May be buying baby turtles!

[Meru]

Thought I'd try a post in a new section I've never looked at before to be honest :)

At the moment I'm sort of in between anything really cool, important or interesting in life. Everything's pretty much settled :confused2: So I'm beginning to think about getting into something aquatic. I've always wanted a pet but was never allowed one as a kid; and now I don’t want to do the wrong thing by buying a dog and leaving the poor thing unattended to for 10 hours a day when I'm at work. Doing a lot of research, I found two 'pets' that would be just right for me - a reef' tank (Marine/Saltwater tank) or - wait for it - a turtle!!

Reef tanks are just amazing. It’s a small piece of the ocean in your living room. Actual Coral reefs, Corals, sea fish (like 'Nemo' :P), the whole thing is a living breathing ecosystem which is very much dynamic. I think that’s what I need at the moment, a hobby that is dynamic and ever changing. And of course, I happen to chose the hardest possible fish tank that’s possible to keep at home :screwy: But if I travel then I don’t know how to look after it, they are extremely maintenance-intensive/sensitive and my costs will be close to the 4 digit range just to get started - with no fish!

On the otherside, a really close friend of my Gf's owns a turtle (Among a few cows, sheep, dog - perks of living on a farm) and having done a few months of research and driving to various pet shops and looking at the cute tikes, I'm almost very much sold on owning one. I love the idea of having a life long pet (30+ years) plus there's something about a turtle that’s just... Unique :D If I do travel for a few months, I can take it with me and setting up an enclosure isnt too difficult. But once again, there is some maintenance that needs to be done and I don’t know if in a years time how much I'll be able to maintain the fella.

Anyways, sorry for the essay! I'd love to hear what everyone's views are here on IIS. Certainly a nice change from shivering in Melbourne's far and wide clear nights when your equipment has gone to sh*ts on you! :sadeyes:

Meru

[scagman]

Hi Meru,

A friend of mine has a turlte or maybe its a tortoise, I'm not sure which. It lives in a tank outside. I have often wondered why anyone would wont one as they dont do very much and spent a lot of the time hidden under the water. Not to dynamic. Just my view.
The salt water fish tank would be much more interesting to sit and watch.
Yes, they would be a lot of work and not cheap. But would look great.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Cheers

[rolls05]

You know you've reached a crossroads when you're considering a pet turtle. I'd forget the fish. That couple grand would buy a nice scope. Now a turtle is cool. low maintenance, and great at partys. my daughter ,20 years ago, Had a thing for the ninja turtles and we got her a turtle for a pet. She called it
Leonardo and believe it or not she made this little mask to put on it's head. I still crack up when I think about it.:rofl:

[Meru]

John,
Haha! Yes I remember last time you were saying that. I personally think the order of 'coolness' is Sea Turtle > Terrapin (Land-tortoise) > Turtle :P I think it's illegal now to own a tortoise in AUS since it's not native here. I do agree about the dynamics, but I'm not sure if I could turn the cost to set it up and look after it into an investment; with a turtle its a bit simpler. Plus with travel on the cards, taking one turtle is easier than a whole reef :P

Rolls,
Lol!! That's hilarious! If you have any pics and willing to share it, I'd love to see her handiwork. Yea the money could go towards another scope but I find the RC8 & 120ED to be more than enough for everything these days. Have you still got the turtle?

Meru

[jjjnettie]

My son Jack has turtles. And I could spend ages watching them in their tank. The have their own personalities. He goes down the creek and nets feeder fish for them.
Someone on Gumtree was advertising Laser Turtles for sale a while ago. :)

[04Stefan07]

I have a pet turtle. We have a little garden in the middle of our house which has a pond and trees. I just wish he wasn't so scared of people when you approach him through the other side of the window!

He is a long neck turtle and named Gonzales :)

[Meru]

Jjjnettie,
They are quite fun to watch arn't they. I don’t live near creeks nor have any experience in netting feeder fish, but it would be a good past time. Not sure what a laser turtle is, but if its one where the turtles appear to have lasers coming out their eyes (See attached) then LOL what on earth is an ad doing for that?!


Stefan,
You have a mini forest in the middle fo your house?! That's so awesome!! I love the Long necks, something quite comical about the way they swim especially as babies. But they would probably grow a bit too large for me to comfortably house :(

So how do both of you find keeping the turtles? Apart from the basics (Water, good diet, correct filter/lighting etc). Do they grow fast? I intend to build an outdoor pond in my future house after about 4 years so hopefully a 4ft tank would suffice

[Terry B]

I have a small reef tank (90l). It is absolutely not the first aquarium you should start with.
For a beginner you will have a high death rate with the corals and fish. This isn't fair on the animals.
Can't comment on the turtles. I have plenty of them in my dams but I would hardly call then "pets".

[Meru]

Hey Terry,

Yes I know how difficult keeping a SW tank is, and I am definitely not going to do anything where I dont think I'd be able to keep a living thing alive. It's definitely a long term hobby and introducing a single fish may very well be a few months in the making. I have a few friends who have aquariums/work with aquariums and have done months of research so I fully understand the risks involved in starting (and keeping) a FOWLR or a very basic reef system :)

Pretty awesome that you have wild turtles living in your dams though!

[04Stefan07]

My dad found him years ago on a block of land a relative used to own (this was before I was born!). Yeh it's like a mini forest in the middle of our house with a water fountain that my dad built into a stack of rocks which is pretty cool. He was already big, well the biggest he will get and will prob still outlive me!

The area in the middle of the house has an open roof so there is plenty of natural light getting in. Water he has the little pond to swim around in and often falls asleep while swimming haha! Food wise he loves bits of mince beef and a few other meats but he doesn't eat a much. Usually when he is hungry he will be in the water with his head poking out which means FEED ME! During Winter he hibernates so we rarely see him out and about then. During Summer he is out, walking around or sleeping lol.

We also have fish and a few lizzards (Skinks) which are really small. We used to have 2 main ones (still fairly small) and one day we saw 3 little ones so they must have started a family! The thing about the Skinks is we hardly see them because they are always hidden under rocks or somewhere.

[Marke]

Not to put a damper on things but being a reptile owner all my life , I hope people realise that a license is required to own a reptile in Aus and NSW is the strictest of all the states .

[Meru]

Stefan,
Wow that's amazing. I love hearing about how old these little guys can get, and can get passed down in the family. Kinda makes them a little more special :) Your dad certainly sounds like a avid DIY handyman, I would love to have an open area like that in my house! Lol he falls asleep while swimming, bet that’s hilarious to watch :P My friend had a blue tongue skink (I think it was a skink), always reminded me of godzilla.


Mark,
Yea certain reptiles do require a license but not every one, there are a few freshwater turtles that in VIC you can own without the need for a license. From the forums I was reading up on, seems like NSW is notorious about owning reptiles!

[04Stefan07]

Haha! Yeah it is pretty cool having it in the middle of the house. He should be swimming in today's 38 degree heat!