlands become increasingly rare in Canada. Red eared slider turtles released into the wild can lay up to four clutches of eggs per year and continue to spread, driving our native species out of their territories and putting them at risk (bcinvasives.ca).
Red eared sliders even look similar to our native painted turtles. Check out the differences below:
Where to take an unwanted pet turtle
A safe and environmentally friendly way to rehome an unwanted pet turtle is surrendering it to an exotic pet rescue. It is important to find a rescue that is familiar with turtles and handles them responsibly. We recommend Little RES Q - a turtle rescue specializing in red eared sliders. Visit the Little RES Q website here: https://www.littleresq.net/
Click the “Surrendering your pet” tab for instructions on how to surrender a pet turtle, or browse the website for more information.
Please note that a reptile rescue is always a better option than trying to rehome a pet turtle on the internet. Although rehoming your turtle is a better option than releasing it outside, you cannot guarantee that someone on an internet selling site will take proper care of the turtle, and you cannot guarantee that person will not release the turtle into the wild down the line.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we do not recommend turtles as pets. Red eared sliders require specialized care, they grow large, and they live for long periods of time. Turtles should never be casually purchased as a pet; only experienced exotic pet keepers who have done extensive research and are willing to commit to a lifetime of labour intensive, specialized turtle care can provide the proper husbandry for a pet turtle. We hope that this blog post helps to clarify why pet turtles should never be released, and where to humanely rehome your pet turtle in an environmentally responsible manner.