on pet turtles
some friends find it funny that i have a pet turtle, instead of a more common pet like a dog, a cat, a goldfish or even some singing bird. while i understand that reptiles do not seem to be the cutest animals out there, i can tell you the following: a turtle is a safe choice, perhaps the safest choice of all when it comes to pets.
i had a goldfish once, when i was a kid. it died, eventually (goldfishes do not last long, do they?), and it truly broke my heart when it died. so i learned: never have pets with a potentially short life span. i've had birds too (a canary), and they sang beautiful. but alas, they are locked in a cage all day. you can't pat them, you can't feed them on your own hands, you can't that much fun - just hear them singing when it's sunny outside. that problem is fixed if we get a dog or a cat. dogs are always good company - loyal, funny, caring. cats are even better in my opinion - they have personality. they are independent (most of them, at least), they make funny pranks, and the sweetest thing of all, they purr then they're happy. however... they are not the best company if you're allergic to them. and their meow is not fun when they want to hump some kitty - as it isn't funny when they start pissing all over the place. dogs tend to bark at night, to chase the mailman. and both cats and dogs die too early, and we spend years building up affection to see them die.
turtles are different. first, they have a long life. you get a turtle when you're a child and, as long as you treat it with care, chances are high that it will be present at your funeral. they are smart enough for you to teach them tricks - okay, they cannot bring you the newspaper, but they won't chew on your shoes either. but you can teach them to eat on your hands, to follow you, even to make them understand where they should take a leak. they are funny when walking, either slowly or fast (yes, turtles can run - and sprint!). and it's so cute when they stretch their neck outside their shell so you can pat their heads.
besides, they don't bark, they don't go berserk for mating, they won't leave you in trouble when they have babies (turtles don't look after their babies, so even if you were to get a couple that actually breed - which would be extremely rare - you would simply have to leave the little turtles on a river or a lake, and they would take care of themselves), they don't leave fur all over the place. and... have you ever heard of anyone allergic to reptile scales?
i had a goldfish once, when i was a kid. it died, eventually (goldfishes do not last long, do they?), and it truly broke my heart when it died. so i learned: never have pets with a potentially short life span. i've had birds too (a canary), and they sang beautiful. but alas, they are locked in a cage all day. you can't pat them, you can't feed them on your own hands, you can't that much fun - just hear them singing when it's sunny outside. that problem is fixed if we get a dog or a cat. dogs are always good company - loyal, funny, caring. cats are even better in my opinion - they have personality. they are independent (most of them, at least), they make funny pranks, and the sweetest thing of all, they purr then they're happy. however... they are not the best company if you're allergic to them. and their meow is not fun when they want to hump some kitty - as it isn't funny when they start pissing all over the place. dogs tend to bark at night, to chase the mailman. and both cats and dogs die too early, and we spend years building up affection to see them die.
turtles are different. first, they have a long life. you get a turtle when you're a child and, as long as you treat it with care, chances are high that it will be present at your funeral. they are smart enough for you to teach them tricks - okay, they cannot bring you the newspaper, but they won't chew on your shoes either. but you can teach them to eat on your hands, to follow you, even to make them understand where they should take a leak. they are funny when walking, either slowly or fast (yes, turtles can run - and sprint!). and it's so cute when they stretch their neck outside their shell so you can pat their heads.
besides, they don't bark, they don't go berserk for mating, they won't leave you in trouble when they have babies (turtles don't look after their babies, so even if you were to get a couple that actually breed - which would be extremely rare - you would simply have to leave the little turtles on a river or a lake, and they would take care of themselves), they don't leave fur all over the place. and... have you ever heard of anyone allergic to reptile scales?
6 Comments:
Now..i know u have a picture here on ur blog somewhere of ur turtle. Where is it?
And for the record..we've had birds to..that ate from my hand, sat on the side of my plate when eating, on the edge of my bathtub when taking a bath. One even used to be out of his cage at night sitting on my shoulder when i was sleeping. When i turned he just flew up and landed on my other one. He even made greeted us with singing and helloes when we came home. So birds can be fun...but it takes work to get em like that :)
aaaw... and they sang nicely? i bet they did :)
it takes time and work, yes... just as it takes time and work to have a turtle taking a dump on a designated spot! a friend of mine managed to do that... i didn't yet, mostly because i don't need it - my turtle lives on my backyard, so he can do it whenever he pleases. if he does it on my mom's flowers... even better.
:)
oh, and by the way, my turtle: http://thoughtinchaos.blogspot.com/search?q=eust%C3%A1quio
or rather,
http://thoughtinchaos.blogspot.com/2009/03/and-now-for-something-completely.html
lol
Thank god I nerver had a turtle. I think it is just the cutest little thing but if I was it's owner the poor thing would die! I don't know how many gold fish died on my hands :s
*****
turtles are actually quite resilient, nomyia. and they adapt themselves very well - for example, my friend's turtle adapted himself so well to the life in the city that he even lost his hibernation cycle. and if they hibernate... well, they just hide during the winter.
you goldfish murderer! wait until the eco-crazy folks from animal association get their hands on you!
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