this post was submitted on 24 Jul 2024
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Back in the middle of the 90ies, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were a big thing and my mother thought it would be a good idea to gift my sister and I, a pair of red-eared sliders. I kept mine for years and eventually my sister gave hers to me. So I kept two turtles for decades. I have been known as "the guy with turtles" since I'm a teenager now.
One of them just passed away this spring, after more than 27 years, and she was not that old for her species, in captivity. The other one is still alive behind me, basking under the UV light, and it could be alive for another decade. And I like Mittens (his name) but he's taking a lot of space in my apartment. It's obvious both of them would have had a better life outside, in nature, rather than in my sometimes depressive care.
Don't gift animals.
I agree with not gifting animals, but it sounds like your turtles had a good life. 27 years is a long time and way longer than the life expectancy of a wild one
How would their lives be better in nature, exactly? Most animals live longer in captivity, and if they were capable of answering questions, I bet they'd pick having a human butler waiting on them all the time instead of running from alligators and munching on rotten algae.
Sure, nature would be better for it, but not the animal.
The problem with buying pets on a whim is twofold.
You're right that their lives may not have been that bad compared to being in nature, but in the end, they probably should not have existed in the first place. They were not meant to be in nature from the start. They were meant as temporary living toys, for profit. At least they were not stuck in a key chain or something like that.
Seeing how one would probably not have survived in nature, it's probably best he ended up with me. But the one that died this spring was fierce, energetic and inquisitive. Frankly, she was a jerk and I could picture her being "happier" chasing fish in a lake rather than pellets in a small tank.
Maybe it's a very human and pretentious judgment to make for them, but I can't help but try to put myself in the place of another living thing. You can live safely in a small container with unlimited protein cakes but nothing else to do for all of your life, or you can go explore the world to your own risk and excitement. I know what I'd choose, for my physical and mental health. And I know some animals can get bored and depressed, but I'm not a turtle.
Idk man idk. Would you rather be coddled to or be allowed to live your own life, downfalls included.
The rise in young adults living with their parents rather than struggle against an increasingly harsher environment is a pretty good hint