Are you Turtly enough?

Turtles are intelligent animals, they live longer than average pets and they don't cost a fortune.

Make no mistake, it becomes a complicated responsibility to care for these shelled darlings. I strongly suggest that one reads up on maintenance and caring issues before making them a member of your family.

Take a look at this turtle, looks like he responds to kissy wissy better :)





Not all turtles make good pets for young children. Aquatic turtles, for instance, may need a spacious aquarium and specialized food to thrive. Some need special lights for basking, which keeps their shells strong. Land tortoises may need room to roam, or soft soil in which to dig. Every species has its special needs -- and some live a long time, even dozens of years, so be prepared to be around for a while!

Then there is also the occasional case of tortoise bite. If they bite once, they don't let go off easily. There has been numerous cases reported where a child had a severely bitten finger ... they even bite dangling and rarely let go like the old folk tale of ducks carrying the turtle on a stick.

Not to scare potential turtle owners but maybe one should see the follow video of a cat and a tortoise.




I found my busy, working friends are particularly tempted to bring home a turtle for their child. According to experts this shelled amphibian its the greatest pet for smaller kids for they are host to many a viruses. Especially, Salmonella bacteria can poison/sicken and even be fetal to kids - if their hands are not sterilised properly.



If you are starting to wonder by now if a turtle/tortoise can pose a threat to your family''s health. Consider this, we humans transmit a lot of virus and bacteria to these adorable strong shelled animals that lead to death or severe disease. Caring is the key and how its done. Try the red-eared sliders, cooters, and mud and musk turtles for starters for they don't grow to a giant size and are prone to withstand more handling issues.

All said, I'll go and watch the water turtles on the movie "Finding Nemo" now :)



Research is the key to finding a turtle that you can handle -- and hold onto for its entire life