Hey guys, <P>I've been talked into getting a turtle by my very persistent 5 yr old son. Mike, I remember you saying your turtle died. Am I setting myself up for heartbreak here? I'm looking at aquatic turtles because they are less than $16. PetSmart wanted $59 for a box turtle. I plan on just keeping my eyes open and on the lookout as we drive the backroads. Bet those turtles wouldn't walk out in the road and get swished if they knew they could sell themselves for that much cash..... <P>Please let me know how much trouble turtles are and how cats deal with them. I hate to make a huge mistake. I was pushing for a hamster, D wanted a snake, I think a turtle was a safe compromise. Whew! <P>Lynn

<A HREF="http://www.tortoise.org/geninfo.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.tortoise.org/geninfo.html</A>

I think hunting them and finding one beats spending the money, plus gives more respect to mom nature. they may be easier, but require water, and a larger area.<P>Don't do snakes, although there are free and can be found everywhere, they are houdini's in the art of escaping, and we have had them escape throughout my house through the smallest of cracks. 12 yo s actually had a bad day when the snake gave birth to 8 babies, and then she died, and then the babies died, all while he was on vacation with me, and the snake caretaker was his mom. Plus, you can't keep them over the winter very easily, food is hard to find for them, andyou can't buy it as well. <P>Guinea pigs are good, they are big, don't do alot and just sit there. i thnk a cat would be ideal, they are common, they are independent, and are sometimes friendly.<P>good luck<BR>

That turtle died because I did not know that Aaron had left it here until almost a week had gone by...I kept it going for about a week, and then, it died. I have some food here for an aquatic turtle...the thing is that the water must be changed at least every other day, and the food just makes a mess in there. I would not pay a plug nickel for a box turtle...they're free for the taking, and your son will love the hunt! My neighbor has a snapping turtle...interesting pet...excellent garbage disposal!<P>In 1991, I worked in Japan...and I had two ideas for making some money in the US from there...karaoke, and rhinoceros beetles. I never contacted Wurlitzer...(damn!), and I had to get rid of Ozzie and Harriett is a most inappropriate way...let's just say that they are on an extended cruise off the coast of Adak, Alaska, and leave it at that! In Japan, kids also keep crickets as pets. Right now, I have a caterpillar, I think it is a gypsy moth, its huge, but...he don't look so good, either, I'm afraid! Hey, at least the cats are healthy, and the dog, too!<P>Seriously, though...the turtle was neat, and harmless...high maintenance, but not too messy. The aquarium top kept the cats out, but yes...turtles are cat toys/food..rather expensive ones, too! $16, eh? My neighbor calls his house the Turtle Ranch...I wonder if we should raise these critters...A few hundred of those, and I'd be right again financially...now, I <I>am</I> sad! -Mike<P>P.S. What do you call multiple turtles....a herd?<p>[This message has been edited by waiting_for_her (edited August 24, 2001).]

Nina, <P>I have a virtual zoo of reptilian animals in my house. We have a pet fire-belly frog, and he is great!! He has a red tummy and he eats tiny little crickets, so we buy them at the reptile store. It is my son's job to use his allowance money to feed his reptiles but he does it! The frog, has a half wet/half dryish habitat in a cage, and he sits in the mossy water, he jumps and chases the crickets, he jumps up the wall and sort of sticks, he sits on his log, and he sits on his beach. Frogs run about $15 and their set up might be another $15, but you can buy the cage and moss first for about $6 and then add on.<P>I also have a California King snake that is pinkish orange and brown. He started off to be the size of my pinky finger, and he is now larger around than my big toe! We have had him for three years, and he is also a wonderful pet. He likes to curl up in my hand and watch TV, and he also loves to curl up in my pocket and snuggle up on my shoulder. Yes, I said snuggle. Anyway, snakes usually start at about $25-$50 as "babies" and their setup is about $30 too. They need a cage, stuff made out of newspaper for a bed, water dish, and some way of getting warmth (usually a heat lamp or rock). Honestly, this pet is more sophisticated and is usually cool for a teenager. <P>I also have an iguana. They are cool pets that can literally last 25 years or more! You can buy a hatchling for about $25, and a used aquarium for the first couple years. They also require some cedar chips for a floor, a heat lamp, a couple branches from the trees, a water dish and food bowl. Iguanas eat salad made of lettuce, spinach, carrots,etc. and they LOVE LOVE LOVE bananas, so we always make our salad and put in tiny pieces of banana to entice them. Now, iguanas can be very tame and fun--and they can be let out of the cage. <P>I also have an anole. This may be the pet for you. An anole is very small, green lizard that is actually usually used as food for some of the bigger reptiles--but they make good "beginner" pets for littler kids. The are about the size of your finger, and you can buy them for about $2. Their setup is a small $5 cage and a water bowl. Add some grass as a floor (or small rocks or sand or moss) and some tree branches they can "climb around" on, and anoles are happy. They eat small crickets, which cost about $1 for 10, and that is a week's worth of food for them. Sometimes, they will change colors if they are warm or cold. <P>Good luck with your son, but my personal recommendation would be the anoles. They are inexpensive, cheap to maintain, but "IT'S A LIZARD MOM!!" <P><BR>CJ<P>------------------<BR>Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

Hi PP,<P>We had a turtle in Mozambique. It used to have run of the back garden, and seemed to spend most of its time asleep! But then, we didn't have cats, and it kept escaping, until one day it finally got away.<P>My friend in Oz has two big snakes...I forget what they are, but they look very high maintenance to me...big heated boxes, always buying dead frozen rats for them to gulp down, and for what?<P>We have restricted which pets our kids could have because of quarantine laws between borders, but at the moment we have two budgerigars. If you want them to talk, you should only have one, and it should be the male. My male is neurotic...spaces out when I go NEAR the cage. Hey, just like my h when I go too near him!!! <P>Here's a challenge....their names are Nanki-Pooh and Yum-Yum. Does anyone know where I got their names from???<P>

Update on the turtles...<P>H came in this AM with 2 little water turtles in a little turtle condo. They have a slide, a palm tree and a bridge. I wish I could zap down to their size and go for a swim too.<P>Cat was only interested in them when they swim so I don't expect too much trouble there. <P>Wish me luck on my new adventure. I really didn't need two more mouths to feed and thing that has to be watered but Austin was estatic. <P>Makes me wonder why H can cater to son's every whim and I can't even get him to think about our relationship.....<P>