General Care Discussion :: Should I euthanize my slider?

Taking care of your turtle's overall health.

Post Posted: Sat Jul 15, 2017 4:33 pm   Should I euthanize my slider?

Sorry if this may sound disturbing to some of you, no there's nothing wrong with my slider's health, problem is, I just can't afford to take care of it, well at least room and space getting her a 50 gallon tank. It's a small, 2 inch hatchling some friend who didn't want it gave it to me, I was thinking of releasing her in a lake or river, but I've been told this is very bad for the ecosystem and that they're invasive species. I tried finding her a home but sadly no one seem interested. There are no reptile sanctuary where I live. I can always return her to a local fish store, but I'm pretty sure most people in my country who get these pets are very ignorant on how to take care of them, they usually put them in a small plastic enclosure called "Turtle lagoon" (Google it), they don't even know or care about dechlorinating the water even much less ever heard about the nitrogen cycle. I can still release her in some small, artificial lake, there's fish and ducks in it, but still I'm not sure about that. So, should I put it in the freezer? Any suggestions?
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Post Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2017 12:37 am   Re: Should I euthanize my slider?

It would be a last resort and I don't think this is the case here. Releasing is also problematic... do you know who owns the lake?
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steve
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Post Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2017 1:18 am   Re: Should I euthanize my slider?

steve wrote:It would be a last resort and I don't think this is the case here. Releasing is also problematic... do you know who owns the lake?

No its public, there are however some small stream rivers, the only things that live there are crabs, frogs and some small fishes, no turtles, would the turtle distress the habitat there also?
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Post Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2017 4:50 am   Re: Should I euthanize my slider?

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Post Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2017 9:14 am   Re: Should I euthanize my slider?

I was recently having a discussion with someone about whether euthanizing or releasing a turtle would be better. Both are last resorts. I personally think that, especially outside of it's native range, euthanizing may be better than releasing (not counting someone's supervised backyard pond), since you could be introducing disease and possibly be sentencing the turtle to a slow death, starving. However, that is a euthanasia by a trained veterinarian, NOT the freezer.

That said, like Steve and litefoot said, you should exhaust all rehoming possibilities first. If it came from a pet store, I think returning it there is a better option than releasing or euthanizing.
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Kingbird44
 
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Post Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2017 2:47 pm   Re: Should I euthanize my slider?

Kingbird44 wrote:I was recently having a discussion with someone about whether euthanizing or releasing a turtle would be better. Both are last resorts. I personally think that, especially outside of it's native range, euthanizing may be better than releasing (not counting someone's supervised backyard pond), since you could be introducing disease and possibly be sentencing the turtle to a slow death, starving. However, that is a euthanasia by a trained veterinarian, NOT the freezer.

That said, like Steve and litefoot said, you should exhaust all rehoming possibilities first. If it came from a pet store, I think returning it there is a better option than releasing or euthanizing.

I can return her to a store, but like I said, the probability of an ignorant buyer is very high.
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Post Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2017 8:55 pm   Re: Should I euthanize my slider?

Well, they will sell another turtle in this turtles place anyway, won't they? Especially if it's a decent store, at least he/she has a shot...
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