Wednesday, July 15, 2009

re: Guinea Pigs

I was a little drunk when I was seriously considering a guinea pig and have since decided it's probably not a good idea. At all.

But, Big Kid is now non-stop talking about having a pet turtle. So tell me what we know about pet turtles, please.

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hmm...I think that you would just have to be extra vigilant about hand washing. Probably not a problem with Big Kid :), but little kid might pose a problem. Turtles can carry salmonella.

http://www.cdc.gov/HEALTHYPETS/spotlight_an_turtles.htm

Life, Love And Lola said...

Noooo!! Don't do it! They are dirty and carry diseases. You know good and well the turtle would end up in little kid's mouth regardless of size.

K said...

They carry salmonella and are illegal in many states. My brother had them in the 60's and they didn't survive long.

Holly in Tampa said...

Turtles are smelly if you don't clean the tank once a week, they eat crickets and tiny gold fish. They are fun, and they don't grow unless you put them in a bigger tank.
They can cost a lot when you first get the tank, rocks, algae cleaner, etc. After that setup, they are cheap and easy.

The only real pain in the ass about them is cleaning the tank.

Oh, and they can bite.

Heather said...

Just say no to a turtle!
They smell so bad & can carry salamonella. Plus who wants to pet a turtle?

Unknown said...

little kid would never, ever be allowed alone with Big Kid's pet no matter what. I think I read that the Salmonella thing happened from kids putting tiny turtles in their mouth. Big Kid would be okay with extra hand washing. He'll also tell you that his favorite pet is our fair fish Dorothy--so I don't think he'd mind the boringness of a turtle.

Sucks that all small animals seem to stink.

Lin said...

My husband & I bought 3 red ear sliders when they were the size of a quarter & they were great while they stayed somewhat small. I recommend you spend some money on a great filtration system for your tank (you might want to buy a big tank to start with, we bought 3 sizes in the time we had them). They grow a lot faster than you'd think so you're gonna need to buy turtle food in bulk or feed them veggies.

After having them for 5 yrs we decided we couldn't take care of them the way they needed to be cared for (they started laying eggs & were about 9-10 inches long). So we found the only pet store in Orange County that takes in & homes red ear slider & donated them to their pond/peting center.

Water turtles are a lot of work (at least for us it was). Maybe you'd have more luck with a Tortoise.

Amy said...

Turtles are a fairly easy pet. An aquarium, little floating island, light..and you are set. We fed ours store bought turtle food, not crickets. They are actually really cute! Just make sure to wash your hands after handling. If you get a little filter for the aquarium, that will cut down on the cleaning, too. I speak from experience...we currently have a dog, 20 year old cat, 8 year old leopard gecko, fire-bellied toads, and one goldfish. My vote is for the turtle!

-Amy

Arlynn said...

HI Ashley! We adopted a cute little red eared slider a couple of years ago. He was SO CUTE! Then he out grew a ten gallon tank, then he out grew a twenty gallon tank. Then we spent $1,000 bucks to put in a turtle pond and every week the large pump need cleaning because of all the, uh, turtle poop. Then we moved to another state and my parents put a pond in their yard so they could keep the turtle, then a racoon or something broke into the covered pond habitat and now the turtle is missing (forever) and my daughter is heart broken. I'd maybe stick with a bowl of goldfish! Just sayin! LOL Arlynn

miss. chief said...

what about a kitty or a puppy instead? something the whole family can enjoy?

turtles stink and from what i've seen, they're lame.

Unknown said...

Amy, interesting that you mention that because we had a leopard gecko once and I was just thinking of how easy and non-stinky she was compared to what I'm hearing about rodents and turtles. You don't think so?

2 cats and 2 dogs are enough, and I'd like to get him something to love that is just his. The idea is losing it's luster though.

dannibanani said...

2 words... pet rock! lol

Anonymous said...

Turtles smell rancid, at best, but I thought mine was really cool. Had to give it up once it got HUGE though.

Amy said...

I agree, the gecko is very easy. I do get slightly irritated every time that I go to the pet store to buy crickets to feed him, and then turn around and pay the pest guy to get rid of crickets around our house. Also, ours does not like to be handled. The kids could at least pick up the turtles and let them walk around outside. If Big Kid really likes the goldfish, how about one of those african water frogs? Same concept as a fish, but the novelty of a frog!

-Amy

Misty said...

My son had some and we loved them. He use to ride them around in his geo trax trains. lol

I keep purell beside the bowl and my son would do that after touching them.

I had fun playing with them also. I didn't have a problem with a stinky tank.

I just put fresh water every few days...

because I said so said...

turtles stink......'nough said

I would think two or three times before I did hermit crabs either....

Heather said...

how about a tortoise? none of that wet, algae, tank stuff to deal with. we have a little one we rescued. he's cute. they live a looong time though!

but for interaction purposes, they aren't incredibly social. then again i didn't think guinea pigs were either.

ralph and martha said...

hermit crab. easy, fairly clean, doesn't make noise.

Anonymous said...

turtles smell even when the tank is clean.

The Menagerie Momma said...

I'd say no to a turtle but think about a tortoise instead. We have a leopard tortoise that is pretty neat. They are dry land animals, no stinky water changes. They eat grass, clover and lettuce in the winter. We have a little pen that he goes in outside during the summer to soak up the rays. He doesn't stink and they can live up to 80+ years. Great for warm weather climates.
They are pricey to buy as babies (around $100-170) but they live forever and require very little upkeep. Good luck!

Susan said...

I'd like to suggest a leopard gecko. They are easy, cool looking, and clean. They crap in one little corner of their cage. Their pee is solid. You just have to scoop up the pee and poop now and then. They eat their skin when they shed, so no mess. I have reptile carpet in the cage and hardly ever clean it. Our gecko doesn't bite or squirm when being held. No worries that she'll escape. She doesn't smell at all. The only thing sort of ick is the crickets - they are pretty smelly and until I learned the secret of keeping them alive, I had a lot of cricket carcasses on my hands. You also don't want LK releasing them all over your house.

Anonymous said...

Um, little kid is also not allowed to have markers or diaper cream or whatever else he gets into....I see a "had to take little kid to the ER for salmonella poisoning" post in the near future.

Mel said...

I was going to say a hermit crab might be a nice alternative, but I see someone said to think twice about that. I have heard from EVERYONE that turtles are kind of a lot of work, and they tend to smell. I'm thinking about trying to find a ladybug raising kit for my daughter to do, if there even is such a thing. Maybe butterflies. Little kid might really enjoy something like that.